Is it perimenopause or is it iron deficiency?

Many people seek my care because they’re concerned about their hormonal health.  

They’re feeling more fatigued, not sleeping as well, experiencing mood swings, hair thinning, headaches and seeing weight gain.  

They’re curious about their hormones and are looking to test and understand things better.

While these may be a result of your hormones, they may also be symptoms of iron deficiency.  

Iron deficiency can cause all of these things; while it doesn’t cause weight gain explicitly, it does make you feel worse which impacts your nutrition and exercise choices leading to weight gain.

Perimenopause for many women can cause changes to menstrual cycles that might increase the total amount of blood loss, increasing the RISK of iron deficiency.  Iron deficiency then makes it harder for your body to clot - leading to increased blood flow - perpetuating the problem.  

While the hormones can be difficult to test, iron deficiency is an easy test.  

The important piece is to ensure it’s being tested and interpreted correctly as the range is large and ‘normal’ does not mean ‘optimal’.