We can all experience bouts of nausea throughout our lives, but certainly during pregnancy and perimenopause it can seem as if it is suddenly increasing.

Symptoms are often worse in the morning, and it is your fluctuating hormones are often to blame.

What low levels of progesterone can mean

It may not seem very logical, but hormonal fluctuations can certainly upset your stomach and your digestion and you may see increased symptoms such as bloating and nausea.

Unfortunately, Menopause is also a time of stress and anxiety for many women as they adjust to the changes they are going through both physical and emotional.

Stress will affect virtually all your bodily functions, and it is certainly associated for many years with a tense and upset stomach, inability to properly digests food, and a sense of nausea and sickness even though you may not actually be sick.

This can also explain why many women start to experience symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome at menopause.

Another factor that can also trigger nausea is if you are on HRT as that is a common side effect, possibly due to both the high doses of oestrogen and the fact there is no natural progesterone in the preparation, only a synthetic progestin.

Nausea may also be a side-effect of HRT. If this is the case, you may want to consider a different type of HRT, or an alternative.

How to help yourself

It may seem obvious but ensuring that you had a good levels of progesterone and your hormones are well-balanced will go along way to helping you avoid the symptoms of nausea.

Next tackle your diet, as if you are fond of fried or greasy food and have a sensitivity to certain things such as cheese or dairy then reducing or cutting them out is a good place to start.

Eating little and often is a better idea than having one or two large meals, and certainly not eating at all is not a good plan as you need something to settle your stomach and keep your sugar levels stable as low blood sugar can actually make your nausea worse.

Stick to plain food, or that old pregnancy staple of having some plain crackers or digestive biscuits. Much as you may crave having a cup of tea or coffee or indeed a fizzy cola or similar drink, do try to avoid it as they can make it worse.

Many women have found relief from soothing herbal teas such as peppermint or by eating some crystallised ginger or you could make a hot drink with ginger root honey and lemon.

Menopause you are also likely to be suffering from hot flushes, and that in itself can often make you feel nauseous. So keep as cool as you can by lowering your room temperature and getting fresh air where possible as being outside and breathing slowly and deeply will also help settle your stomach.

Helpful information:

Nausea that is persistent and does not respond to your own treatment should always be checked with your doctor to make sure that it does not have some other medical cause.r that is persistent and does not respond to your own treatment should always be checked with your doctor to make sure that it does not have some other medical cause.