Perimenopause: A New Chapter with Kim Clijsters

Welcome to beyond the Cycle, the podcast that's here to help you take control of your hormonal health and feel good every day. No matter where you are in life, whether you are thinking about quitting the pill, navigating a regular cycle, have no cycle at all, or transitioning into menopause, this is the perfect place for honest conversations and expert insights.

A lot of women are very judgmental on other women. Right. And so the fact that you can openly share how you feel without being judged feels really nice. So.

So get ready for some real talk. This is beyond the cycle. We are beyond excited to have Kim Kleestrix on the podcast today. She's a Belgian professional tennis player and one of the most accomplished athletes in the sport. She won the US Open three times. This time, she's not only here to talk about tennis, but also about something equally as important. Perimenopause. Welcome, Kim.

Thank you. Thanks for the introduction and thanks for having me.

A pleasure. Sitting with us as well is Morgan Lehten, co founder of Good Woman. She will share her expertise and provide valuable background information on this topic. Welcome, Morgane.

Hello. Thank you. I'm so honored to have you, Kim, at this table. I'm super excited. Also a bit nervous. Let's do it.

It's amazing that we're here together in New York, as all of us are originally from Belgium. So thank you for being here with us today. How is New York life treating you?

I had the closest drive, I guess, Right. You guys all flew in for this. And for me, I'm in New Jersey, so I'm about an hour, 15 minutes by car. So I love, love coming to the city. Love, you know, especially on a day like this. It's sunny out. It's, you know, you get to walk around in a beautiful neighborhood and experience the adventures of New York City. And, yeah, it's. It's a lot of fun.

And what projects or activities are you currently focused on?

Yeah, there's quite a few, which is what I love. The role of. Of a mother is probably my biggest role currently. Yeah, some different projects going on. Starting some tennis retreats, invested in some property, in some property that we're renovating where I want to do some retreats in the future where we play some sports, tennis, pickleball, but also focus on, well, being mental. Well, being saunas and all that stuff. So a lot of things happening.

Okay. So apart from all the projects that you're doing, you. You also recently shared up a personal story online about where you discovered that you were Entering perimenopause story really caught on in the Belgian media. Did you expect that?

I did not. It was such an. On my walk, I kind of think about things or want to share some of the things that I have been listening to or a podcast that I listen to. And there's a few people that I've been following for many years already and kind of follow their life. And then, yeah, on one of the big podcasts that one of the doctors that I followed, she spoke about perimenopause and some of the symptoms. And I was like, this sounds very familiar. A few things. And so, yes, I just started recording it and didn't really think about the consequences of it until, you know, pretty soon after I started getting so many reactions from women from all around the world and that were sharing their experiences and thanking me. Almost like to talk about it openly, which is weird, I feel, because I don't have a problem with it, like, sharing my issues or. So, yeah, it's important to be able to, especially with women that we get to share amongst each other the struggles that we have. I feel like we always try to be strong, and you always have to be the strong mom or the strong, like, everything. And so to sometimes share your vulnerabilities, I guess, gets appreciated a lot by other women as well.

It's still a taboo then. If people are so surprised that you're talking about this.

I mean, the fact that it got so much attention, I do think it is something unusual still. I mean, I noticed with, you know, the girlfriends that I. Or the relationships that I've built here, it's been a lot. There's some older women, and we've been very open to sharing those things, which is great, right? It's. I'm learning from them, but. And they. Yeah, they're advising me certain things. They're, you know, giving me some of their experience, doctors that they've worked with. So with me, I feel like I'm at the start of it. I feel I'm. I'm enjoying learning about it, learning kind of new things that are happening to my body, emotions. It's not always maybe probably the funnest for the people around me. But, you know, with my girlfriends, we have this thing called. Yeah, the Hulk came out yesterday. We say, like, the Hulk. Like, I'm like, what do you mean? She's like, I don't know what was wrong with me, but everything that anybody was doing in my house, like, even if my husband was just breathing, I couldn't stand it. So it's like, really funny to share some of these stories. And. Yeah, so it's without any shame, without any judgment. I think that's the most important thing. I think a lot of women are very judgmental on other women. Right. And so the fact that you can openly share how you feel and what's happening and your struggles and your doubts and without being judged, it all being received with a very open mind. And it feels really nice. And it's a nice. Yeah, yeah.

