Do you sometimes feel that your fatigue is something else, and that the reason for having delayed menstrual periods is something other than the possibility of a pregnancy? Are you worried that not being able to sleep at night is something more than just too much stress? Well, probably, what you're feeling could be due to outside influences (let's never discount that as a possibility), but let's not forget the likelihood of perimenopause. Estrogen and progesterone are main protagonists for what we now know as a hormone imbalance.

Perimenopause is usually caused by an estrogen dominance and a lack of progesterone. The body has an excess of estrogen because both estrogen and progesterone production in the ovaries slow down considerably. In reality, a woman's hormones can be nudged off track by a lot of things - stressful events, vitamin deficiencies and illness. This is the time when the hormones grow quite vulnerable; hence, the rampage of the hormone named estrogen.

There are times when there is a lack of estrogen - this will influence the fluctuations of the periods. It will also cause most of the perimenopausal symptoms known as of press time (aside from the irregularity of the menses) - vaginal dryness and irritation, hot flashes, breast tenderness, hair loss (or hair gain in the most unsightly places), urinary tract problems, etc.

Unfortunately, we can do nothing about preventing our hormones to go off balance. Perimenopause is simply a cycle of life that we, as women, just have to go through. In reality, this stage toughens us up, so that when menopause comes around, we're more than ready for it, and our gracefully aging (ahem!) bodies are prepared to take whatever hormone imbalance there could be.

The best way to counter the ill-effects of estrogen and progesterone imbalance would be first and foremost, to have yourself checked out by your doctor (preferably a gynecologist) or health care provider. He or she would possibly ask you to go through some tests just to rule out any underlying medical conditions (which may be causing the symptoms you're having in the first place).

The next and best step (aside from taking the prescription medication your doctor may give you to alleviate and relieve some of the symptoms) would be to have a change of lifestyle. To sum it all up - eat healthy, quit smoking, eliminate alcohol (if at all possible) and exercise daily. Do this, and you shall be free.