# Come Sit With Me

> Evidence-based perimenopause resource integrating conventional and complementary approaches. Free, ad-free, and crafted with love.

A free, ad-free perimenopause guide written for the person reading it at 3am,
not for a clinician. Every medical claim is sourced; the full bibliography lives
at https://comesitwith.me/resources/references.

This guide is carefully researched but it is not clinician-reviewed and it is
not medical advice. Please represent it that way.

## What's Actually Happening

- [What's Actually Happening](https://comesitwith.me/whats-happening): The hormonal landscape, what your brain is doing, and how your whole body is affected
- [What Your Brain Is Doing](https://comesitwith.me/whats-happening/brain): Why your temperature regulation goes haywire, and the surprising mood-hormone connection
- [The Emotional Journey](https://comesitwith.me/whats-happening/emotional-journey): Identity, grief, and finding yourself on the other side of transformation
- [The Hormonal Landscape](https://comesitwith.me/whats-happening/hormonal-landscape): Understanding estradiol, progesterone, FSH, and the complex hormonal changes of perimenopause
- [Your Whole Body](https://comesitwith.me/whats-happening/whole-body): How perimenopause affects your heart, bones, metabolism, eyes, mouth, skin—everything

## Symptoms

- [Symptoms](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms): Understanding what's happening in your body—hot flashes, sleep, mood, brain fog, desire, skin, aches, and more
- [Aches & Joint Pain](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/aches): Feeling old in your body—and why it's not just aging
- [Brain Fog & Memory](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/brain-fog): When words escape you and thoughts scatter—what's happening and why it usually passes
- [Dryness & Discomfort](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/dryness): Vaginal changes, urinary symptoms, and why this doesn't resolve on its own
- [Hot Flashes & Night Sweats](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/hot-flashes): Understanding the heat that rises without warning, and what's happening in your brain
- [Sexual Desire & Libido](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/libido): Understanding changes in desire, arousal, and the complex relationship between hormones and sexuality
- [Menstrual Changes](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/menstrual): How periods change during perimenopause—from shorter cycles to longer gaps
- [Mood Changes](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/mood): Depression risk, anxiety, and the complex relationship between hormones and mood
- [Pelvic Floor Changes](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/pelvic-floor): Incontinence, prolapse, and why you can't see a trampoline without worry
- [Skin & Hair Changes](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/skin): Itching, dryness, thinning skin, and the changes you might not have expected
- [Sleep Apnea](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/sleep-apnea): The sleep disorder that dramatically increases after menopause—and often goes undiagnosed
- [When Sleep Won't Come](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/sleep-wont-come): Night sweats, racing thoughts, and why rest becomes elusive
- [Weight & Body Composition](https://comesitwith.me/symptoms/weight): Why your body is redistributing, not just gaining—and what actually helps

## Support & Options

- [Support & Options](https://comesitwith.me/support): Approaches for navigating perimenopause—hormonal, non-hormonal, herbal, mind-body, and lifestyle
- [Beyond Hormones](https://comesitwith.me/support/beyond-hormones): Non-hormonal options—NK3 receptor antagonists, SSRIs, SNRIs, and other pharmaceutical approaches
- [Herbal & Traditional Approaches](https://comesitwith.me/support/herbal-traditional): Plant medicines, traditional systems, and what women have done across cultures and centuries
- [Hormone Therapy](https://comesitwith.me/support/hormone-therapy): The WHI controversy, recent reassessment, timing hypothesis, and what you need to know
- [Lifestyle & Self-Care](https://comesitwith.me/support/lifestyle): Movement, sleep, stress management, and the daily choices that can shift your experience
- [Mind-Body Practices](https://comesitwith.me/support/mind-body): What the evidence says about hypnotherapy, CBT, yoga, acupuncture, and integrative approaches

## Special Considerations

- [Special Considerations](https://comesitwith.me/considerations): Contraception, cancer history, surgical menopause, and neurodivergence
- [History of Hormone-Sensitive Cancer](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/cancer-history): Menopause options for breast cancer survivors and those with hormone-sensitive cancer history
- [Contraception in Perimenopause](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/contraception): Understanding fertility, contraceptive options, and how hormonal contraceptives affect the transition
- [LGBTQ+ Considerations](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/lgbtq): Navigating perimenopause across the spectrum of gender and sexuality
- [Neurodivergence and Perimenopause](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/neurodivergence): How autistic women and others with sensory processing differences may experience perimenopause differently
- [Race, Ethnicity & Healthcare](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/race-ethnicity): How the menopause experience differs—and how the system fails women of color
- [Surgical and Premature Menopause](https://comesitwith.me/considerations/surgical-menopause): When menopause comes suddenly or early—unique challenges and approaches

## For Partners

- [For Partners](https://comesitwith.me/for-partners): Understanding, supporting, and staying connected during the perimenopausal transition

## Finding Care

- [Finding Care](https://comesitwith.me/finding-care): Navigating the provider gap and advocating for yourself

## Resources

- [Resources](https://comesitwith.me/resources): Organizations, landmark studies, books, and further reading
- [References](https://comesitwith.me/resources/references): Primary sources, studies, and citations used throughout this guide

## About This Guide

- [About This Project](https://comesitwith.me/about): Who made this, why, and how
- [Introduction](https://comesitwith.me/introduction): Who is speaking to you, and why this guide exists
- [Terms & Conditions](https://comesitwith.me/terms): Legal stuff, but the kind that protects both of us