You learn a lot from anecdotal experience, from sharing it with. With your friends, I assume.

Yeah, I do.

Yeah.

And it just makes you feel good, right? Like, it's easier to share it with, you know, with a girlfriend who's a little bit older, who's gone through some of these things, who can understand it. Then to start to explain to my husband, you know, like, what is happening, like, why am I feeling this way and talk about my estrogen levels or whatever. Like. Yeah, I'm sure it's not interesting for him either, but he has to love. It's fun for, you know, it's nice to share that. And you know, with girls like my girlfriends, we go on walks and we, we talk, and it always ends up talking about how we're feeling, how we're dealing with certain things and. But it's. Yeah, it's nice to connect like that. What.

What is happening in our bodies? What is perimenopause? What is menopause? Can you give us some background information on those two topics, Morgan?

Yes, because I think most people are familiar with the word men. The word perimenopause is pretty new for a lot of women. And that's why I think it's super important to talk about it so that women recognize themselves. And by breaking taboos, you break down the shame so that people feel not alone in their situation. So with perimenopause means really the transition to menopause. While menopause is when you haven't had for 12 months your periods in a row. So it means that your periods completely stopped. And that's because there was a drop of estrogen and progesterone. And it also means if you don't have your period anymore, you don't ovulate anymore. So it means that your body doesn't make any progesterone anymore. And also your estrogen levels are really low while in the perimenopause. You have really. You have a lot of fluctuations. Yeah, intense hormonal fluctuations of estrogen. And that's why you experience like Hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue, brain fog and all these things. And that's the thing that women don't know because often we say like, ah, my body stopped producing estrogen. No, in perimenopause you have really high peaks of estrogen and then go suddenly down. And that's why you feel sometimes like, what's going wrong with me?

Yeah, yeah.

What were the first signs for you?

Brain fog? Okay, extremely. To a point where I'm in a conversation sometimes doing an interview and losing my thought completely. And like I had like, I felt like holes like Swiss cheese, like my brain, like holes in my brain, my brain. And, and, or talking to my kids or my husband about like some serious things. And all of a sudden, like, what, like what was I talking about? Like, where did I want to go with this? And yeah, so very strange. To a point where I started thinking, unfortunately, like, my mother in law, she just got diagnosed with Alzheimer's and like seeing some of the things that she's dealing with, I was like, what is happening? Like, am I. Do I have issues with my brain? And then of course started connecting some dots.

And yeah, is it similar with like, I had also brain fog when I was like pregnant, like postpartum, just after giving birth. Is it the same feeling or is it totally like something new that you experience?

So I never experienced that during my pregnancies, but to me it was a very clear. And it happened recently, like earlier this year, like last six, seven months I would say. And yeah, just literally starting a sentence and then wait, what, what did I want to say? Like really having that kind of forgetfulness almost. And it's not all the time. It happens once in a while and it happened more frequently a few months ago. And that's why I started like even looking into it even more and learning about it, reading about it, listening to podcasts. One of the things that I didn't know is that menopause is literally, it's one day, basically, right. Is where you have like you said 12 days of 12 months without a period and then you go into postmenopause. And I never thought about that. I thought menopause is what women are in for almost half of their life. And so yeah, it's been so interesting to learn. And I come from a sport where, you know, women's sport is we have to focus on our health and there's a lot of, you know, we travel with doctors and physios on tour and it's.

So you really, you were also aware on what's happening in your body, I imagine. Yeah.

We always had to kind of talk to them about, like, was our period regular? You know, we had to deal with jet lag all the time, intense workouts, intense training, different foods all around the world, stress, you know, pressure that you're dealing with. And so we've always had to learn from a young age to communicate and to think about our periods. I'm lucky that my mom, from an early age, like, she had a really good. Or she still has a really good gynecologist in Belgium that she took us to. My sister and I took us to when we were. I think when I went the first time when I was 16, 15 years old, and I felt so. Like, she was such a great gynecologist, like, open to talk about anything. Questions that we had. So it just felt a part. Like, it felt normal to talk about it. And it was a part. It was not something to be ashamed of. And so I feel very lucky that I was able to experience it that way, that there was no kind of trauma behind, you know, or fear or behind a period or talking about it with anybody. Even with my dad, I would talk about it at times, which was. Yeah. Which was crazy.

