WARNING: Luteal phase changing? Look at these 3 perimenopause signs.
If you or one of your clients are in your mid to late thirties, and you're starting to notice that your luteal phase feels different, maybe your PMS has intensified, your sleep feels off, or that your energy just isn't the same, it might not be just stress. These can be early signs that your body is entering perimenopause, that transition leading up to menopause.
In this blog post, I share signs to help you recognize these changes. And a bonus at the end of three diagnostic tests. To look into with your healthcare provider so that you can start feeling grounded in your luteal phase and as you head into perimenopause. I'm Omega Zumpano. I'm the creator of the NASM Hormone Health Continued Education Program Cycle Coach Academy.
If you want be able to catch it early and course correct in just a few cycles so that you have a more stable perimenopause transition, you are in the right place. Make sure to like this video if you're excited for this, and make sure to click the bell below and subscribe so that you never miss a video on hormone health, fitness, and nutrition.
Luteal Perimenopause Flag #1: Shortened Luteal
Alright, let's talk about the luteal perimenopause flag number one. One of the first shifts that many women experience. Is a change in their luteal phase. The time between ovulation and the next period cycles that used to be regular might shorten a little bit.
PMS may show up earlier and symptoms like breast tenderness. bloating, irritability, or cramps might even feel stronger. That's because ovulation becomes less consistent during perimenopause, which leads to lower or fluctuating levels of progesterone. Uh, in relationship to estrogen and progesterone is that hormone that makes you feel calm and steady.
So you might notice that you shift into a more estrogen dominant state. Or what clinically looks like progesterone insufficiency, and this is the time in life where cycle tracking, although still important, becomes less relevant. What works better here is to track your symptoms and cycle data for 90 days so you can tell what's actually happening over a longer period of time.
Note your temperature shifts your sleep and your mood. These patterns over time give you clarity and can help you distinguish true hormonal shifts from everyday stress.
Luteal Perimenopause Flag #2: Sleep Patterns Changing
Now let's talk about sleep and energy pattern shifts. You might notice that it's harder to fall or stay asleep, especially waking between two and 4:00 AM This is a common sign of lower progesterone and changes in cortisol rhythm.
So why is this? I'm gonna lay out a couple points for you.
Progesterones Steady Decline
Progesterone drops. Progesterone is naturally calming and sleep promoting because it increases gaba. That's the brain's break system. And during perimenopause, progesterone levels can fluctuate widely and drop in the luteal phase or just generally over the cycle, and this makes it harder to stay asleep, especially in the second half of the night.
Estrogen’s Wild Dips
Estrogen dips can also be at play here. Estrogen helps regulate the body's temperature and supports serotonin production, which in turn helps melatonin. That's your body's sleep hormone. Low estrogen can cause those night sweat or hot flashes, which often wakes people up between two and 4:00 AM we have cortisol and circadian rhythm changes too.
Cortisol Spikes at Night
Cortisol naturally rises in the early morning hours to help you wake up gradually. If stress or adrenal fatigue is present, cortisols can spike too early, waking you up in that window. The next point is blood sugar fluctuations. Some women's blood sugar can dip in the night, especially if they're sensitive to hormone changes.
Low Blood Sugar
Low blood sugar can trigger early awakening. So those are some things for you to think about when it comes to sleep.
Now we'll talk about luteal perimenopause flag number three. You might notice that stress just feels louder in your luteal face. During perimenopause, many women find that they feel overstimulated easily.
Luteal Perimenopause Flag #3:
Sounds, crowds. Even normal responsibilities can feel heavier for me. I have this open concept house stuff on the counter. My brain is just like w. Like it's so overstimulated. My brain literally can't organize where it goes sometimes, which in turn makes me feel super irritated because I feel like I have all this clutter in my house, and this isn't being moody.
