Are Certain Sounds Driving You Crazy?
Have you noticed as you’ve gotten older that you are more sound sensitive, or less sound tolerant? Maybe you’ve described it as “sound irritated,” in that certain sounds send you through the roof!? I certainly have. Turns out, this is a thing. There are two main categories when evaluating sounds and how they impact your body - Misphonia and Hyperacusis. Misophonia is an intense dislike or hatred of specific sounds…
Dry Mouth, TMJ, or Burning Tongue?
You would think the symptoms of this whole menopausal transition would stop with hot flashes or insomnia. But, nope. It turns out many women get all sorts of symptoms that impact their mouth, jaw, and oral microbiome. It turns out, both estradiol and progesterone play a role in the “gateway to the body” known as your mouth! Thankfully, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing some amazing integrative or holistic dentists who break down the stats, what they see in their office and most importantly, what you can do!
WTF Is A Hot Flash?
Isn’t it so rude when you’re sitting there minding your business and suddenly, out of nowhere, the surge of heat comes from your inner core!? Like…how? And why? You’re not alone. Studies estimate that over 70% of women going through the menopausal journey experience what’s called “vasomotor symptoms.” This is a fancy term for hot flashes and/or night sweats. In fact, some women experience these symptoms for YEARS - the average being 7.4 years depending on the woman. In this article, I cover…
Avoid Plastic? Over 400 Chemicals in Plastic Linked to Breast Cancer
My goal with my education is not to be all “doom and gloom.” Instead, I want to provide practical and tactical ways to be proactive about your health! This is one of them. Historically, it has been reported that hormones, especially estrogens, cause breast cancer. If you’ve been here awhile, you know I push back on that concept (heavily) as cancer is complicated. Estrogens can not possibly single handedly cause breast cancer. Turns out, I am right. In a 2024 Environmental Science and Technology Letters, the authors report finding 920 breast cancer-relevant chemicals. Of that number, 414 are found in plastics…
Heart Palpitations in Perimenopause?
Heart palpitations, fluttering, or skipped beats can be scary! It turns out, they can be a common symptom that occurs during the whole hormonal transition. According to this review, up to 42% of perimenopausal women and 54% of postmenopausal women report having palpitations. That's a lot! I’ve experienced them too. It was probably 2 years ago and BAM out of nowhere I started getting heart palpitations…
Vaginal Dryness and Sex: What Every Woman Needs to Know!
Like the popular 90’s song says, “Let’s talk about sex, baby! Let’s talk about you and me! Let’s talk about all the good things and the bad things…” Unfortunately, 10-50% of women can experience pain with sex or vaginal dryness as they move through the menopausal transition. It falls under the umbrella term, Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. This includes vaginal dryness (not just with sex but all the time), vulvar atrophy (become thin/dry), urinary incontinence (urge to go), and pain with sex. It’s not fair and no fun but there are definitely things you can do!
What Is Phase 3 Hormone Detox?
One of my absolute favorite topics in all of science is the detoxification of your hormones, specifically estrogens. Estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) generally go through 3 phases of breakdown in order to render them water soluble. This means you can then eliminate them through your kidneys into your urine or through your intestines into your stool. This is final step is known as phase 3 detoxification. It’s important this phase is working well as it gets your hormones OUT of the body similar to your sewer line drawing all the waste from your house...
DIM or Sulforaphane for Estrogen?
The answer is - it depends! First, this might sound greek if you’re not familiar with supplements or foods that support estrogen detoxification! I have another article on [DIM here](https://www.drcarriejones.com/articles/when-do-i-take-dim) to catch you up. It comes from mature broccoli and supports phase 1 estrogen detoxification. Sulforaphane predominantly comes from young broccoli sprouts and supports phase 2 estrogen detoxification! My personal favorite is to start with eating broccoli sprouts or using a broccoli sprout/sulforaphane product. This essentially works to open all the drains in your house so the water can drain out to the sewer line. In fact, sulforaphane seems to activate over 500 genes in your body..
Is the Ringing in Your Ears Getting Worse?
The other night I was laying bed and my ears started ringing…again. I’ve been noticing this is happening more like 1-2 times per week instead of once a month. I especially notice it at night when it’s quiet. It doesn’t last long but it’s annoying. Turns out, it’s not an uncommon symptom in perimenopause. I posted on Instagram about it and received a TON of comments and dms from women like you experiencing the SAME THING. Ringing in the ears is called tinnitus. It can sound like ringing, a high pitched beep, shushing, loud white noise, whooshing, buzzing, or a number of other descriptive factors. There are several known causes for it such as…
What Hormones Am I Taking?
You asked and I’m answering - “Dr. Carrie, are you taking hormones and if so, what ones?” The short answer is YES! I’m taking progesterone. I’m not yet taking estrogens or testosterone. I’m probably going to start DHEA. The long answer is…I am in my mid-40’s pushing into late 40’s. About 2-3 years ago, my sleep started to suck as did my mood prior to my periods. Given all my hormone training, I figured it was time for progesterone. My labs indicated that I did ovulate (release the egg), however the resulting progesterone production was not that great anymore. I began taking…
Phantom Smells are Annoying
I had my first phantom smell. Dr. LaKeischa warned me about them as a possibility but I didn’t realize it would temporarily make me feel CRAZY! Not long ago, I was in my bathroom and could smell a sewer smell. I asked my husband to see if he could smell it thinking we needed to fix the drain. Naturally, he couldn’t smell anything. “Smell harder!” I said as he’s sniffing as hard as he can while walking around the bathroom. “No, I don’t smell anything. It doesn’t smell like sewer gases.”
I was confused. It was SO CLEAR that the sewer gas smell was in my bathroom. A few days later while running errands out of my house, it happened again. Immediately I knew it was a phantom smell. <cue annoyed eye roll>
Annoying Intestinal Health Changes in Perimenopause
Here’s an interesting fact: You are more microbial cells than you are human cells in your body! Every time I read or hear that, it blows my mind. You have several microbiomes actually. In your intestines, on your skin, in your mouth and sinuses, and your vagina. Unfortunately, as you head into perimenopause and then menopause, the decline in estradiol really impacts it for the worse! It’s annoying and not fair.
What Is “Estrogen Dominance?”
The phrase, ‘estrogen dominance’ gets used a lot in functional, integrative, holistic, and naturopathic medicine. However, it is not well recognized in more conventional medicine despite the symptoms women are having. I’m here to help clear this up and provide more understanding about what it means!
When Do I Take DIM?
DIM (or diindolymethane) is a popular ingredient often added to supplements that focus on estrogen detoxification. It ultimately comes from the cruciferous family, such as cauliflower and broccoli, and supports phase 1 detoxification. What does that mean?
The estrogens in your body go through a multi-step detoxification process. The purpose of this is to break down the estrogens into products known as metabolites that must be neutral and water soluble. This makes it easier for your body to eliminate them in your stool or urine. Because it’s a multi-step process, there are some pathways that are more helpful to the body and others that have risks or side effects associated with them. Supplements and foods, such as DIM and broccoli, partially help this process BUT not everyone needs DIM!
Where are Estrogens Made?
Very recently I received a DM from a perimenopausal woman asking WHERE estrogens are made in the body once someone goes into menopause. This is a great question and one I wish was explained to us at a much younger age. We have a variety of estrogens in our bodies. The 2 big ones discussed often are estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2).