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EmpowerND Podcast
Eps. 19 | The Estrogen Effect: Mood, Energy, Weight & More
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Estrogen impacts so much more than many of us realize—from mood and energy to weight, sleep, brain fog, hot flashes, and overall well-being.
In this episode of the EmpowerND Podcast, we are joined by Megan Gietzen, FNP at Urban Unwind, for a conversation about how changing estrogen levels can affect women through different stages of life, including perimenopause and menopause. Megan shares insight into common symptoms, what can feel “normal” but still be frustrating, and why women deserve better conversations around hormone health.
Whether you’re noticing changes yourself or simply want to better understand your body, this episode is a great place to start.
Learn more about Urban Unwind:
www.urbanunwindspa.com
Phone: 701-483-6666
Learn more about Women Empowering Women:
www.wewnetwork.org
The EmpowerND Podcast is hosted by Women Empowering Women, a membership based non-profit organization dedicated to connecting, supporting, and educating women. Through community, events, and resources, Women Empowering Women helps women grow, build confidence, and explore their potential, supporting them every step of the way as they become the best version of themselves. To learn more about Women Empowering Women’s projects or how to become a member, visit wewnetwork.org.
If you want to become a member or learn more, then visit www.network.org. Welcome back to the Empower Indie Podcast. Today we're diving into a topic that affects every woman, but honestly doesn't get talked about nearly enough, and that's estrogen. We hear the word all the time, usually tied to hormones or menopause, but estrogen plays a much bigger role in the body than most people realize. It impacts everything from our mood and energy to our skin, sleep, and even how clearly we think. So whether you're years away from menopause, right in the middle of it, or just starting to notice subtle changes, this conversation is really about understanding what's happening in your body and feeling more confident navigating it. So we're joined by Megan from Urban Unwine. Let's get started. Let's do it. So can you start by explaining what estrogen is and the role it plays in the body overall?
SPEAKER_01So estrogen is our main reproductive hormone as women. Um, and yeah, it supports pregnancies, it supports so many different things. It is one of our receptors in all of our cells, um, brain, heart, um, skin, hair, and nails, bones. Oh man, where do we end, right?
SPEAKER_00Yep. So why is estrogen so important for women's health beyond just reproduction?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think all we view it as is a reproductive hormone, right? But I think a lot of us are starting to open up our eyes and our ears really to what estrogen does in our body. So um it has protective mechanisms, so it protects our brain like 90% against dementia. And once we take that away from us is typically when we start to have some memory loss and issues like and cognitive issues. Um that's why a lot of women complain about brain fog, is because of the estrogen is getting a little lower. Um, it has a lot to do with our bones. It helps with the um building, building blocks basically of bones, osteoclasts. Um, and it um and it helps with our elasticity of our bones, um, helps with our hair, skin, and nails, right? Which of course is a main thing for women regardless. Um, but yeah, it helps with the skin barrier, which is one our first protection against the outside world, so um, which is a big deal, helps with the colon and colon cancer rates as well. So it decreases those. So it helps all of the protection of um of our microbiome in our entire gut and then in our um vaginal cavity and things. So um the list goes on and on. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It affects everything.
SPEAKER_01Everything. Yeah. Joints. I didn't mention joints, it helps uh with the collagen and the lastin in our joints, and that's why a lot of us get stiff as we get older. And yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00So how does estrogen naturally fluctuate throughout a woman's life?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, so yeah, I mean, uh estrogen doesn't really come onto the scene until we are going through puberty, right? So um it starts to come in on the scene then, rises during those years. Um, it's at its peak during pregnancy. Um, and then in um it kind of stabilizes after that, and then perimenopause it is erratic and it's all over the place. Um, and then menopause, of course, it just drops off the face of the earth. So it is um, it is kind of uh, it's a huge cycle and it's always um it's always a guessing game. But yeah.
SPEAKER_00So what does balanced or steady estrogen feel like in everyday life for women?
SPEAKER_01I think that it feels, I mean, that's a really great question because like again, it would be really nice if we had some wearable data. And I think there is coming out with that to see exactly how we feel when our estrogen levels are very stable, but I think it's when we feel our best, right? Yeah. Um, it is it's when everything is in balance, the progesterone is there, the estrogen is there, we are healthy as far as working out, sleeping, doing all of the things. Um, and it's just yeah, when we felt our best, whenever that happens to be for you.
