Gimme some zzz’s: Perimenopause and Sleep

Gimme some zzz’s: Perimenopause and Sleep

One of the most common changes in perimenopause is in how women sleep (or don’t, rather). I regularly hear from patients that they struggle and the struggles vary from difficulty getting to sleep, to sleeping lighter in general to waking at 3 am every night unable to...

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PMSing through Perimenopause

PMSing through Perimenopause

It feels unfair to be PMSing through perimenopause, it must be one or the other, right? I wrote before about what’s happening with the two major hormones in a normal monthly menstrual cycle. Estrogen is the Queen of the first two weeks (when the period starts to...

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Finding Motivation

Finding Motivation

Finding motivation can feel as difficult as finding your car keys on a busy morning, but you're not going to get far without it! As a physician, I am so interested in the WHY of things. I think it’s important and useful to understand what is happening in your body in...

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Biology of a Cycle, the short-short version

Biology of a Cycle, the short-short version

There are major hormone changes happening in perimenopause. Let me back up. There are major hormone changes happening constantly in a woman’s body from puberty through menopause. Our bodies get into a nice rhythm once periods are regular, sometime in our teens to our...

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Silver Linings?

Silver Linings?

I write this at 5am, in our temporarily quiet home while everyone is asleep. I used to get frustrated when I woke up early like this. Now, I relish in the peace and quiet. Before I had kids, I remember talking with a mom-friend who said she recently started getting up...

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Could this be the “P” word?

Could this be the “P” word?

I have a medical clinic in Seattle where I practice naturopathic medicine . I am a naturopathic physician focusing on women's health issues for women mostly in the 25-65 year old range. This is a little story about one of those women, who is so like many of the 35 to...

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