I Am Still Simulating A Period

We have fluctuations in our sex hormones our entire lives no matter how old. We don't go flat after menopause. How to have healthy hormones? Live like a farmer would.

My sister, me (the short one), my cousin and my aunt on the farm my father grew up on in Croatia

My maternal grandmother lived to 82 but died tragically as a result of an accident. My maternal grandfather died of lung cancer at age 76. They were born long ago, in 1907 and 1908. I don’t know much about my paternal grandparents and never met them. My paternal grandmother died giving birth to my father, so even my dad knows nothing of his birth mother.

My grandparents were farmers in Croatia and lived off their land, growing food, rearing animals, and eating with the seasons. They endured much trauma and hardship throughout their lives. They never had much.

They certainly did not take hormone replacement. Nor did they live short lives, as some experts claim this to be the reason why they didn’t need hormone replacement therapy - that they simply didn’t live long enough. They were also healthy without chronic illness. Death around menopause might have been true around the 18th century, but not in my grandmother’s time. I found this interesting chart from Berkley showing average life expectancy by year for men and women.

https://u.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html

Need hormones is the operative word here. Could it have made my grandmother’s life easier in the sense she could transition through midlife changes with more grace and ease? Maybe, but the facts are that neither of my grandparents had disease progression associated with low sex hormones, both had incredible cognition, and my grandmother didn’t have any of the diseases associated with low hormones after menopause, such as heart disease or osteoporosis. My grandmother suffered from migraines for a time, and then menopause was over. This is a translation from what my mom can recall. My mom is now 78 and has never used hormone replacement. She was diagnosed with osteoporosis after chemotherapy and radiation (but her bone mineral density has dramatically improved since I put her on a natural regimen). We can surmise that chemotherapy was one causative factor in this. Read about her journey and protocol here:

I use bioidentical hormones. I believe supporting my aging process with exogenous hormones is somewhat necessary in today's world. We need more help now than before due to our environment and all the endocrine disrupters we don’t have control over.

However, my entire point of this article is not to say “yes” or “no” to hormones. I am simply saying that we do not have flat hormones after menopause and andropause, as I’ve heard some experts claim, without any ebbs and flows of these sex hormones. If we pay attention to this and get a great hormone practitioner, we might get the individualized help we need as menopausal women.

I’ve actually heard one doctor say we have no hormones past menopause. This is almost impossible unless you have no functioning adrenal glands. Remember, when our ovaries shut down production, our adrenal glands still produce these hormones. This is why stress mitigation and support of our adrenal glands are so important as we transition through menopause and past menopause.

We may be low in sex hormones post-menopause, but the thought process that we are flat isn’t even logical. We know that hormones naturally fluctuate; do we just go flat without fluctuations after menopause or andropause? I have not been able to find research that tracks older women’s or men’s sex hormones over a period of time to show these fluctuations, but logically, there will still be dips and rises of these sex hormones, namely estrogen, progesterone and testosterone (the main ones I am referring to).

I get symptoms of low hormones as if I am simulating a period. You also hear about women getting hot flashes many years post-menopause. I can literally feel it when my hormones are lower.

What happens to a cycling woman when she gets her period? Just before she does, all sex hormones drop - estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Women often feel low and lethargic until hormones creep back up again as their cycle progresses.

If we pay attention to our symptoms in menopause, we will see and feel subtle changes and we can work with our practitioners to support this. If I were able to test this, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone would ebb and flow like they did when I had a cycle. The difference is that these hormones are lower; our ovaries are out of commission, and we no longer menstruate. Most of us become less attuned to how we may feel during these dips. I am teaching you to identify your personal symptoms and work with your practitioner.

I am now tracking these systems for my N-of-1 experiment.

Symptoms for me personally include migraine (most often with aura), dry skin, vaginal dryness, dry eyes (feels like sand in one eye), constipation, anxious, bloating/weight gain, lowered cervix, which I can feel during intercourse, aches and pains in joints and tendons, and I am weepier.

So what about all of this? Live like an olden-day farmer would… haha this is an unachievable task for most.

However, it is possible to go through menopause with fewer tribulations without hormone replacement if you live as naturally as you possibly can. Not sure how many have the luxury of living off their land without chemicals, pesticides, and GMO crops. I am not one of them - I wish.

Be careful of what you put on your skin, hair, and face. Many personal care products are known to be endocrine disruptors. How many farmers do you know do a full face of makeup before heading out into the fields?

Many foods can contribute to the production of these healthy hormones. The list is vast, but it always includes whole, real foods.

How do you eat to support hormones? Why, with balance, of course, like a farmer. You might occasionally fast - only because you’re too busy as a farmer to eat and graze all day. You also don’t need to do a regular 72-hour-water fast like all the biohackers tell you to do. As a farmer, you might sit down to eat one main meal daily. A larger breakfast. Maybe a small lunch. But certainly, there is no time to snack all day. Animal protein is crucial. You don’t have to eat loads of it, but it will support your body with the bioavailable nutrients it needs to make healthy hormones.

Lifestyle: Mitigate stress levels. Chronically high stress levels will affect the natural production of your sex hormones. Simplify your life if you have to. Traditional farmers live simpler lives. And happier ones, too, if you look at what the polls tell us. Our lives are truly so complicated now. Farmers always have nature to ground them. This is why I must walk daily in nature to support my nervous system.

Sleep like a farmer respecting your circadian rhythms, and it will help with beautiful, natural circadian hormone production.

Movement - I am not talking about killing it at the gym. Think of it simply - how would you move daily if you were a farmer? You’d likely move most of the day. You won’t be sitting much until the evening. You’d have to do some heavy lifting now and again. You get what I mean.

Spend plenty of time in nature, and don’t hide from the sun. The sun is good for us, within balance. Remember, when farmers rise, it’s early morning sun, and the UV isn’t high.

Now, if you’re like me, you’re on bioidentical hormones, but I still do what I can to emulate how my grandparents lived in many ways.

Because I had a “mini” period 6 months ago, I am still encountering more noticeable fluctuations and I am currently not on a very high dose of BHRT (bioidentical hormone replacement therapy). I have spoken with my nurse practitioner and work with her to help alleviate or make my symptoms more tolerable. I know my own symptoms, and I use that and muscle testing to see when I may need a little extra help with exogenous hormones for my own supportive cocktail.

The key is this: We are all individuals and must find a practitioner who treats us as bioindividuals and understands hormones thoroughly to help us achieve our wellness goals. We can learn a thing or two from how farmers used to live in the past and this can only help us with our hormones. Take note of your own symptoms. You might be surprised at what you learn.