Yeah, it's important. And also the fact that you. I don't know, how did you handle your perimenopausal symptoms now? Did you go to a doctor? Because with Good Woman, we did some research, and we did a research with over 2000 women, and we asked a lot of questions about perimenopause. And one of the results is that it's only 3 out of 10 women go to the doctor to speak about their perimenopausal symptoms. So I'm wondering, how did. What did you do when you discovered, like, okay, I have brain fog. What did you do?

I'm still. I haven't gone to a doctor. I've talked to some doctors. I'm at that stage where I want to start with, like, healthy supplements. My whole life I've taken supplements. I never took medic medication, painkillers. I was. I stayed away from it because I really wanted to feel how my body was feeling and not kind of disguise it with medication. That's kind of my personal view on things. Same now, like, with perimenopause, I want to take supplements. I want to experience how I'm feeling on the supplements when I'm not on the supplements and really learn to notice how my body reacts. And I don't like to take control of it myself. But that doesn't mean That I don't. I'm not going to go to one.

I definitely want to also maybe depending on because.

And what kind of doctor, too, I think, I think.

Where do you go?

Yeah, yeah, that's. That's more the issue. Right. I've. I mean, I talked to my friends in Belgium and one of my girlfriends who has been really struggling more mentally, a lot of anxiety, and she got put on antidepressants, you know, and where, of course, I'm not a doctor, but I do believe, like, perimenopause causes a lot of issues. And from frozen shoulder, like, I never even experienced, like, would think that, you know, joint pains or certain aches and pains in your body can be related to perimenopause. And I think just to keep that in the back of your mind now, like when you get to a certain age and you feel like some things are changing, and a lot of people say, oh, wait, once you hit 40, that's when things go downhill. But there's a connection, right? Especially for women, once you get to that age, that hormonally a lot of things start changing. But it doesn't mean it has to go downhill from there.

Yeah, no, I think it's just like a new chapter. And the better you prepare for it, the better the story is going to be. But it's crazy because also in the research we did, so you have all. Actually, the symptoms are endless for perimenopause. It's not only brain fog, but you also have mood swings, you have panic attacks, you have fatigue, vaginal dryness, dry skin. Yeah, I think the list is super, super long. And often people are misdiagnosed because, for example, if women have, like, they feel fatigued or brain fog or anxious, then they get like, the label of burnout or depression. Why? Actually, there's a big link with the perimenopausal symptoms, but often they don't recognize it as a perimenopausal symptom. And I, I understand where it comes from because when you go to a doctor, then you cannot see through a blood test that you are in perimenopause. Because if you take, like I said before, you have high peaks and lows of estrogen. And if you take a blood test when your estrogen is on a baseline, then the doctor won't see anything. So that's really important that you are aware of. Okay, how come I feel different? How come I think different? How come I. Yeah, my skin is different. And if you are more aware of these symptoms, then it's easier, I think, to, to speak about it and to tell your doctor about it so that you can say like, okay, maybe it's perimenopause.

At what age should we be more aware of that? So Kim, you mentioned your age in the video.

If you're okay.

Kim is 41. Is that. What age should we be aware of those symptoms? Is 41 an early start? Is.

We say that perimenopause can start also like around your 30s. I think that's really early and also more exceptional. Around 40 is when perimenopause can start. But what we know is like menopause is the average of 51. And for some women, perimenopause can just be a few months, but for other women it can be years. So yeah, depending on who you are. Everyone is unique, of course. And yeah. So if for you it started like a few months ago, do you still feel the same or.

No, no, it was, it was a, like, I felt like it was a flare up of certain moments of like more irritable, which is like, I feel like I'm usually pretty chill and low key. And then like, like I said, like a lot of things would just annoy me, like irritate me. And it could be from stuff laying around the house where the kids are not cleaning up to like, yeah, whatever, like stressing over I can't have food ready in time. And I got like, everything feels just more intense, which was strange. And. But it's not all the time like that. It's just little moments of. So yeah, my kids, they say, how do they react? My son, I have an 11 year old, and he says, because he knows what, like closer to my period. I like, I love like a good piece of chocolate. And he goes, mom, when are you in that mood again when you like to eat chocolate? And then I'm like, see, like, yeah, they learn through seeing my experience, right? And then they get to have a little more chocolate than normal as well. And they're like, oh, we love mom when she's on her chocolate. Otherwise. Yeah, but it's, it's a fun way of. And we laugh at it. And it's, yeah, it's okay. Like, it's, it's open. Like, we talk about it very openly, the time of the month where I'm a little bit more tired or where it's okay. Like, I'll explain it to my kids. Like I said, listen, I need to like take a little nap or I want to go do my sauna now. Like, I'M or go to bed at 8:30, you know, which is more frequent now than it ever used to be.

