Hi, GRL!
It's when the production of estrogen (and other sex hormones) shifts primarily from the ovaries over to the
adrenals as the function of the ovaries declines. The wee article I linked to explains it pretty well.
![Smiley :)](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/smiley.gif)
This is why I firmly believe that we need to support our adrenal health during the 'transition' - this is what I also firmly believe defines the menopause, that whole 'shift', and why we feel so dreadful the more stress we have in our lives at this time and why we can't tolerate stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol and sugar as we once did (so many of us talk about getting 'the jitters' when we overindulge in any of these things).
I believe the 'anxiety' we feel is due to these adrenal surges, and the release of epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol (stress hormone) that inevitably accompanies this. We get the whole shebang and as we all know, these feelings are like a total nervous system overload!
If you think about it, if it were just about the ovaries then why would we ladies who have been oopherectomised have these symptoms of 'fluctuations' too if it wasn't about the adrenals? As I type, I sit here now having a mighty attack of the jitters and feelings of unease (I'm off HRT at the moment) - these come on totally randomly (im just calmly trying to watch the golf on tv at the moment), just as they do with you lovely ladies who still have your ovaries. I was chatting to another lady of 62 the other week who has also experienced the same after her oopherectomy when she was 42 (thankfully it has all now settled - she just has a very few 'warm moments' now very rarely).
I hope this explains - I really do think we need to give ourselves a whole lot of TLC during this time and to try to keep our stress down as much as possible. It's so important! Your adrenals will certainly thank you. Hugs! xxxxxx