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How estrogen dominance affects PMS during perimenopause
Let me paint the picture… you’re bloated, stressed out, and your mood feels unpredictable. Your partner, kids, or family walk into the room, take one look at you, and turn right around because they don’t want to confront the “dragon.”
You’re not sleeping well.
You have mid-day sugar cravings.
Your breasts ache, you have cramping, and you just know it’s going to be another doozy of a period.
This was my life, so I can completely relate if you are struggling with PMS symptoms about a week before your period. And especially when your period is inconsistent, it’s even harder because you literally have no idea when it’s going to strike.
Whether you’ve had PMS throughout your life or it is just beginning in your 40s, it’s common for perimenopause to take it to the next level because of estrogen dominance.
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WHAT IS ESTROGEN DOMINANCE?
In a nutshell, perimenopause is the period of time when your ovaries decline in their ability to produce progesterone. When you don’t have progesterone to balance out estrogen in your body, the extra estrogen wreaks havoc on your whole body.
Estrogen dominance is simply having extra estrogen that your body can’t eliminate or balance out with progesterone (click here to learn more about what makes this happen).
While there are many different root causes of estrogen dominance, the biggest players are a sluggish liver, chronic stress, and gut issues (all of which are also behind PMS problems, even before estrogen dominance is an issue!).
WHY DOES ESTROGEN DOMINANCE MAKE PMS WORSE?
Estrogen is a big-time stimulator while progesterone promotes calm. Since these are out of balance and your stress response system (HPA axis) is on high alert, your mood is going to suffer.
Your body is going to feel the effects of PMS-induced bloating, fatigue, breast pain, cramping, headaches, and cravings because you don’t have the progesterone to balance out these effects of estrogen dominance on your body.
Let me say this out of the gate: This WILL end once you reach menopause and your hormones level out. PMS will not continue when your periods cease permanently.
But I know that doesn’t help RIGHT NOW, when your PMS makes you feel like you’re going to kill someone…
So let’s dive into some natural solutions to help you get a handle on your PMS during perimenopause.
As always, it’s important to address the root cause of your problems, not just mask your symptoms. Since estrogen dominance is the ultimate “why” for the way you’re feeling, that’s where you should focus your attention. Click here for my best tips to reset your estrogen dominance.
But in the meantime… let’s dive into some PMS-specific ways you can love your body through this transition and keep yourself feeling your best!
1. ELIMINATE INFLAMMATORY FOODS AND SUPPORT YOUR GUT
Inflammation is only going to make your bloating, cramping, breast pain, headaches, and moodiness worse. One of the biggest sources of inflammation is through foods like dairy, gluten, caffeine, and alcohol. Cutting these out is an important step to getting your PMS under control.
The other side of this is that if your gut isn’t in tip-top shape (and most of us fall into that category), your inflammation is going to be worse. Plus, your body won’t get all the nutrients you need from the foods you’re eating (even if you’re eating perfectly well) and, most importantly, your gut won’t get rid of estrogen effectively. Supporting your digestion with digestive enzymes, probiotics, and quality fiber (click here for the one I recommend) is essential to get you feeling better.
2. BOOST YOUR SLEEP QUALITY.
When you’re not sleeping, your body’s stress response system is going to stay on overdrive, making the rest of your body suffer. Especially around PMS time, sleep can be hard to come by, but that’s also when it’s most important. Getting quality sleep will help you stay in control of your mood and give your body the time it needs to recharge and prepare for your coming period.
Supporting your sleep with essential oils like Lavender, Clary Sage, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang, and Cedarwood topically, in your diffuser, or even just spritzed directly on your bedsheets is a great way to promote rest.
The biggest things that have upped my sleep game have been two supplements: Magnesium Restore and Zen Sleep. These two work to re-establish your body’s natural rhythms to leave you sleeping restfully, without grogginess. Click here to get my exclusive Sleep Bundle now, which includes both of these powerful supplements!
3. TRY ESSENTIAL OILS FOR STRESS, HORMONES, AND MORE.
The biggest players here are going to be Clary Sage, Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, Lavender, Copaiba, Geranium, Bergamot, Peppermint, and Rose for overall hormone support, stress relief, and to help ease the perimenopause transition. The Essential Oils Hormone Solution has tons of recipes to get you started using these oils with ease and confidence!
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4. SOURCE THE MUST-HAVE SUPPLEMENTS FOR PERIMENOPAUSE PMS PROBLEMS.
While I share my top supplements to combat estrogen dominance here, there are a few that you really want to focus on if you dread PMS every month.
The two that EVERYONE needs are Magnesium and a Methylated B Complex Vitamin. Magnesium helps with hot flashes, sleep, hormone regulation, mood support, headaches, cravings, and stress. B vitamins radically reduce bloating, improve mood, ease breast tenderness, and energize your body.
There are so many forms of both of these available, and unfortunately many will not deliver the results you are looking for. That’s why I created Essentially Whole® Magnesium Restore and Activated B Complete. I know these are pure and bioavailable so you get the most bang for your buck! You can get them both here in a convenient bundle.
Other supplements to get your PMS under control are:
- Iron (especially if you experience heavy bleeding)
- Vitex/Chaste Berry/Chaste Tree (to naturally increase progesterone levels)
- Dried Ginger Root (to calm heavy bleeding and reduce inflammation and bloating)
- Vitamin C (to reduce inflammation, ease menstrual pain and help your body absorb iron) — get my recommended Vitamin C Boost powder here… it is DELICIOUS (so much better than choking down horse pills)
- DIM (Diindolylmethane) (to promote healthy estrogen metabolism, reduce heavy bleeding, and cut inflammation)
- Essentially Whole Hormone Balance (the convenient supplement that combines the power of some of these ingredients with other hormone powerhouses to support an ideal hormone balance during this stage of your life)
5. WHAT ABOUT BIOIDENTICAL HORMONES?
It’s worth discussing natural, bioidentical progesterone with your doctor to help balance out estrogen levels if the natural methods just aren’t cutting it. Bioidentical progesterone can alleviate perimenopause symptoms and estrogen dominance when you use it along with these lifestyle and nutritional changes.
I personally recommend 2% natural progesterone applied directly to the skin. I created Progest-Restore to be a simple, safe, natural option for women who need some immediate relief from their symptoms to help restore balance to your body! Get Progest-Restore here >>
THE BOTTOM LINE
You are not trapped by your PMS every month. One thing you can expect during perimenopause is that things are going to keep shifting and changing until you ultimately reach menopause. The best thing you can do for yourself is to have the tools at your disposal to combat these changes naturally so they don’t take you by surprise!
Anticipating your PMS and preparing by having supplements and strategies in place will help you stay in control of the way you feel, no matter what time of the month it is!
By Dr. Mariza Snyder
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