“Low progesterone doesn’t just mess with your cycle, it disrupts your sleep, your mood, your energy, and even your immune system.” – Leslie Duffy
If you’ve been dealing with heavy periods, clotting, night sweats, insomnia, anxiety, or even autoimmune flare-ups, it might not just be “getting older.” In perimenopause, progesterone is the first hormone to take a sharp dive, dropping by nearly 75% between the ages of 35 and 50. And when it does, the ripple effects show up everywhere in your body, from your brain to your bones.
Today, I’m breaking down exactly what happens when progesterone declines, why it matters far beyond fertility, and how to tell if your symptoms are connected. You’ll learn the difference between estrogen dominance and low progesterone, the role ovulation plays in producing this calming hormone, and why stress, under-eating, sedentary living, or certain medications may be stealing your progesterone long before age does.
I’ll also walk you through how functional medicine approaches low progesterone by supporting ovulation, reducing stress, addressing thyroid and adrenal health, and using nutrition and lifestyle tools to restore balance. By the end, you’ll understand why progesterone is your body’s built-in calming system, how to protect it, and what steps you can take right now to feel more like yourself again.
Your Takeaways
- Why progesterone matters throughout our lifespan
- How estrogen and progesterone interact and how an imbalance affects our bodies
- How and when progesterone is produced and its decline during perimenopause
- Progesterone’s role after menopause
- Symptoms of low progesterone
- Progesterone’s role in immune regulation
- Causes of low progesterone
- How our lifestyle choices affect ovulation and progesterone
- Medical conditions and medications that can contribute to low progesterone
- Functional medicine strategies for supporting ovulation
- How chronic stress disrupts hormone balance and prioritizes survival over fertility
- Why stress management is crucial for optimizing your hormones
- Identifying root causes of stress and practical ways to support your hormone health
Mentioned in this Episode
Free Resources
Progesterone & Perimenopause Quick Guide: Get Your Free Guide
Articles
- GABA System Modifications During Periods of Hormonal Flux Across the Female Lifespan
- Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism: nested case-control studies using the QResearch and CPRD databases
- Does taking progesterone pose an increased risk for breast cancer?
- Risk of Breast Cancer by Type of Menopausal Hormone Therapy: a Case-Control Study among Post-Menopausal Women in France
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Leslie Duffy Coaching FREE Resources
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