It's our brain's chemistry adapting to hormonal change. Estrogen interacts with serotonin and cortisol regulation, so when it fluctuates, emotional resilience can shift too. And so let's look into it. Estrogen's role in the brain. Estrogen isn't just about reproductive health and. No. It also modulates neurotransmitters like the ones we've talked about, serotonin, dopamine, gaba, which influence mood focus, emotional regulation.
When estrogen fluctuates during perimenopause, your brain's usual baseline for handling stressor. Can shift. Cortisol sensitivity is also at play here because estrogen interacts with the stress hormone cortisol. Even everyday responsibilities or minor sensory input, like a clutter counter background noise can feel heavier because your stress response system is more sensitive.
Diagnostic Testing
Here are some tests you can talk to your doctor about doing, and while there is no exact test to tell if you're in perimenopause, these are helpful diagnostic criteria and I'm going to explain why.
When you are going to the doctor or if you're a coach, when you talk to your client about going to the doctor, use these tests and make sure the doctor is also taking a subjective score, like the green scale or the menopause rating scale. Subjective measurements are just as important.
As objective measurements like lab tests that we're gonna go over now, first, uh, I want you to understand what not to do. Don't think that a single snap of bloodshot test of progesterone. The hormone that declines during menopause, uh, is going to give you what you need to know because, A, we know it's diminishing.
And B, even someone in their twenties, uh, in their luteal phase, progesterone can fluctuate around 30 times a day in the luteal phase. So we're not gonna use. So let's get into what could actually help in your late thirties and early forties. And first up, you've probably heard of this before, and if not, uh, it is the Dutch test.
Dutch Test
This is the dried urine test for comprehensive hormones. The Dutch test measures free and metabolized forms of estrogen and progesterone and adrenal hormones throughout the day. So it gives a fuller picture of your hormone fluctuations and how your body actually processes them. And then it will give you detailed insight into estrogen dominance, progesterone deficiency, and cortisol patterns.
And most women have complexities around that in their perimenopause transition. Next test, you and your doctor can consider is called a diurnal. Cortisol test or a four or five point saliva test, and it measures how your cortisol levels fluctuate throughout the day instead of just giving a single snapshot.
5 point Salivary Cortisol Test
Uh, cortisol is your body's primary stress hormone, but it also plays a role in energy, sleep, mood, inflammation, and even sex hormone balance, all those wonderful things that shift during perimenopause. So while there's no diagnostic. Test to confirm perimenopause Looking into FSH could be helpful because FSH is a hormone released by your pituitary gland that tells your ovaries to mature an egg and produce estrogen during perimenopause.
Follicular Stimulating Hormone
As ovarian function naturally declines. The ovaries just become less responsive to those signals. In response, the brain actually ramps up production of FSH to try to get the ovaries attention. You could look at as ZA rise in FSH, especially when measured alongside estradiol. Can indicate that the ovarian function is just slowing down, and that's why FSH is often used to help confirm that you are in perimenopause or approaching menopause.
So let's recap what we covered today. You learned how the luteal phase starts to shift in your thirties. Which is why sleep and energy can feel unpredictable, how stress sensitivity increases estrogen and progesterone, and how they fluctuate full, how stress sensitivity increases estrogen and progesterone and how they fluctuate.
We also looked at the three helpful tests to guide you and your doctor to the next steps. Number one is the DUTCH test. For a full hormone adrenal snapshot Number two, we covered the cortisol rhythm test To understand your stress response pattern and FSH to help confirm where you're at in the perimenopausal transition.
And most importantly, you now know that these changes are not just stress or you getting older. There's signs that your body is recalibrating. And if you're a coach ready to learn the exact framework that I teach inside the Cycle Coach Academy.
Click this link to enroll in Cycle Coach Academy. You and I will hop on an application call and together we'll determine if working together is a fit. If you wanna go deeper into boosting progesterone, this video has everything you need to know, and we'll give you practical lifestyle and nutrition strategies that you can use in your luteal phase and through perimenopause.