But what I always say to people, when you have like a natural cycle, normally the first week from menstruation till ovulation, you feel you have more energy. So it's perfect to use that energy for others because as women we like to give to others. Then the, the two other weeks after ovulation, it's like, keep that energy for yourself, so do stuff for yourself. And I like to have that balance. Like the two first weeks energy for someone else and then the two last weeks, it's like, it's for me, it's me time. And we should think more like that. I think certainly if you are in that premenstrual phase or the week before your period, just take good care of yourself so that you feel good in the other phases of your cycle.

Yeah, no, it's true. But you still have your responsibilities too, right? So to find a good balance during the day, where I can say, okay, if I wait up early enough, I can get a lot of time. Like, or I can already prepare dinner or make like soup and get dinner ready so that when the kids come out of school, I'm not rushing into, you know, driving them from one place to another where I feel stressed about am I going to make it on time or they still need to eat, like, just to be like a little bit more prepared. Like, I love to get up early and I get most of my, my things done early in the morning. If I want to go for a walk, if I want to go do meditation, if I want to do workout, I try to get most of it done. Like I wake up early, 10 to 5, 5 o' clock. I' and, and yeah, but it's, it's my favorite time of the day and then I'm a better mother because of it. When, when the kids come out of school, like a lot more is done. I don't have to rush. When everything comes together. My whole career, I where whatever part of the world I was, like, I would go and try different things. I would try reiki massage, I would do meditation, try different yoga techniques. Like I, I did so many different things which now help me to know, like, oh, like I'm feeling a little bit off here. Oh, I'm gonna go and get, do, do a longer meditation or I'm gonna go do a sauna or I'm gonna, you know, so, so many different things that I've learned throughout my career that were very useful for my tennis or to recover from playing that now I can use.

To recover from perimenopause.

Yeah. To recover from seriously like the. The daily stresses or. Or yeah. Stay well and healthy.

The driving force behind this podcast is Good Woman. Good Woman is your trusted source for hormonal health support, offering education, expert guidance and supplements. From day one, they've been more than just products. They've created a community where women can openly discuss personal and often taboo questions. You did so many things in your career to benefit it. Did you also track your period to.

No, not back. I mean I was young when I went on tour, so I was a teenager and experimenting too. Had my boyfriend who was also playing on tour, like we traveled together. So my mom was like. My parents were very, very nervous about, you know, make sure she takes birth control and with jet lag. And I think I did it for two months, forgot it like 12 times. You know, like was so bad at keeping track of it and having the discipline to take it every day. So that was not for me. And just to learn about the different techniques or the different anti conceptions that were available. I had very, very heavy periods when I was playing early on in my career.

How did you deal with that?

It was hard at times, but.

Although.

I had heavy bleeding, always kind of like low in iron, so fatigue was a lot of times an issue. I had some like iron injections that they used to do back then, but I never really never had like mood swings which was I think good for me on court to not have to deal with that.

That's good because then your self confidence, it's important. I think if you play an important match that you have like that you're self confident and that you're not doubting about yourself, like I'm not good enough.

Or I mean the doubt was definitely there at times. I'm not gonna say, but it's not that I felt like, oh, I can't play today because of my period. Sensitive breasts was an issue at times. So making sure I had a good sports bra that was strong and kept everything in place and yeah, just I mean important again to talk about, you know, talk about it with your doctor. Yeah, there were people on the WTA tour that were the physios where you could, where you could share your issues with. But like to go back to your question, like tracking like the way like I see my daughter do it on an app and I don't, and I still don't. So I'm more of a. I know I feel when I'M close to having my period, and I just. Yeah, feel it. Little aches and pains or little, you know, food triggers or.

No, apps or. No.

