BIBLIOTHERAPY: Hormone Repair Manual: Every Woman’s Guide to Healthy Hormones After 40

I am in love with this book by Naturopathic Doctor, Lara Briden! Stephanie Larson, MSW, LICSW MN, LCSW WI recommended it to me. I literally read this non-fiction, reference manual book like a riveting fiction novel! If you are a woman that is 35+ years old, you must read this book. It’s wild to learn things about my own body that I did not know, curious why culturally we do NOT talk more about menopause and perimenopause, and empowering to have a guide as I navigate these coming years with clear, concise data and treatment interventions for optimal health.

Here are some things, I learned from Lara Briden, ND in her book, Hormone Repair Manual: Every Woman’s Guide to Healthy Hormones After 40:

·      Perimenopause is a process that starts 2-12 years before periods stop. You’re likely to be in perimenopause if you’re having regular cycles still and you have 3 of the following 9 symptoms: 1) new onset heavy flow, 2) cycles less than 25 days, 3) new sore breasts, 4) new mid-sleep waking, 5) increased menstrual cramps, 6) night sweats, 7) new/increased migraines, 8) new/increased mood swings, or 9) unexplainable weight gain.

·      Menopause starts 12 months after your last period. Menopause is unique to human females and a few species of whales.

·      The brain recalibrates during perimenopause like during puberty. Perimenopausal symptoms can include a decreased ability to handle stress, anxiety, and depression.

·      Estradiol is ovary made estrogen, it is important for building muscle and bone, maintains brain and heart health, regulates metabolism, is an appetite suppressant, thickens uterine lining. Estrogen decreases during perimenopause and menopause.

·      Progesterone calms the brain so can improve sleep and lessen anxiety, reduces inflammation, normalizes immune function, builds bones, protects heart, increases metabolic heart rate, thins uterine lining. You entirely lose progesterone during menopause.

·      You are potentially still fertile and will need contraception if sexually active in a heterosexual relationship and under 55 years old or for 1) 2 years after your last period if you’re under 50 or 2) 1 year after your last period if you’re over 50.

·      General maintenance for perimenopause and menopause = “all the ways you can soothe, cool, nourish, and strengthen your body.”

I could go on and on! So many interesting things to share from Dr. Lara Briden! This book also includes great information and treatment protocols for general wellness related to sleep, fatigue, and pain. Dr. Briden also has a book for younger women and girls called, Period Repair Manual, I have not read it, but I would guess it’s just as good.

As Marie Curie famously said, “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

If you’re facing the process of perimenopause or are in menopause, you do not need to face it alone. Coriander Living Collective is here to support you!