28: Let's Talk About IT, Baby - What's Actually Happening in Your Body Part 1

This is part one of a three-part series on sexual health in perimenopause, and it is one of the most important conversations we are going to have on this show.I open with my own story: twenty years on birth control with essentially no libido, the practitioners who missed it, and the one sentence from a nutrition counselor that changed everything. From there we go deep on the hormonal biology of desire and what perimenopause does to it.What we cover:Why progesterone is often the first hormone to decline and how that drives up anxiety, disrupts sleep, and elevates cortisolWhy chronically elevated cortisol is one of the most powerful suppressors of sexual desire, especially in womenThe full hormonal arc of desire across the cycle and what happens when perimenopause disrupts itWhat Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) is, how it affects vaginal tissue, and why you should not wait until sex is painful to address itThe invisible load of midlife and how it compounds hormonal changesThe cultural erasure of women in midlife and what it does to desire and self-worthThe research connecting sexual health to cardiovascular health and longevityThis episode lives in the Connect pillar of the Perimenopause Matrix.Female Sexual Dysfunction affects up to 75% of women between 40 and 50. That is not a coincidence. That is perimenopause. And most of it is addressable.Part 2: Now Let's Do Something About IT - Your Sexual Health Toolkit for PerimenopausePart 3: IT Just Got a Whole Lot Better - Vaginal Estrogen, the FDA, and What Changes NowFull show notes and resources 👉 HEREAbout the Perimenopause Matrix:The Matrix is my framework for navigating perimenopause across 6 pillars: Fuel, Move, Recharge, Regulate, Connect, and Clean. But this episode isn't about optimizing all 6 - it's about choosing the ONE that matters most in YOUR current reality.🧬 Ready to stop guessing?I help women interpret their labs so they can make nutrition decisions based on data, not diet trends.👉 Book your personalized Lab Review here🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download the free Perimenopause Decoder . It helps you understand what's happening during perimenopause so you can make decisions from a place of clarity, not chaos.📱 CONNECT WITH ME:Website⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠Facebook ⁠YoutubeYou're not crazy. You're not broken. You're not alone. And you absolutely deserve to feel like yourself again.Listen to Mornings with Megan Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Wednesday!AppleSpotifyAmazonYoutube