We are all too familiar with menopause. But what is perimenopause? Years before menopause even begins, the transition is called you guessed it – perimenopause. Menopause is when the ovaries stop releasing egg or slowly ceases to function. The period before menopause during which a woman’s body gradually begins to produce less estrogen is perimenopause. Although it is not an official medical term, perimenopause is used to describe and explain the “pre-menopause” stage of a woman. Perimenopause is different for each woman (so much like menopause itself). If the average age of women experiencing menopause is 51, perimenopause usually starts…