MEET THE AUTHOR - LARA BRIDEN: THE HORMONE REPAIR MANUAL

Lara Briden is a naturopathic doctor and bestselling author of the books Period Repair Manual and Hormone Repair Manual — practical guides for treating period problems with nutrition, supplements, and bioidentical hormones.

With a strong science background, Lara sits on several advisory boards and is the lead author of a 2020 paper published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

She has more than 20 years’ experience in women’s health and currently has consulting rooms in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she treats women with PCOS, PMS, endometriosis, perimenopause, and many other hormone- and period-related health problems.

Lara tell's us a little more .....

Where are you on your Pausal journey? 

I'm 52 and my last period was 18 months ago, so I am through perimenopause and have graduated to menopause, yay.  

 
At what age do you feel you began going through Perimenopause? 

Around 46, I started to feel pretty wobbly in terms of my sleep and ability to cope with stress. At that stage, my cycles were about 24 days, with the occasional longer cycle.  
 

What have you found most challenging? 

The hardest thing for me was the loss of confidence around simple things like driving. My friend reminded me what a fearless driver I was in my 20s and 30s, but by my mid-40s, I was plotting out my routes to avoid busy roads. Which makes me laugh now in retrospect because I've largely regained a lot of that confidence.  

 
What has helped you going through Menopause? 

Emotionally, I took heart from the knowledge that perimenopause or second puberty is a temporary process and (as I discuss in Hormone Repair Manual), it's a natural process that we evolved to do. Menopause is not an accident of living too long.  

For sleep and mood, I took a magnesium powder with the amino acid taurine and oral micronised progesterone. I'm still on those treatments.  

 
What inspired you to write this book? 

Quite simply, I wanted to provide women with helpful information about how to feel better during what can be a challenging process. Like my first book Period Repair Manual, my perimenopause book Hormone Repair Manual grew out of my 25 years of work with my patients.  

 
Tell us a little about your book …. 

Hormone Repair Manual is a practical guide to feeling better in your 40s, 50s, and beyond. It explains how to navigate the change of perimenopause and relieve symptoms with natural treatments such as diet, nutritional supplements, and bioidentical (body-identical) hormone therapy. 

Has your perspective changed as a result of writing the book? 

Yes, I now embrace menopause in a way I never thought I would. And a big part of that perspective change was from diving into the research about how menopause evolved in humans and is not an accident of living too long!  

 
How have other women or other readers responded to the way you cover menopause? 

I've had some lovely feedback from readers including from young readers who say they are now not afraid of menopause. They say: "After reading your book, I am reassured that it's going to be okay." 

Visit The Hormone Repair Manual page for more information and details on how to buy this book.

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