You eat well. You exercise. You’re not doing anything differently to how you’ve always lived. But something has shifted — and you can’t quite put your finger on what.

You’re more tired than you should be. More anxious. Your sleep is lighter. Your PMS is worse than it’s ever been. And when you finally go to your GP, the tests come back fine.

But there is a reason — and it is your hormones.

 

 

 

 

Could this be early perimenopause?

 

Most of us picture perimenopause as something that happens in our late 40s. Hot flushes. Missed periods. A clear signal that menopause is approaching.

But ovarian function begins to slow around age 35. Not dramatically — gradually, quietly, in the background, long before perimenopause would ever cross your mind.

Because the changes are so subtle at first, most women spend months — sometimes years — explaining them away. Stress. Age. A bad patch. What they rarely consider is that their hormones have already started to shift.

It starts with small changes.

• Your patience isn’t quite what it used to be.
• Things feel more overwhelming than they should.
• Your sleep isn’t as restorative.
• Your periods have changed.
• A few more headaches than normal.

Nothing dramatic. But enough that you notice.  And so you explain it away.

But then more symptoms start to appear.

Weight starts creeping on, even though nothing has changed.
Tired in a way that sleep doesn’t fix.
More anxious — worry about things that wouldn’t normally bother you

And this is the point where women start to feel that something just isn’t right.

So you start tracking your symptoms and realise that things are worse at ovulation and between ovulation your period.  And actually, PMS is sooo much worse than it’s ever been.  You conclude it must be hormonal.

 

Are hormonal blood tests accurate?

 

It’s usually at this point that women go to the doctor.  They get a blood test, only to be told: “Everything is normal”.

And here’s why that happens — and why it’s not the full picture.

The standard hormone tests your GP runs checks oestrogen and FSH — follicle stimulating hormone.  And this makes sense… when ovarian function stalls, the brain produces more and more FSH to signal to the ovaries to make hormones.  So low oestrogen and high FSH would indicate low ovarian function, low ovarian hormone production, indicating a move toward, or in fact being in, menopause.

But in early perimenopause, both of these hormones can look completely normal because in perimenopause it’s actually progesterone that falls first.  

And progesterone rarely gets tested.

This is why women leave their GP appointments without answers.

And often, what they’re offered instead — the pill to “regulate hormones,” or antidepressants for the anxiety — doesn’t address what’s actually driving the symptoms.

 

Perimenopause and signs of low progesterone

 

Progesterone is often called your calming hormone — and that’s a good way to think about it.

But what does it actually do…

Progesterone rises in the second half of your cycle after ovulation. It’s produced by the corpus luteum, which is the small structure left behind in the ovary after an egg is released, and it does several things simultaneously.

Breaks down the uterine lining, stopping it from getting too thick
Maintains a healthy, regular menstrual cycle
Supports fertility and pregnancy

But beyond that, progesterone directly interacts with GABA receptors in the brain.

GABA is your calming neurotransmitter. It’s the chemical that quietens the nervous system, lowers brain activity, and allows you to feel settled, sleep deeply, and cope with stress without feeling overwhelmed.

Progesterone enhances GABA function. So when we have healthy levels of progesterone, your brain has a natural buffer against anxiety and overstimulation.

When progesterone falls — that buffer goes with it.

This is why so many women say things like:

“I just feel more anxious than I used to.”

“I used to be so good at sleeping.”

“I don’t cope the same way anymore.”

 

How stress affects progesterone levels

 

The biggest threat to progesterone levels is stress.

Life for most women in their late 30s and early 40s can be busy or intense.  For a lot of women, it often involves work, career promotions, raising small children, running a household, possibly combined with caring for ageing parents.  All this running around and doing everything for everyone else results in women putting themselves and their needs last.

And all of that creates sustained, chronic stress in the body.  And the result of that…

Progesterone and cortisol — your primary stress hormone — are made from the same upstream hormone, Pregnenolone. The conversion of pregnenolone depends purely on the most important need of the body.

When the body is under sustained stress, it prioritises cortisol production. Because the brain interprets chronic stress as a threat to survival — and survival always comes first.

So it steals the pregnenolone that would have gone towards making progesterone… and uses it to make cortisol instead.

This is sometimes called the pregnenolone steal. And it means you’re not just dealing with a natural age-related decline in perimenopause.

You’re dealing with a decline that chronic stress is actively accelerating.

The result: progesterone drops faster. Symptoms intensify. And the things that used to help — a good night’s sleep, a healthy meal, a weekend off — stop working the way they used to.

Because the issue isn’t your habits, it’s that your hormonal landscape has changed and your approach needs to shift with it.

 

Perimenopause symptoms are a pattern

 

The anxiety, the sleep issues, the weight changes, the mood shifts, the worsening PMS — these are not separate, unrelated problems. They are one pattern, with one primary driver: progesterone declining in a body that is already under pressure.

Once you understand that, it stops feeling random. And it stops feeling like something you should just be able to push through.

Your body is not broken. This is a natural transition. But it is a transition that needs understanding — and a different approach than the one that worked in your 20s.

 

Ready to understand what’s happening with your hormones?

 

If you are ready for a different approach, download my free guide — Thriving in Perimenopause — which walks through exactly what is happening at this stage, why symptoms feel so all over the place, and where to actually start without trying to fix everything at once.