“Perimenopause likes to really throw us through a loop, and things that might have previously been stable no longer feel so predictable.” - Vanessa Weiland, NP, HT, MSCP

Even with the expanding conversation on perimenopause, our clients and patients with chronic illness are still being left out. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t address those with hypermobility syndromes, mast cell activation syndrome, dysautonomia, or complex chronic illness. In perimenopause, conditions you’ve dealt with for years can change significantly. Symptoms that were manageable for years suddenly become more intense, pain patterns shift, sleep becomes less reliable, and many women find themselves wondering whether this is "just perimenopause" or something else entirely.

What makes this phase especially challenging is that hormones don't operate in isolation. Estrogen, progesterone, connective tissue health, immune function, mast cells, autonomic regulation, sleep, and stress physiology interact simultaneously. Myopically looking at menopause through the lens of hot flashes and hormone replacement therapy makes us miss the much more complex reality facing women who are already navigating chronic health conditions. For these patients, finding stability often requires a more personalized and layered approach.

In today’s episode, I'm joined by Vanessa Weiland, a nurse practitioner, menopause specialist, and founder of Phases Clinic, known online as Bendy Menopause. Vanessa shares her journey with hypermobility and chronic pain and explains why perimenopause can be such a pivotal transition for women with connective tissue disorders and related conditions. We discuss the relationship between hormones, mast cells, and the nervous system, why standard menopause protocols don't always work for this population, how progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone can affect symptoms differently, practical strategies for building a supportive clinical team, the overlap between hypermobility, long Covid, trauma, chronic pain, and neurodiversity, why small, individualized changes over time are often the key to helping these patients feel better, and more.

Enjoy the episode, and let's innovate and integrate together!

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Learn more or watch the video version of this conversation at https://integrativewomenshealthinstitute.com/bendy-menopause-strategies-for-care-with-heds-and-other-hypermobility-spectrum-disorders-with-vanessa-weiland/.

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