Menopause Symptoms- Are You Struggling?

by Deborah Maragopoulos FNP | Mar 22, 2021 | Menopause | 1 comment

Are You Struggling with Menopause Symptoms

Are you in perimenopause and still having periods, yet suffering from what seems like menopausal symptoms? Or are you postmenopausal and still suffering from lack of hormones? Let's talk about what your menopause symptoms might be, and how you can thrive instead of suffer.

There are over 40 symptoms that are related to menopause. All of the symptoms are the result of your sex hormones plummeting in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which affect every system in your body.

Menopausal symptoms can be categorized into five different categories:

Hypothalamic
Neurological
Connective Tissue
Gastrointestinal
Immune System

Hypothalamic Menopause Symptoms

The majority of menopausal symptoms are hypothalamic symptoms, meaning that when you're hormones bottom out, your hypothalamus becomes dysregulated. The common hypothalamic symptoms are hot flashes, because the hypothalamus controls your temperature, insomnia because your hypothalamus controls your circadian rhythm, memory loss because your hypothalamus controls your cognition, mood swings because your hypothalamus controls your moods, low libido because your hypothalamus controls your sex drive and your reproduction, increased stress response because your hypothalamus controls your adrenals. Also, there’s weight gain, because your hypothalamus controls your metabolism.

Neurological Menopause Symptoms

There's also neurological symptoms that come with menopause. This can cause increased pain, tingling, and electrical sensations. Your nervous system is dependent upon adequate sex hormones.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms

There’s gastrointestinal symptoms like constipation, indigestion, gallbladder issues, and increased GERD. Low sex hormones adversely affects function of your gut.

Connective Tissue Menopause Symptoms

There’s connective tissue symptoms, like changes in your skin, loss of muscle tone, osteoporosis and arthritis. Lack of sex hormones leads to loss of collagen and reduced ability to repair tissues.

Immune Symptoms

And there's immune symptoms. Yes, low sex hormones can affect your immune system, and you’re no longer able to fight off infections as easily. You forget the infections that you used to remember, like chicken pox, so you end up getting shingles, because you forgot how to fight off the varicella virus. You're more prone to getting cancers, because you don't have your sex steroids to help to modulate your immune function. You develop allergies to things you were never allergic to before. And your skin becomes hypersensitive with rashes, hives, and itching for no reason.

Menopause affects every system in your body.

The majority of these effects are modulated through your hypothalamus. Taking hormone replacement therapy can be a great option to mitigate the symptoms, but there are risks. That’s why it's so important to have a Menopause Action Plan, so you know exactly what your risk factors are, what your family history is, what kind of lifestyle changes you need to make, and how your genetics will come into play. Maybe you’ll discover that hormone replacement therapy isn’t the answer for you. Maybe you would prefer to have supplements and herbs or extra estrogen metabolism support to help control your symptoms.

It's really important that you understand what to expect before you enter the change of life. You may be in the middle of it, or in the post-menopause period when you’re going through what I call the second menopause. This is when you have menopausal symptoms all over again, like hot flashes, insomnia, moodiness, and more forgetfulness. It's because your adrenal glands are no longer doing their job, and you no longer have hormone support. Your adrenal DHEA can be converted into testosterone and estrogen, and your adrenals do make about 5% of the progesterone you need. So when they become defunct in your mid 60’s, it feels like menopause all over again.

Because of all these factors, you need a plan. Feel free to download my free Menopause Action Plan guide, and be ready to take control of the change.

Research Reference: Hypothalamic integration of immune function and metabolism, Research provides new insights into menopause and weight gain, Sexually Differentiated Neuron Populations in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus Contribute to Sex-Specific Regulation of Energy Balance.

*Statements not reviewed by the FDA.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can your hypothalamus cause weight gain?

Yes. The hypothalamus is the master regulator of metabolism, controlling how your body stores and burns energy through its signaling to the thyroid, adrenals, and pancreas. When the hypothalamus becomes dysregulated by chronic stress, poor sleep, inflammation, or blood sugar instability, it defends a higher weight "set point" — causing the body to hold onto fat regardless of diet or exercise. This makes hypothalamic dysfunction an upstream root cause of stubborn weight gain.

What is a weight set point and why won't mine move?

A weight set point is the body weight your hypothalamus works to defend, calibrated over time by stress, sleep, hormones, and inflammation. When you diet, the hypothalamus perceives scarcity and responds by slowing metabolism, increasing hunger hormones, and suppressing satiety signals to return you to that set point. This is why most people regain lost weight within two to five years of conventional dieting — the set point itself was never recalibrated, only temporarily overridden.

Why do I gain weight under stress even when I'm not eating more?

Chronic stress raises cortisol, which disrupts blood sugar regulation, promotes abdominal fat storage, and signals the hypothalamus that the body is under threat. In survival mode, the hypothalamus defends fat stores and slows metabolism — so weight can increase even without any change in calorie intake. The stress chemistry, not the food, is driving the weight gain, which is why stress reduction is essential to any lasting metabolic reset.

Why do I regain weight after stopping GLP-1 medications?

GLP-1 medications work peripherally on appetite and gastric signaling, but they do not address the underlying hypothalamic dysregulation that sets your defended weight. Because the hypothalamic set point is never recalibrated, the body resumes defending its original weight once the medication stops — leading to significant regain. Long-term success requires restoring hypothalamic regulation so the set point itself lowers, rather than relying on appetite suppression alone.

How long does it take to reset your metabolism?

Genuine metabolic recalibration takes a minimum of 90 days, because the hypothalamus needs consistent signals of safety and sufficiency before it will lower its defended set point. This differs from a diet, which produces temporary suppression the body quickly corrects. A 90-day reset typically moves through three phases: stabilizing stress chemistry (days 1–30), rebuilding metabolic efficiency (days 31–60), and lowering the weight set point (days 61–90).

Why does my thyroid feel slow even though my labs are "normal"?

Under chronic stress, the body converts thyroid hormone into reverse T3, which blocks active thyroid receptors and slows metabolism at the cellular level — even when standard lab values appear normal. This means you can experience genuine symptoms of slow metabolism, such as fatigue, cold intolerance, and brain fog, while your thyroid panel looks unremarkable. Addressing the upstream hypothalamic and stress signaling often improves thyroid conversion and symptoms.

Is stubborn weight gain a willpower problem?

No. Stubborn weight gain is a signaling problem, not a willpower problem. The hypothalamus governs weight through survival mechanisms that operate below conscious control — defending its set point by slowing metabolism and increasing hunger when it perceives threat. No amount of discipline can override this system; lasting change comes from restoring hypothalamic regulation through reduced stress, balanced blood sugar, restorative sleep, and targeted nutritional support.

About the Author - Deborah Maragopoulos FNP

Known as the Hormone Queen®️, I’ve made it my mission to help everyone - no matter their age - balance their hormones, and live the energy and joy their DNA and true destiny desires. See more about me my story here...