# 99: Perimenopause & Gut Health: Why Symptoms Spike & What Helps With Cynthia Thurlow

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/thyroid-pharmacist-healing-conversations-with-dr-izabella-wentz-7249643/99-perimenopause-gut-health-why-symptoms-spike-what-helps-with-cynthia-thurlow
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/thyroid-pharmacist-healing-conversations-with-dr-izabella-wentz-7249643/99-perimenopause-gut-health-why-symptoms-spike-what-helps-with-cynthia-thurlow.md
Podcast: [Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations with Dr. Izabella Wentz](https://stenobird.com/podcast/thyroid-pharmacist-healing-conversations-with-dr-izabella-wentz-7249643)
Published: 2026-04-27T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/LDCBT2980316257.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/LDCBT2980316257.mp3
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Duration seconds: 3920

## Resource

In this episode of Thyroid Pharmacist Healing Conversations, Dr. Izabella Wentz interviews nurse practitioner, author, and menopause expert Cynthia Thurlow about what happens to the gut during perimenopause and menopause – and why so many women suddenly experience bloating, constipation, food sensitivities, brain fog, anxiety, and weight-loss resistance in midlife. Cynthia breaks down the hormone-gut-stress connection, explaining how shifts in progesterone and estrogen can influence digestion, immune regulation, and the gut-brain axis. Together, they explore why chronic stress, and unresolved trauma can amplify symptoms, and why the most effective strategies often start with the basics: sleep, hydration, protein, movement, and nervous system support. What you’ll learn in this episode: Why progesterone loss can hit your sleep, mood, and gut motility first. Cynthia explains how early perimenopause often begins with declining progesterone – which can reduce GABA (a calming neurotransmitter) and contribute to anxiety, sleep disruptions, and slower digestive movement. How estrogen shifts can drive bloating, brain fog, joint pain, and immune changes. Estradiol can fluctuate dramatically in perimenopause, and because estrogen is an immune-modulating hormone, shifting levels may influence inflammation, autoimmunity risk, and even leaky gut. The stress → gut → brain loop that keeps women stuck in symptoms. Chronic stress can impair digestion at the most basic level (your body won’t “rest and digest”), disrupt the vagus nerve, and increase inflammatory signals that impact the brain – which can worsen anxiety, depression, and brain fog. Why estrogen “recycling” can make perimenopause symptoms feel amplified. We discuss the estrobiome (gut-driven estrogen processing), beta-glucuro…

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## Transcript

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