Let's start with the basics

Women, we’re different to men.

Women are born with around 2 million eggs, called ovum and these are stored in their ovaries. Once a girl reaches puberty, she has around 300,000 - 500,000 eggs left, due to natural cell death. Each month an egg is released, and if it is not fertilised she has a period (if it is fertilised she is pregnant).

During puberty, her ovaries produce oestrogen and progesterone. Once she enters her 30s and 40s the levels of oestrogen and progesterone begin to fluctuate and decline. This is different for every woman and the rate of decline during this time also ranges for different women.

Each month, the pituitary gland releases follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), signalling for oestrogen production and a release of an egg into the uterus. This is the follicular stage of her cycle and is commonly known as ovulation. During menstruating years, normal FSH levels are between 0-10, menopausal this is between 23-30 and postmenopausal this can be as high as 100.

The three stages of menopause

There are three stages of menopause. Perimenopause is a relatively new term that we have come to use globally, which represents all of the symptoms many of us traditionally associated with menopause.

For the majority of women, perimenopause (literally meaning ‘around the menopause’) strikes from mid to late 30s until mid-late 40s. She is still having a period but her hormone levels have significantly declined. Her period cycle might start to change, they might get shorter (from 30 days to 26 days cycles) & may be lighter or much heavier. Although she can still get pregnant during this time because she is still ovulating.

Despite what we had previously believed, menopause is a one day event and is the day her period stops (a retrospective diagnosis 12-months after her last period). In the UK the average age of menopause is 51, although it generally occurs anytime between 45-55.

Postmenopause, after menopause (after the 12 months since her last period) symptoms may still persist because hormones are still declining but she will not have a period at all.

Due to the declining rates of the three major hormones: oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone during this time of a woman’s life, there are significant changes to a woman’s energy levels, mood, physiology and general sense of self. Oestrogen alone is responsible for over 400 different receptors in a woman’s body, so it’s no wonder 99% of women experience at least one symptom during peri/menopause!

Moxie Coach

Moxie Coach is a menopause coaching app offering a mood tracker, expert guidance and personalised tools to help you thrive during your menopause journey.

Download it for free today: Moxie Coach (Apple Store) - Moxie Coach (Google Play)