Yeah.

It can be also useful for women who are maybe going through perimenopause, because when you go to perimenopause, you have more irregular cycles, so that it can be useful to track your cycle and to see those differences. And then, yeah, you can also sometimes add your mood swings or your brain fog and all these kinds of symptoms in those apps so that you have a good understanding of. Okay, where am I in my cycle and what changed throughout my cycles? Yeah, highly recommend.

No, I definitely need to do that. I'm also not a person. I don't always like to have my phone with me, so I still like to write in a diary or keep a calendar.

You don't need an app. Or maybe pen and paper can also be something you can use.

Science is evolving because the U.S. national Women's Soccer team won the World cup, and they tailored the training according to their menstrual cycle. So individual for each player. So it's a part of a growing strategy in sports science, and it's recognized how hormonal fluctuations can impact performance and recovery. Right, Morgan?

Yeah, indeed. And I'm wondering, have you heard about the fact that you can train according to your cycle, or is that, like, new information for you?

No, I have heard about it. I never used it during my career, which is unfortunate because I do think, you know, I've definitely pushed myself where you feel like, oh, I need to be disciplined. I can be tired. I have to push through it. But it's really important. And even now when I'm working out, I'm probably thinking about it more than I did when I was a professional athlete. But it's great to hear. I love that. I'm a mother of a teenager who's 16 years old, and I think just to be able to say, listen, it's okay. You don't have to push yourself today. Go get a massage. Let's book that in. Let's go for a walk, take a bath. During certain times of the cycle, you don't always have to be on.

On, on. Yeah, no. And that's so important because it's that also your body needs more time to restore the week before your period. So if you force yourself, like, go for a run or, like, do an intense workout, it can be negative for your body.

I feel like you drain, like, you deplete yourself more of the good stuff that you need to be on point. Okay. When you have games and you can't always schedule, but whatever you have in your control, I think it's important to, during certain weeks of the month to really focus on being kind to yourself and calm and not push your body physically all the time.

Yeah, no, indeed.

Would you have done things differently in the past if you had this knowledge when you.

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think so. That's the great part about getting old. You become wiser and smarter. And the good thing about being young too, is that you recover faster. Right? Like, I never. I mean, now when I'm traveling, flying is like, ugh, like it. I'm exhausted from, you know, from a long trip and whereas before I couldn't wait to get on a plane and be in a different continent and wake up in a different city. And it was so exciting back then, but now it's like, yeah, I need more time to.

Yeah.

And I want my routines and I want my saunas and I want my red light and all the things that I do, but it's, yeah, yeah, I want to be home.

Other athletes have also spoken about some. Sometimes you have to wear white during certain tournaments, and that can be difficult to manage. So you have the wearing white, the managing cramps. Like, how did you deal with that during important matches?

I mean, it was always a little bit of a fear, right? Hoping nothing bad happens when you're out on center court of Wimbledon where you know, you have to wear all whites and they adjusted the rule, changed it y to that you were actually able to wear black undershorts under your skirt, which. Which is a big deal, unfortunately. It is a big deal, but because.

You were really famous for your. How do you call it?

Like, my splits.

Yes, I can imagine that if you're on your period with like.

Yeah, surprisingly, that never happened. So, yeah, I got lucky, I think.

So for our listeners, if they want to optimize their performance in sports or their training to their cycle, how would they have to go about that?

Well, do know that again, you have the phase before your ovulation and then after your ovulation and before ovulation. So in the follicular phase, it's more easy to build muscles to restore. So then you can really choose. Like, for intense workouts, you can use heavy weights, you do hit sessions, cardio, and so on. While during the premenstrual phase, your energy also turns inwards, you will feel that you may be a bit more. You feel fatigue and so on. So listen to your body. Don't force Yourself and really also take the time to restore, store or look, for example, to have a good intake of, well, it's always important to have a good intake of proteins. I think as women, we don't have enough proteins. So certainly there, if you want to restore, well, proteins. Magnesium can be really beneficial. It's not to use as an excuse like, okay, I cannot do any sports. Or if you have a competition, it's like, oh, no, sorry, I cannot do it. No, you can do it. But then you can prepare yourself by training better according to your cycle. And also like nutrition, Nutrition is also key.

