Navigating the Waves: Understanding Hormonal Changes During Menopause

If you’re used to living life on an even keel but your mood has been less predictable, don’t simply attribute it to stress and other people’s annoying habits. While these and other things contribute to emotional peaks and valleys, feeling lower than normal may mean something else is at play.

It’s crucial to look for the causes of anxiety, depression, irritability, and mood swings—and many women fail to realize that menopausal hormone shifts can cause these symptoms and many more. Whether you’re dealing with a low mood or outright rage, specialized hormone therapy for menopause may help you regain emotional balance. Below, we’ll cover the links between hormones and mood, and how hormone therapy can help.

Which Hormones Play the Biggest Roles?

Menopause is a continuum characterized by hormone fluctuations, including:

•  As you approach menopause, your ovaries will make less estrogen, leading to decreases in estrone and estradiol levels. The drop in estrogen causes most of the menopausal symptoms we recognize, and it also has implications for bone and heart health.
• Ovulation stops during menopause, decreasing progesterone production and contributing to irritability and mood swings.
• As the ovaries produce less progesterone and estrogen, FSH levels increase in efforts to stimulate production.
• Women have testosterone in very small amounts, and menopausal decline is slower than that of progesterone and estrogen but can still affect muscle mass, libido, and mood.

About a decade before menopause hits, you may start to experience the first effects of perimenopause—and irregular periods are a reliable indicator. During early perimenopause, your progesterone levels may dip, especially if you don’t ovulate with every cycle. As perimenopause goes on and you approach menopause, estrogen dips become even more pronounced.

The Symptoms of Menopausal Hormone Fluctuations

The estrogen decline of perimenopause causes symptoms like insomnia, mood swings, body pain, breast tenderness, and migraines, with many women suffering these symptoms during the menstrual cycle. When there’s less progesterone than estrogen, you may experience painful, heavy periods. Estrogen thickens the uterine lining, while progesterone has the opposite effect.

As estrogen levels drop rapidly, you may experience night sweats and hot flashes, two of the most well-known symptoms of menopause. Many women report brain fog, body aches, mood and libido changes, and urinary urgency.

After menopause, when estrogen levels have remained low for a while, you may also experience drying and thinning of vaginal tissues. Known as atrophy, this condition makes these tissues more susceptible to pain and damage during intercourse.

Is There Hormonal Hope After Menopause?

Postmenopausal women naturally have stable, low reproductive hormone levels. The cyclical symptoms and mood swings experienced during perimenopause will generally lessen or disappear, but every woman is different.

After menopause, you may continue to suffer from hot flashes as your body tries to adjust to its lower estrogen level. Estrogen therapy helps some women manage their night sweats and hot flashes, and it’s an effective and safe option for those in perimenopause or early menopause.

Let Us Help You Embrace the Transition

Menopause is much more than physical change—it’s a life stage. By learning about menopausal hormone shifts and their effects, you can seek support, make informed decisions, and navigate this part of life with confidence.

Your menopause journey isn’t like anyone else’s, and understanding and acknowledging these changes is the most important step toward symptom management. Chat with one of our practitioners to learn more about hormone replacement therapy and how it can help you live a healthier and more fulfilling life.