Few of us anticipate we’ll be experiencing perimenopausal symptoms in our thirties but at 39, Amber Woodcock is among the 12% of women who start perimenopause before the age of 41. 

“I felt a shift turning 39, some very strange things started to happen. Lots of things changed all at once; my body, my hair and most of all, my energy. Starting this spring, I was experiencing severe afternoon fatigue, brain fog and blurred vision.

I began feeling exhausted to the point where I had to cancel my gym membership as I simply wasn’t using it enough. I also had to give up my favorite activities including weight-lifting and salsa dancing, which I used to do religiously twice a week.”

A cosmetics doctor running her own busy practice, Amber had to adapt her work schedule to her newly depleted energy levels, moving clients around and switching to more flexible hours.

“I had to learn to take enforced rest and literally just sit on the sofa in order to restore my energy levels. I’ve also had to take afternoon naps from 4-5pm just to be able to cook dinner.”

Extreme tiredness is a widely experienced symptom, often signaling that the perimenopausal stage is beginning. In fact statistics show that 85% of women experience fatigue and low energy in perimenopause. 

Perimenopause brain and body symptoms 

The cognitive symptoms of perimenopause also carry their fair share of lifestyle interruptions. Brain fog, memory loss and a general feeling of not being on your A-game is a result of the depleting levels of estrogen which in the brain, stimulates new cell growth and encourages neural connection.

On the outside, this often presents as memory loss, confusion and most frustratingly, losing your train of thought mid-sentence. “I was having trouble concentrating, way more easily distracted and unable to multi-task which, as a doctor I was previously very good at. I was also waking up in the night very hot with damp sheets, having trouble regulating my body temperature, at a theater sweating, having to strip down to a vest when everyone else was comfortably in their jumpers.” 

‘Project Perimenopause’ starts with wellbeing 

Alongside the excellent benefits of HRT, perimenopause symptoms can often be alleviated with systematic lifestyle adjustments and investing more time and attention into nutrition and wellbeing, something that Amber was more than willing to do. “I take my health and wellbeing very seriously, I enjoy feeling and looking great. I have a very healthy diet. I don’t drink nor smoke. Over the last few years, I have cut out a lot of processed foods and I try to cook most things from scratch, even ice cream!”

Part of that positive health initiative for Amber was starting on the LYMA Supplement. Formulated with only peer-reviewed, patented ingredients all clinically proven to work at the daily four capsule dose, LYMA is a powerful, whole-system health supplement. Perhaps most critical for Amber, was the inclusion of ashwagandha; a potent botanical adaptogen proven to aid sleep. Containing a compound called triethylene glycol heavily implicated in transporting sleep signals to the body and brain, ashwagandha has been used for centuries by Ayurvedic practitioners to help support people’s sleep-wake cycles. Ashwagandha is also well documented to balance out the endocrine system which is responsible for hormone production and stabilizing reproductive cycles, making it an ideal supplement for perimenopause and menopause. 

In fact, Sensoril® Ashwagandha, the patented version formulated in the LYMA Supplement, is ashwagandha in its most bioavailable form and dosed at the clinically-backed daily dose of 250mg, has been proven to be supportive in improving up to 22 areas of health, menopausal lack of sleep included.

For years, taking over 60 tablets a day for a hereditary kidney disease, Amber is well versed in taking tablets, “Taking LYMA is super easy, the capsules are easy to swallow, no side effects and the pot is super cute so I leave it on my kitchen shelf which reminds me.”

And now rest, is unquestionably best

But the overwhelming benefit of LYMA for Amber has been improved sleep. “My sleep! After about five or six days my sleep improved and I checked the score on my fitbit hit 93 - that’s the highest it has ever been! Now four weeks on, I wake up feeling like I’ve had a good long sleep. I’m sleeping consistently well for a good amount of time too, usually 9 hours every night. As a result, I feel more relaxed about going to bed, as I know I will sleep well. I have been so happy with the improved deep sleep I have been getting.” 

Following on from the improved sleep and resultant mood were the impressive cognitive benefits of LYMA, “In the last couple of days I’ve realized an improvement in my mental clarity and during my working day I’m definitely more sharp.” 

Perimenopause is a long journey where symptoms can rise and fall and come back round again unannounced but with the consistent health benefits of LYMA, women like Amber can feel themselves that they’re keeping their minds and bodies in balance and life, roughly, on track.