SPEAKER_00The mental clarity, the you know, the brain fog kind of lips. Yeah, those are yes. So study estrogen. What does it look like? When estrogen levels are stable, what are some signs women might notice physically and emotionally?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I think like just feeling the greatest, right? Um, like they are not quick to react, they um are level headed, um, they have the energy, they have the ambition, they have um no aches and pains, or at least little aches and pains. Um, they are sleeping well, there's you know, just everything feels in zinc, really.
SPEAKER_00So as estrogen begins to decline, especially during perimenopause and menopause, what are the most common symptoms that women experience?
SPEAKER_01Mood changes for sure is the number one thing. So I feel a lot of women come in complaining of anxiety. Um, you know, all of a sudden I'm just unable to handle things anymore, quick to snap, irritability. Um, you know, they're they feel like a nag and they're just, you know, they're not themselves again. Um, they just can't seem to calm down or stop snapping at everybody. Um, when that is, it's it's a different and sudden change in their mood and and um and emotional liability. Um, that's number one, I would say. Number two is um the lack of sleep from from the low progesterone and the estrogen combined, um, and um which then just perpetuates the issue with the irritability in the emotional cycle. So yeah, anxiety is probably number one. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I would think so too. Uh, what causes hot flashes and night sweats?
SPEAKER_01So that is um really from the brain, right? So, like our our hormone regulation and all of that comes from the hypothalamus in our brain. Um, and so when that starts to decline in age, um there's vasodilation that happens in the rest of our body. Um, and estrogen, the hypothalamus is really sensitive to estrogen and estrogen to the hypothalamus, they work together. Um, so when our estrogen starts to become erotic, is when the vasodilation happens and then we get those vasomotor symptoms, which are hot flashes and night sweats.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So why does sleep disruption become so common?
SPEAKER_01That is because people I get all of the time women coming in and be like, I have to change my pajamas two or three times during the night because they are just sweating, right? And that is mainly because of the hot flashes and the night sweats that come from their erratic estrogen. Um, and and that yeah, that's where it comes from. So the sleep is awful. And then when our estrogen is high, our progesterone is low, and then we can't sleep. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Brain fog is something many women mention. What's actually going on there?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So our our estrogen helps with all of our brain cells. So, like I said, it has that protective mechanism around it. It helps with clarity, mental sharpness, um, yeah, all of that. So when our estrogen is kind of all over the place and mostly low, um, we get that brain fog and we just can't think of things like as quick as we could before. Um, and that's really one of the first things that kind of get to women as well. So that the emotional liability and then the brain fog and memory issues. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So how does low estrogen impact mood, things like irritability or emotional swings?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I mean, it's it is, it's an emotional swing, right? So it's high and then it's low and then it's high and it's low. And we it's so rare when you get into that perimenopause phase that your estrogen is actually steady. And so yeah, your your body doesn't really know what to do at that point, right? So it's like it's too much, it's too little, and a lot of the symptoms are the same.
SPEAKER_00And even throughout the day, like it doesn't have to be like Yeah, absolutely. It's not like weeks at a time, it's like hours.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's why I'm like, oh, wearable data would be so nice. So you can see exactly where you're at when you're having these symptoms, you know. Um, yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_00So sometimes with these symptoms, joint aches can surprise people. So how is estrogen connected to joint and muscle health?
SPEAKER_01So it helps um with our collagen and our elasticity in that lubrication of our joints. So when that's down, that's why a lot of women who are perimenopausal, postmenopausal, menopausal get frozen shoulder, is because all of that is gone. Um, so we don't have that lubrication anymore.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so why do so many of these symptoms seem unrelated yet stem from the same hormonal shift?
SPEAKER_01Isn't that crazy? Because estrogen is everywhere. Yeah. It's everywhere. I mean, our hormones play a huge role in every single system of our body. Um, and so yeah, we don't we don't give it enough credit as we should. I mean, even today I had a patient who came in with a whole cardiac history um or sorry, cardiac workup, and it was all negative, and it's because her estrogen is low. Right. You know, and so, and of course, we want to go through those things. We want to, of course, rule out the worst first. Um, but yeah, it could have saved her so much time and trouble. Right. If um if we could have just really linked it to the thing that's around everywhere. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yep. And I I actually read this story about um, you know, a long time ago when women would go through perimenopause and menopause, a lot of them would end up in psychwords.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah, they that's where psychosis came from. Because that they were psychotic. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And it just really makes you think like, oh gosh, when um I mean, and it's even happening now, right? Where alcoholics and we're like a lot of women are using other substances to get through that period of life, which because they don't understand what's happening.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01They can't cope enough, right? Like they don't know that the anxiety, the sleeplessness, the the erratic behavior and thoughts are really just because of a hormonal shift and imbalance. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And they just know what to do about it.
