dear asking for a friend,i am a 40-something woman, and i am experiencing some symptoms of perimenopause — hot flashes and trouble sleeping. but i am also noticing that my body’s odours are changing. my sweat is way more stinky and i am certain there are also changes happening ‘down there.’ does your body scent change with hormones? signed, stinkydear stinky,no one wants to feel embarrassed by body odours — but stinky sweat and a smelly vagina can happen when you go through big life changes, like perimenopause. what’s happening, exactly?there are two hormones crucial to the human reproductive system: estrogen and progesterone. they work in a coordinated pattern during your menstrual cycle and collaborate to produce healthy cell function. but by your late 30s, the body doesn’t produce as much progesterone, and the amount and quality of follicles in your ovaries also diminishes, which leads to a dip in estrogen production and fewer ovulations.so when you get into your 40s, your menstrual cycle length and flow can be irregular and unpredictable. estrogen can also drop or spike higher than normal.
the ‘rocky road to menopause’
harvard medical school calls perimenopause the “rocky road to menopause” for a reason. it can be fraught with uncomfortable symptoms. fluctuating hormones can trigger night sweats and hot flashes, creating more body odour than you’re used to, along with disrupted sleep.
dr. jerilynn prior, a professor of endocrinology in the department of medicine at the university of british columbia and the scientific director at the centre for menstrual cycle and ovulation research, has spent years helping women understand these changing life phases.“we need those high hormone levels in order to be fertile,” she says of child-bearing physiology. “we also need balanced estrogen and progesterone through our menstruating years for bone health and brain health and breast health… you name it.”but perimenopause is a whole different story.“everything is chaos in perimenopause, all of the usual expected things are out of kilter and that’s on purpose because the body is changing,” prior says. “it’s trying to get rid of those extra follicles that we don’t need anymore, so when we’re in our 80s in a nursing home, we don’t get a period.”she’s written her own take on perimenopause,
estrogen’s storm season, to get the message out that perimenopause can be a physical and emotional rollercoaster that’s often dismissed by doctors.“it’s such a horrible feeling to have your doctors not understand or send you to a counsellor when your body has changed, not because you’ve turned psycho,” she says.
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