THE PERIOD WHISPERER PODCAST - Perimenopause, Menopause, Cortisol, Weight Loss, Hormone Balancing, Insomnia, Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, Libido, Your Guide To Thriving In MidLife · Bria Gadd - Integrative Nutrition Coach, Hormone Specialist, Personal Trainer, Perimenopause Coach,

Eps 381: Progesterone’s Role in Women’s Health

·31 min·2 clips

Cortisol can steal from progesterone through the “pregnenolone steal,” especially under chronic stress.

1. The Period Whisperer Podcast episode “Progesterone’s Role in Women’s Health” focuses on progesterone in perimenopause, menopause, and midlife symptom patterns. 2. Bria hosts the show and describes herself as a recovering people pleaser, hustle addict, and functional and holistic hormone specialist. 3. The episode asks what progesterone actually does and why low levels can affect mood, sleep, anxiety, and blood sugar. 4. Bria says progesterone is “not just a pregnancy hormone” and calls it the “queen of calm.” 5. She lists progesterone’s roles in blood sugar stability, thyroid support, bone and brain protection, and buffering estrogen. 6. Bria explains that perimenopause makes ovulation inconsistent, which makes progesterone production inconsistent. 7. She links that drop to anxiety, irritability, night waking, PMS, tears at commercials, and heavier periods. 8. She says menopause brings progesterone “nearly zero” because ovulation ends entirely. 9. Bria says low progesterone can feel like being “a squirrel on an espresso” and connects it to racing thoughts, migraines, cravings, and mood swings. 10. She says high progesterone is less common but can show up with supplements or certain conditions. 11. Bria names signs of high progesterone as sedation, extreme fatigue, dizziness, depression, water retention, breast swelling, and low libido. 12. She says a practitioner should test and follow up every 6 to 12 weeks when hormones are being adjusted. 13. Bria says chronic stress can lower progesterone and uses the “pregnenolone steal” language to describe cortisol competition. 14. She names under-eating, overexercising, blood sugar instability, thyroid dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, nutrient deficiencies, high inflammation, and birth control as additional causes. 15. Bria says her own low point at 37 involved tanked progesterone, recirculating estrogen, blocked detox pathways, and depletion. 16. She distinguishes progesterone from progestin and says progestin can increase clot risk and worsen mood, bloating, breast tenderness, and anxiety. 17. Bria says bioidentical micronized progesterone can support sleep, estrogen balance, and uterine lining protection. 18. The tone is conversational, direct, and heavily instructional, with repeated calls to test rather than guess. 19. Women in perimenopause wanting symptom explanations. 20. Listeners avoiding hormone testing or detailed physiology.

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