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  • Home
  • Gut Health / IBS
    • IBS Naturopath
    • Microbiome Testing
    • Gut Health Recipes
      • Bone Broth
      • Chicken Broth
      • Kimchi
      • Turmeric Milk
      • Miso Soup
      • Anti-inflammatory Diet
      • Oat Milk
      • Ghee
      • Black Bean Brownies
  • Genetic Testing
    • Methylation Testing
      • Ultimate Guide to Genetic Methylation Testing NZ: 2025
        • MTHFR Gene Mutation
        • Best Methylation Test NZ
        • Methylation Explained
        • ADHD & MTHFR
        • Methylation & Anxiety
    • Test Result Interpretation
    • FAQs
  • Programmes
    • Long Covid
    • Managing your way through menopause naturally.
    • Anxiety
    • Allergies & Intolerances
    • Detoxification
    • Testing Options
  • The Clinic
    • About Vanessa
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Effectively Managing Menopause

All women will experience menopause, however each experience will be unique.  The age it starts varies, with the average age in healthy women being in their 50th year.

Perimenopause is the time of intermittent symptoms that first becomes apparent as egg numbers in the ovaries fall.  Irregularity in the menstrual cycle is usually the first sign during the fourth or fifth decade ​and marks the entry into perimenopause.

Menopausal symptoms vary widely between women.  Some women sail through it, while some experience severe and debilitating symptoms.  Some menopausal symptoms can take women by surprise, and may include:
  • Hot flushes
  • Night Sweats
  • Anxiety
  • Aggression
  • Agitation
  • Depression
  • Mood Swings
  • Emotional hypersensitivity
  • Impaired memory
  • Impaired concentration
  • Breast tenderness
  • Heavy bleeding
  • Dry vagina
  • Low libido
  • Oedema & abdominal bloating
  • Headaches and migraine
  • Heart palpitations
  • Itchy skin
  • Insomnia
  • Weight gain
  • Thinning of the skin
  • Bladder infections
  • Body aches
  • Hair loss
  • Increased facial hair
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Fatigue
The aim of herbal medicines and nutritional supplements during menopause is:
  • Reduce the individual symptoms 
  • Support the underlying organs that are influencing the hormonal changes
  • Move through the menopausal transition quickly and smoothly 
  • ​Improve general health and vitality
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Reduction of individual symptoms
During your consultation, a review of the symptoms will take place.  Some of these you may feel are manageable, others you may need some relief from immediately!  These will be factored into your treatment protocol.
​
Supporting the underlying organs
​Essentially what is happening during perimenopause, is that the ovaries are retiring from active service and their level of hormone production is falling dramatically.  During this time, the adrenal glands step forward to take up the slack.  Put very simply, how quickly the body adapts to this and is able to again efficiently regulate its hormone levels, is how long your menopausal symptoms will last.  We put herbal medicines to work in this category to support the adrenal glands which are now working harder to balance the bodies endocrine function.

The liver is another major organ that needs additional support (doesn't it always!).  The liver's role in perimenopause is in the conjugation of hormones to remove them out of the system.  The excess of some of these hormones lead to many of the symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, and mood swings.

We also need to take a look at the functioning of the reproductive system.  This is a time when pelvic organ problems can manifest due to the imbalance of hormones.  

Improving general health and vitality
Other factors also need consideration during this time.  These include emotional, nutritional and lifestyle factors as these can play a role in keeping our symptoms at bay, as well as supporting our major organs.

Our digestive function fits in this category also.  If we do not have good digestion we will not have adequate breakdown and assimilation of nutrients, no matter how good our diet is.
HRT withdrawal support is also available.
A protocol for herbal support during HRT withdrawal is advisable as the withdrawal period can be challenging.​

​I'm what is known as perimenopausal. 
"Peri", as some of you may know, 
is a Latin prefix meaning SHUT YOUR FLIPPIN' CAKE HOLE
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​114 Mersey Street
St Albans, ​Christchurch
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