10/03/2026
Over the past few months I’ve been navigating my own perimenopause symptoms, and recently I made the decision to start hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
It’s still very early days, but the experience has already reminded me just how much hormones influence the entire body.
Like many women, I initially approached HRT with some hesitation. For years it carried a reputation for being risky, largely because of early research that has since been re-examined and better understood. Today we know much more about how and when it can be used safely.
The symptoms that led me to explore this option were the kinds many women begin to notice in their 40s — disrupted sleep, changes in energy, brain fog, and physical discomfort that didn’t quite make sense at first.
At the same time, I could see that the hormonal and immune shifts happening in my body were also aggravating my Crohn’s disease, which added another layer to the picture.
Experiencing this personally has reinforced something I often say to my clients: hormones affect far more than our reproductive system. They influence sleep, mood, muscles and joints, digestion, immune balance and so much more.
HRT is never the whole solution on its own, and nutrition, sleep, stress levels, gut health and support still play a huge role in how we move through this stage of life.
But what I do appreciate is that the conversation around menopause is changing. Women are asking more questions, seeking better information, and advocating for their health in ways that simply weren’t happening a generation ago.
And that can only be a positive thing.
If you’re navigating perimenopause yourself, you’re certainly not alone in trying to make sense of it all.
