Perimenopause, Bloat, and the Magic Dress

it’s not just “feeling puffy.”—it’s your body reacting to a complex web of hormonal shifts

I finally got my period this morning. Six days late. Six long days of waking up drenched in sweat (I did treat myself to a new pair of sheets because of this, it's the little things!), dreaming the strangest dreams, and casually wondering if I’m losing my mind—or just sliding into perimenopause.

Spoiler: It’s probably both.

But here’s the wildest part. I threw on a dress this morning that had felt suffocatingly tight just yesterday. And now? It fits like a dream. Looser. Softer. As if my body finally exhaled.

If you know, you know.

It never fails to amaze me how much my body changes in the days leading up to my period—the bloating, the puffiness, the invisible weight of it all. And then, the moment it arrives, it’s like a release. Not just physically, but emotionally too. Like I’ve been holding my breath without realizing it.

I’m not sure what’s more exhausting: the waiting or the wondering. But I do know this—when that bloated fog lifts and your clothes suddenly fit again, it’s a small reminder that your body isn’t betraying you. It’s just riding the waves of hormones, inflammation, and the chaos that comes with endometriosis.

And sometimes, that ride is best measured in the inches of a waistband.

Here’s the thing: in the luteal phase (the two weeks after ovulation leading up to your period), progesterone rises. For many people with endo or hormone sensitivity, that spike can trigger increased inflammation, water retention, slower digestion, and—you guessed it—bloat. Your immune system also becomes more active during this phase, leading to cytokine surges that ramp up inflammation even further. And if you’re in perimenopause? Hormone levels can fluctuate erratically, making those effects even more extreme.

It’s not just “feeling puffy.” It’s your body reacting to a complex web of hormonal shifts, immune responses, and underlying conditions like endometriosis. And it can change the way your clothes fit, the way your joints feel, even the way your brain works.

But once your period arrives, estrogen starts to rise again, inflammation levels often drop, and your body lets go of the excess water and tension. Hence: the magical dress transformation. One day it’s tight, the next it fits like it was made for you.

It’s a small but powerful reminder: you’re not imagining it. Your body is shifting, adapting, doing its best. And while it’s frustrating (and yes, sometimes rage-inducing), it’s also strangely comforting to know there’s a rhythm to it all—even if that rhythm is a little out of sync.