Shiatsu for Menopause

The first thing to know about the Menopause, is where you're at, you can well be perimenopausal at any time in your 40s. and there may not be a heat symptoms in sight. By the age of 45, if you feel you need to see the GP due to feeling 'unwell most of the time', 'below par', 'extremely tired’, ‘easily overwhelmed’ with symptoms of anxiety or starting to wonder if you have early dementia, then YES you are Perimenopausal, and don’t let a GP suggest the only way forward is anti-depressants, it isn’t, the way forward is knowledge and understanding.

 

I always say that if you compare yourself now to yourself 3 years ago do you see a decline in how you look, feel and handle things? If the answer is yes, then you've in the Perimenopause and here's the thing, you may not have any heat symptoms at all!

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​I’ve spent the last few years really building a picture of what can be going on in a woman’s body. Some may only have certain symptoms, and there are those who have a worse perimenopause, and those the menopause. This can come down to your physical type, your lifestyle and career, the toxicity of your liver and the medications you’re on; they all play a part in how your body changes and reacts to the lowering of hormones.

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The average age of the cessation of periods in the UK is 51, and this doesn't happen over night; but is a fluctuation in your body over many years. The GP baseline is that if you haven't had periods for a year or more you have reached the menopause; they can safely say you now won't get pregnant. ​

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The Peri-menopausal symptoms may start up to 10 years before the Hot Flushes stage kicks in. This is due to the gradual decline of Progesterone, it’s the hormone that keeps us sane, calm and confident. As this wanes it allows symptoms like anxiety, phobias and fears to take hold as well as the 'foggy brain' syndrome, tiredness, loss of libido, low moods, headaches and muscle tension; but no heat symptoms, and here in lies the confusion at the GPs, you may not have a hot flush or night sweat if you’re generally a person who has always felt the cold and you’re not one to over exercise.

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This set of symptoms with the perimenopause is scary as you may not have linked it to the big ‘M’ and many women start to worry that this could be a sign of early dementia. I never needed a diary, everything was in my head, and it was a joke in my old career that I could remember the contents of any company meeting, usually to chagrin of my colleagues.

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It came as a shock to me when I forgot things, triple booked my time and couldn’t clear my head enough at times to get work done when it was a fraction of what I used to juggle in my old career. Luckily though when this really hit, I’d just been to my first talk on the menopause and had already looked up 34symptoms.com (I could tick 26!). The big issue though was how to handle how I felt and what I could do to improve it.

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The changing of hormones in midlife is a greater upheaval on your body than pregnancy, and this is what you have to understand. It also goes on 10 times longer! You need to respect yourself, and this means understanding you can’t compete with your 30-something self. We have to get wiser with our energy and our time, you can’t turn back the clock (unless you go on HRT*). If you want to transition naturally there are many things you can do, here are just a few:

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• ·       Get more sleep. I had a client say ‘I’m looking for that one thing that will make a difference’, she hardly got any sleep. You need it.

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• ·       If your sleep is disrupted, seek a therapy that can help it – shiatsu, acupuncture, reflexology, aromatherapy massage.

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• ·       Detox your liver – night sweats are linked to how hard your liver works. Drop alcohol, caffeine and carbs later in the day. 

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• ·       Supplements – we don’t get all the nutrition we need from food – my  additions are a good Multivitamin, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B complex. Also Fish oils – Omegas 3 & 6.

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• ·       Eat more vegetables and fruits with ‘berry’ in the name, and unless you’re about to do sport, drop bananas (if you have hot flushes).

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• ·       Eat nuts and seeds, to pick up essential vitamins and oils, great as snacks.

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• ·       Don’t eat anything colder than room temperature, nothing straight from the fridge, even if you’re got a mega flush. Your body in an ironic twist needs warmth, chilled food & drink isn’t good for your body (especially if you have IBS).

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• ·       Respect your energy, you don’t have as much when your body is in such hormonal flux. You have to calm down for a few years, transition and move into your 50s with the energy to flourish.

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• ·       Try phytoestrogens/ Soy Isoflavones –Tthis is for later in the menopause when estrogen is really low (ie post periods).Putting plant based estrogen into your system  when you still have plenty may trigger hot flushes. Try and see, but don’t suffer additional symptoms, or don't continue if no change – it really is on an individual basis.

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• ·       *HRT – if you try to bypass the menopause – you won’t. You will have the menopause when you come off HRT. I see women in their 60s and 70s where the symptoms are coming through no matter that they’re on HRT, and when they come off it is a lot harder for your body to transition at this age as you have less ‘kidney’ energy to help you. I believe you should have your menopause at the age nature has intended – your 50s, whilst you have the constitutional strength to support this change.

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It’s not a fight to change naturally, its gaining knowledge and support in anyway natural to help your mind and body. I have worked out the 5 underlying heatlh imbalances that make the menopause worse, Get your body and health back into balance and symptoms really do ease or disappear completely. I help women with consults, group sessions, videos and ebooks. Visit my website cotswold menopause for all the information you need to get happier and healthier with your menopause.