Dr. Natalia Llarena was recently quoted in a DailyMail.com article written by Olivia Salamone titled “Shocking symptoms women in their 30s can experience during perimenopause.”

Most women hear about menopause like it is a sudden switch that flips in your 50s, but it is a lot more complicated. As stated in the Daily Mail article, perimenopause is the stage before menopause and it can start as early as your 30s or 40s. Perimenopause comes with a mix of symptoms that can be easy to miss or brush off. Some of these symptoms include hot flashes, mood swings, random rage, and lack of sleep.

Dr. Llarena, a board-certified OBGYN and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialist with HRC Fertility Pasadena talked to DailyMail.com about what perimenopause actually looks like and why it should be discussed more openly. She discusses symptoms such as menopause flooding.

Dr. Llarena states, “Menopause flooding occurs because, at extremes of reproductive age, ovulation may not occur regularly. A lack of ovulation can cause irregular, heavy bleeding.” She continues, “Early in the menopausal transition, ovulation becomes less regular, cycles may vary by seven days or more, and then women may begin to notice longer stretches between periods (sometimes 60 days or longer). It is often in this early menopausal transition when some women experience menopause flooding.”

To learn more about perimenopause and the different symptoms women may experience, read the article in its entirety here.