Hello, 35 year old athlete and medical massage therapist here. Total hysterectomy and ovary removal in September threw me into immediate surgical menopause. After being told I needed to find a new career and to not expect to be a competitive athlete anymore I’m just fighting to make sure that is all a lie and reclaim my life and health. ✨

I got my lab results back from my appointment last week. They did quite a bit of bloodwork. I haven’t seen my specialist yet to talk about my levels but so far everything is “within normal range”. I had my blood taken during my luteal phase. I know that does not mean I’m not experiencing perimenopause (the symptoms alone tell me I am) but to have blood tests come back in “normal ranges” is tough. I really wanted it to validate my symptoms… I have to keep reminding myself that the blood work isn’t everything and that despite being in range a lot of them were on the low end. I’ve been taking my oral progesterone for about 4 nights now but I haven’t seen much improvement. I know it takes time to see big results and if I need to have estrogen and/or testosterone that might balance things out too but I was hoping to a least sleep a bit better. Anyways, I got my period early (surprise!) and have been having a really rough couple of days. Lastly, does anyone have any insight into a CBC-RLM blood test? I have low neutrophils Absolute at 2.03 and high Basophils Absolute at 0.04. My white blood cells were within range but on the low end at 4.12. I did a bit of googling and the most likely explanation is that I’m fighting off a bug or am experiencing allergies due to a histamine issue. So I guess my question is, since histamines can be a problem In Perimenopause, could that be causing these levels to be off? Sorry for the long post! I hope everyone is having a good day! Thanks! 😊

What could be causing feelings of dizziness at bedtime? It doesn’t happen every night. I’m thinking it’s my meds because it always happens after I take them and after I’ve laid down but (usually) before I fall asleep. One time I did wake up to go pee and was dizzy so maybe I fell asleep before i could feel it. Maybe I’m usually asleep before the progesterone kicks in. I currently take 200mg of micronized progesterone with magnesium and L-the nine before bed. My Dr. did just approved me to bump up to 200mg from 100mg within the last month. I don’t remember having any dizziness before that. It almost feels like I’m drunk 😬 I don’t really feel nauseous so that’s good. I remember having to hold onto things as I walked to the bathroom the one time it happened after I woke up. Should I be concerned? I don’t ever feel dizzy in the morning or if I get up later at night like after 3 or 4 am.

Do you ever feel like your body is stuck in fight or flight… for no clear reason? 🫠 Hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause are notorious for dysregulating your nervous system and throwing your body into fight or flight for absolutely no reason at all. 😑 These hormonal changes/decline can triggering lots of concerning & uncomfortable symptoms… 👉🏻 Anxiety/Panic 👉🏻 Intrusive Thoughts 👉🏻 Heart Palpitations 👉🏻 Chest Tightness 👉🏻 Oxygen Hunger 👉🏻 Muscle tightness in your neck & shoulders 👉🏻 Racing Heart 👉🏻 Light Sensitivity 👉🏻 Sound Sensitivity 👉🏻 Irritability 👉🏻 Emotional Outbursts 👉🏻 Insomnia 👉🏻 Feeling ‘on edge’ If this sounds familiar, you’re not crazy and you’re definitely not alone 💛

Let’s play a quick game… give yourself 1 point for each 👇 All of these have one thing in common: estrogen fluctuations 🫠 🚪 Doorway Syndrome: Hormonal fluctuations can impair short-term memory, word recall, and the brain’s ability to quickly store and retrieve new information. 🧠 Brain Zaps: Estrogen fluctuations disrupt serotonin signaling and overall nervous system stability, leading to brief, shock-like sensory disturbances in the brain. 🥶 Cold Flashes: Estrogen fluctuations can cause sudden shifts in blood flow & heat distribution that can make you feel abruptly chilled, shaky, or goose-bumpy even without a change in the environment. 😵‍💫 Vertigo: Estrogen fluctuations affect the inner ear and vestibular system, disrupting balance signals between the ear, eyes, and brain and causing sensations of dizziness or spinning. 👀 Vision Changes: Estrogen fluctuations affect tear production, eye tissues, and visual processing in the brain, which can lead to dry eyes, blurred vision, and difficulty focusing. Score yourself below 👇 how many did you get?!