That's one of the big things that I'm really trying to focus on at the moment is making sure that, that like, even though I get up early, like, I'm the last person to have breakfast, like, I wait till everything is taken care of, the kids are off to school, my husband's like, off to work, like, and that I clean the kitchen and then I'll sometimes pick whatever's left over, like to really make a good habit of. Okay, I'm gonna sit down, I'm gonna eat what I need to eat. Like at this stage of my menstrual cycle, like, what's important for me to eat, what kind of food do I need? Enough protein, which is something that was always kind of important for me for my sport. But to be able to now think about it as I'm getting older, how important it is just for my general health and well being is a different kind of way of thinking. Yeah.

Because also when you age as a woman, you need more vitamins and minerals and also proteins. In other episodes, we're talking about breakfast. So I'm curious, what do you eat as breakfast?

I need a lot of variety. So this morning I made purple sweet potatoes. Potatoes with some red pepper onion, and I sauteed two eggs.

Oh, wow. So also savory breakfast for you? Yeah, yeah, that's it.

Yeah, most of the time. Sometimes in the weekend I'll do like a little bit more of a. We call it a smorgasbord here in the States. But I'll try to add some, like, I'll make some French toast or like, things like that. But yeah.

Are you very aware of taking care of yourself for your future self? What do you think about.

About the future?

Where do you see yourself and your help you and your journey in the future?

I mean, for me. Future, Yeah, I, I've learned through my sport not to think too far ahead, to really try to stay in the moment, which is kind Of a. What I still like to do. To me, it's important that I can still. If my daughter says, hey, mom, can you play defense on me when she's playing basketball? That I can do that physically, the.

Position is still on.

I want to be able to do that. Yeah. To have enough that I need to beat her. Not at all. But I don't want to be the mom that's like, no, no, I can't do that. If I want to go cycling, I want to be able to do that. I want to be able to go lifting. I want to be able to dance. I want to, you know, like, normal things that I'm lucky that my sport hasn't taken away any of my physical. I have some herniated disc and stuff, but nothing that kind of stops me from doing the things that I want to do, which is great.

What are the things that you do on the daily to maintain that healthy routine and lifestyle?

So I start with drinking my lemon water and some turmeric or ginger. That's like my go to. Like, I don't eat anything before I do that. Then I have a red light therapy light in my bathroom that when I'm kind of dry brushing my skin, I turn that on and then I go probably get ready. And depending on. I go to the gym. My husband's school, they have a gym on the bottom. So we run to the school. A lot of times we do it together, which is nice to be able to kind of share that together. And sometimes I do a walk in the morning with the dog or without the dog, depending if he's still asleep or not. And then get ready Right. For the kids, make sure that everything is done, and then fit my breakfast in there somewhere.

What is the skin brushing?

Yeah, just like. It's like this brush that I have that I use every morning where I just kind of of go over my. Yeah. Start with the ankles, work your way up. Arms always kind of towards the heart. Get your lymph nodes up and running and. Oh, wow.

You do it every day?

Every morning. I like everything for a long time for. Wow.

What are the benefits of it?

You know, activating the lymph nodes, kind of getting good circulation. Yeah.

How long have you been doing that?

Long time since I've probably. I did my first health retreat when I was 17 in Australia and it was something that they taught us to do there and I've ever since. Yeah. Oh, wow.

Let's. Let's try it.

Yeah. So fun. It's. It's. It feels really Good.

May I be supposed to ask you if you're taking hormonal contraception at the moment?

I'm not.

No. Not. Okay.

And I'm very happy I won't have to do that. So since probably my second child, I've been off everything and I've never felt better.

Okay. Because also concerning the perimenopause, taking hormonal contraception can delay or make it harder to.

No, I don't know if it's gonna delay or not. But what I know is that when you take hormonal contraception, you will not know when you are in menopause. Because, for example, if you take the pill, then you have your bleedings because and week that you don't take the pill, you have kind of withdrawal bleeding, so you don't notice that you are in menopause. Also, some symptoms, such as brain fog and mood swings can be suppressed because it also blocks your natural hormonal patterns. So. Yeah. And then when you stop taking the pill, then it's like, oh, okay, I am in menopause. And then it can sometimes hit harder because every day the synthetical estrogen that you are taking suddenly is totally gone. Because also during menopause, your ovaries don't produce estrogen anymore. So if you don't have the synthetical estrogen and your own estrogen, then, yeah, it can be really hard, I think. Yeah.