SPEAKER_01They don't, yeah. Yeah, which is why we're talking, right? Just let's get the word out. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So can lifestyle changes make a meaningful difference in managing low estrogen symptoms?
SPEAKER_01And I think that depends on the patient, right? Um, so like the the thing with hormones is it's all nuanced, it's all a case-by-case basis, and um, and I think that depends on the patient because I'll have people who breeze right through and they have no idea that they're even through it, you know, until they don't have a period. Um, and I have people who notice it, you know, exactly to the day 15 years before and they are suffering for 15 years. So I think it does matter. Um, regardless, lifestyle changes are gonna make a difference, right? Keeping our blood sugar balanced are I think what we miss a lot too in um just education in general is that our metabolic health is so important to the rest of our body. You know, we're finding out that um our metabolic system and our reproductive system are so close together, one affects the other one very much so. And even now that our neurological system is so close to our metabolic system and dementia and Alzheimer's are are a metabolic disease. Um so I think really just keeping our weight in a healthy range, eating appropriately, exercising, sleeping, all of those things, and that blood sugar control does so much more than we than we give it a credit for. Yeah. Yep.
SPEAKER_00So when should someone consider talking to a provider about their symptoms?
SPEAKER_01Oh, I think right away. Yeah. I think you try those lifestyle changes first, right? Do that, absolutely. Um, but I think right away, we um over at Urban and and I'm I'm hoping most places, you know, we we don't give just a pill for a no. We want to get to the root cause, of course, but but there are supplements that we can actually um direct as well as in addition to the bioidential hormones or anything prescribed. So it's not just prescription medications.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. What do you wish more women understood about estrogen and menopause? That you're not crazy.
SPEAKER_01You're not belonging to sleep. Yeah, you're maybe a little crazy, but there's ways that we can fix it. You're not crazy. Advocate for yourself. Talk to your husband about what's going on or you know, your significant other, because I feel like a lot of that is so misunderstood. And you know, my wife is crazy. No, she just needs some help and she needs a little love and an extra hug. And then to come see us, right? Like that's what she means.
SPEAKER_00Something that I think we kind of missed was the vaginal dryness issue. Yeah. And so that's something that that a lot of times causes so many issues in relationships too, because it's oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I just had a patient the other day who who had extreme vaginal dryness, and so it hurt every time that they had sex. And I mean, they've been married for 30 something years, you know. So, um, and she's like, I just I figured out it's a foreplay issue, and it's because I'm so dry and I was just ready to get it over with because it hurts so bad. And it's it's a simple fix. It's a simple fix, and you just need to talk about it. And I I tell my patients all the time, there's no such thing as TMI here. Like, I want to know everything, I talk about it all day long. It's okay to talk.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And they don't realize it's a hormonal shift. Yeah, right. There's nothing wrong with it.
SPEAKER_01So there's a lot of like guilt and yeah, shame around it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it doesn't need to be. Yeah. Yeah. So for someone just starting to notice changes, what's the first step you'd recommend? Talk to people.
SPEAKER_01Talk to people, talk to your mom, talk to your sisters, talk to your girlfriends, like find out what everybody's going through. Because I do find a lot of people are going through the exact same thing. And just, you know, I don't know if it's a a stigma around her or what it is, but just don't really want to talk about it. I mean, it is awkward, right? Right. Um, but no, we just need, I think, talk to people because then you find out where those providers are that are giving help and and what people have tried and what is really helping and um and so forth. So yeah, talk about it.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much for being here and sharing your insight with us today. This was such an important and empowering conversation. And to everyone listening, we're so glad you joined us. If this episode resonated with you, be sure to share it with someone who might need help help too. Until next time, stay informed, stay empowered, and we'll see you on the next Empower Indy podcast.