11/26/2025
For our peri-menopausal and menopausal women โค๏ธ
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๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ด๐๐ฒ๐ฑ?
Fatigue is one of the earliest and most common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, yet itโs also one of the most overlooked.
Many women blame being โbusy,โ โgetting older,โ or โjust life,โ but the truth is: ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ท๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐.
Hereโs whatโs really going on โคต๏ธ
Hormones + Your Energy Levels
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ณ๐น๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ
As estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone begin to shift, your sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented. Even when you think you โslept,โ you may not have reached the deep, restorative phases your brain and body need.
This shows up the next day as:
โช๏ธenergy crashes
โช๏ธirritability
โช๏ธcravings
โช๏ธpoor focus
โช๏ธthat โmoving through molassesโ feeling
๐ฎ. ๐ฅ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐๐ผ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐
As estrogen drops, cortisol (your stress hormone) becomes harder to regulate. Over time, this can lead to:
โช๏ธmorning fatigue
โช๏ธโtired but wiredโ evenings
โช๏ธdifficulty recovering from stress
๐ฏ. ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ป ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐
Estrogen helps regulate serotonin, the neurotransmitter that influences mood, motivation, and mental clarity. When estrogen declines, serotonin dips too, leaving many women feeling:
โช๏ธmentally flat
โช๏ธfoggy
โช๏ธunmotivated
โช๏ธemotionally drained
๐ฐ. ๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐บ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ
Lower estrogen and testosterone contribute to muscle loss.
Even if youโve always been active, tasks that once felt easy can suddenly feel like hard work. This muscle loss also slows metabolism and increases general fatigue.
๐ฑ. ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ + ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ
Low estrogen increases inflammation in connective tissues, which is why many women notice:
โช๏ธstiffness
โช๏ธjoint pain
โช๏ธaching muscles
When your body hurts, itโs harder to move, and inactivity then contributes to even more fatigue.
๐ฒ. ๐ง๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ
Perimenopause and menopause can unmask or worsen thyroid issues. The thyroid regulates metabolism, and thyroid slowdown makes you feel extremely tired, cold, and foggy.
๐ข๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป (๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ) ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ด๐๐ฒ
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป
Heavy or irregular perimenopausal bleeding can drop iron stores quickly. Low ferritin causes profound fatigue that no amount of sleep can fix.
๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ญ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐
Both vitamins are essential for energy, muscle function, and mood.
๐๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐
Fluctuating hormones impact insulin sensitivity.
This is why midlife women often experience:
โช๏ธafternoon crashes
โช๏ธshakiness
โช๏ธenergy dips after meals
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฑ
Even without โstress,โ caring for aging parents, supporting children or grandchildren, managing work, and running a home all add significant cognitive and emotional load โ which contributes to exhaustion.
๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome become more common in midlife women. If your fatigue is extreme, talk to your provider about screening.
๐ฆ๐ผโฆ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ ๐๐ผ?
๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐
You can feel like yourself again... it starts with small, consistent steps.
๐ญ. ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐
Physical activity boosts mood, supports metabolism, and helps slow the loss of muscle and bone density common in midlife. Choose what your energy allows and honor rest days.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ โ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Avoid โeat less, move more.โ Prioritize, protein. healthy fats, and whole-food carbohydrates. These stabilize blood sugar and support hormone and brain health.
๐ฏ. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ
Create a routine that helps your nervous system wind down.
Sleep is your bodyโs nightly reset button.
๐ฐ. ๐๐
๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ (๐ ๐๐ง)
For many women, MHT can be a meaningful part of managing fatigue by replenishing whatโs declining. This is a personalized discussion with your healthcare provider, and may take time to get right.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ
Fatigue in perimenopause and menopause isnโt โin your head.โ
Itโs a real, physiological response to hormonal change, and there are effective ways to support your energy, strength, and well-being.
You donโt have to navigate this alone.
MFNL is here to help you understand whatโs happening to your body and what you can do to feel better.