I have friends that really, like, really dislike having their period. And they'll try. They'll keep taking birth control. Like, they'll keep taking it so they don't have it. And I'm almost like, it's not that I'm glad to have it, but I'm like, happy like, that I feel cleansed after. You know what I mean? It's like a very natural kind of in tune feeling with my body.

Of course, it's only when you are not on it that you can feel the difference and that I feel really in tune with my body. I also love when I have my period.

Yeah, me too.

Irregular sex. So every time when I have my period, it's like. Yes, because it's a sign that your system is working well. And of course, I can imagine that if you have a lot of period pain that it's not really nice, but the fact that you have period pain is also a sign of your body telling you something is not okay. Or you are struggling with, like, a hormonal imbalance.

Yeah, yeah.

So since you've had the symptoms of the perimenopause, have you? You've talked to it with friends and family, not yet with doctors, but are you looking into, would you opt for a certain treatment, medical or holistic?

I would definitely go there. I think, I think like I said earlier, I think the supplements to me is kind of the first approach and to keep everything under control, learn how my body reacts in those kind of situations. Taking new supplements and really listening to myself, like eating healthy, doing my. Making sure that I'm detoxing like saunas and going for my walks. And those things are so important for me, for my wellbeing. I don't know, I mean it could get a lot worse and at the moment it's still all very manageable, which is. I don't feel the need to go and get more help at the moment besides supplements, but I do definitely not excluding that that's going to be if things get worse.

Are you scared of. Because you spoke about brain fog, I think in the video you also spoke about other symptoms. How did you manage them? Or are you scared to get a certain symptom that you maybe heard from your friends that you don't have, but that you're like, oh, I hope I don't get that one.

Yeah, there's some. I mean, I have friends that really can't sleep, which is something that I would not be very good with. I need my night. Like I love going to bed and it's such a kind of peaceful routine. And so, so, yeah, like not being able to sleep I think would just really throw me off in like my general happiness, even my health and well being. And so not being able to sleep I think would be definitely number one. Yeah.

I have one final question for you. If there's one key takeaway for women that are currently going through menopause, what would you tell them?

I think that the one thing that for me has been very important is to realize that it's okay to not always feel your best. If you have a day where you feel a little bit off, it's okay. And it's okay to communicate that and it's okay. I also come from, you gotta be strong and you always have to be ready to go and compete. And now that I'm older, it's nice to be able to say, listen, mom needs a little nap. Or mom just, I'm gonna go upstairs, I'm gonna read my book. I just want to be in a quiet room or I'm gonna take a bath without mama, you know, like always, that kind of thing. And so I think it's okay to not be okay and communicate that and with the kids, with your partner, to yourself most of all, I think that's where it all starts. Right. To understand for yourself that it's okay to listen and to. Yeah. Not always feel your best.

Anything you would say, Morgan.

I think it's a wonderful conversation and it's beautiful to see how you take care of your body. And of course, it doesn't happen in one week to take care of yourself and to get to know your body and how you feel. And I think you had a great environment around you. I think the sport world also is a good part of that. Of course, some women can feel lonely in that journey, and that's why it's important to have those conversations and to break taboos around it. And also when you feel something is not okay, speak about it or find a healthcare provider that really understands the problem and that takes you seriously. Because often we hear like, oh, no, it's fine. I don't see anything. It's okay. There's nothing wrong in your blood test or whatever. But if. If you really feel that something is not okay, please talk with someone who takes your problem as seriously as you do.

Yes. Great advice. So I want to thank you so much for being here. Your presence means a lot to us and we greatly appreciate it that you took some time to travel here and.

To talk to us on this podcast. It was an honor for me. I'm very excited that you're doing this and that you're spreading the word and, yeah, we'll make work together. Yeah, life easier for a lot of women and just by communicating about it and learning about it. So good job for you.

Thank you.

You can find a lot of additional information in the show notes or if you have any question, please reach out to us@goodwoman.com thank you so much for tuning into this episode and for helping us shed light on these very important topics. Be sure to share any of these episodes with your friends or your family and keep an eye on out, because who knows, more exciting episodes might be coming your way. Thank you so much for listening.

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