Treated with Dr. Sara Szal Your Hormones Aren’t Broken: How To Navigate Perimenopause and Menopause
Aug 20, 2025
The discussion revolves around the tumultuous journey of perimenopause and menopause, shedding light on the over 100 symptoms women might experience. Listeners learn how hormonal shifts can impact not just physical health, but cognitive function and mood too. Dr. Sara highlights practical lifestyle interventions like resistance training and nutrition to ease this transition. Cutting-edge research is explored, offering insights into the role of estrogen, cortisol, and FSH levels, along with an open dialogue about bioidentical hormones.
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Hormone Rhythm Changes Drive Symptoms
- Perimenopause causes progesterone to drop first and estrogen to fluctuate wildly, producing dozens of symptoms.
- FSH rises as eggs decline and signals ovarian aging that maps to systemic and brain changes.
Blood Levels Don't Tell The Whole Brain Story
- Brain estrogen receptor density and circulating estradiol change during menopause and affect cognition and mood.
- Blood estrogen levels don't fully capture what estrogen signaling is doing inside the brain.
FSH And Cortisol Amplify Risk
- High FSH and elevated cortisol both associate with worse metabolic and cognitive outcomes in menopause.
- The stress (cortisol) response interacts with reproductive hormones to increase symptom burden.
