Over 40 Hormones: The Signs That Something Is Off...

And what to ask your doctor

One of the most frustrating things about being a woman over 40 is how many changes can start happening in your body before anyone really explains what’s going on.

You might start feeling more tired than usual, more irritable, more anxious, more puffy, more flat, less like yourself, and still be told things like…it’s just your age. And yes, age can play a part. But sometimes your hormones are actually off, and your body is trying to tell you that something has shifted.

The difficult part is that hormone changes don’t always show up in one obvious way. They can affect your sleep, your mood, your weight, your skin, your digestion, your energy, your periods, your focus, your libido, your appetite, and even how well you cope with normal daily life. And get this…it’s so spread out that it’s hard to even figure out if something is changing. A lot of women spend months or even years feeling not quite right without realizing that hormones may be the reason for a lot of it.

Once you’re in your 40s, it’s common for hormone patterns to start changing, even if you’re still having periods and even if your cycle looks fairly regular. This was the case for me. Perimenopause can begin years before menopause itself, and for a lot of women, this is when they start noticing that things feel different.