My first symptoms were things like low mood and low energy (caused by low iron which has been an issue). I went to my GP over a few years with these issues before I asked about menopause. She said (and by this time I think I was 47) “oh no, you are too young for that”. Note she was a she! Since I did realised what this was and that antidepressants hadn’t really been what I needed through my mid 40s I felt cheated of proper support. In only these few years since I started feeling the effects there has been an incredible amount of progress in bringing awareness and support to mid life women. I did go on hrt for 2 years but had to stop as I developed oestrogen positive breast cancer - caught early luckily. So since then I’ve been winging it - evening primrose oil helped a bit and I’m on tamoxifen which is a hormone blocker. Then last October I had the period from hell and never stopped bleeding. Had various (intrusive) investigations- they scared the life out of me saying an ovarian cancer marker had showed up in my bloods- turned out it was a polyp rooted in my endometrium. In December I had a procedure to remove it and since a few days after that there’s been no bleeding, periods or anything. I feel changed. I’d be very surprised now if I did get another period. At 52 that seems fair. But - there are still all the symptoms of drying out and peri/menopause. Brain fog, hot flushes, night sweats, waking up either for a wee or from a scary dream, dry skin, dry eyes, reduced vision, thinning hair, brittle nails that split and break. It’s no easy ride - however - I do feel more empowered, freer, less anxious about my appearance or who likes me or not. I’d say I’m coming into my prime in terms of emotional wellbeing. So though nothing seems to make my skin or hair happy, I feel like I’m at the start of a new dawn and am raring to go (when I have the energy!) Thank you for your article Jess - and for sharing Lisa 💚
Beautiful article! This comes at a time when we're all feeling a bit of unraveling whether hormonal or otherwise. I like Jess's perspective that this unraveling doesn't have to be a bad thing as it helps us get to the next phase of life. We're learning through perimenopause that we don't have to hold on so tight to life. It can be an uncomfortable adjustment but I believe helps us to be better as we age.
I really loved the section where Jess talks about what she knew about menopause. I also thought no big deal I'll breeze through it for the exact same reasons. Little did I know that it would be life-altering in so many ways.
And the quote about perimenopause being a call to home and rest was perfection.
For me (Lisa not Jess!) it was when I started to get hot flushes/flashes in my early 40s. Looking back with what I know there were other signs too. I just didn’t know. Jess will answer too I hope 😊
Sheila, because I did'nt know the signs to look for, it took about 2 years before I realized my symptoms were common signs of perimenopause.
The craziest part is that perimenopause can start way before we skip cycles. I always thought, 'well, I haven't skipped a cycle, so I guess this is just what periods do'. As I said, I had come into cycle awareness at the time that I came into perimenopause. Had I been tracking before the perimenopause shift, I would have known in that first year.
Some signs to look for:
New mood changes
Brain fog
New anxiety
Changes to period length
Changes to cycle length
Night sweats
Hot flashes/flushes
Insomnia or frequently waking through the night
Menstrual headaches at ovulation and/or menstruation
Anovulatory cycles
"Not feeling like myself"- see this article on the Periprofessional substack.
I highly recommend that you track your cycle days for the next 3 months charting symptoms and also what your overall energies are like.
If you aren't into journalling, check out tracking apps as this is a great place to start.
Also, if you are interested in learning all things perimenopause, I can point you to a great substack in this category: The Periprofessional. Check out her substack webpage as it has definitions and how to find perimenopause doctors etc.
One thing is for sure, there are many substack authors creating community for women on this journey. You are welcome to join me on this journey! The more, the merrier!
Oh crikey! What a stunning reply. I have subscribed to Preriprofessional and have read 'Not feeling like myself'.
It's very hard to unpick between what I call my holy trinity of infertility (endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids) and these symptoms.
Changes to cycle length, increase in blood during my period and migraines are my two things given me a niggle. The migraines, though, weirdly, most consistently don't fall on the week of my period. So not sure if they're hormone related.
And I'm on antidepressants after a rough year. So my mood changes have been very much in the positive direction! I've been feeling happy. Plus I'm having more energy (but I've been in burnout and I've got my existing issues which are at their best as I've been off work and therefore not stressed).
Oh these human bodies are hard to figure out. But I'll be doing my reading.
Are there any particular markers in blood tests I could be looking for?
My migraines upped a notch during the beginning of perimenopause. The neurologist (a man) said: well, they could get better or worse. Not super helpful. I did some other energy work around my migraines. That and perhaps timing helped and I hardly get them anymore. Saying that, I’ve had headaches and “almost migraine” for nearly two weeks now. 🤷🏼♀️
Haha that’s hilariously useless information! I had a head, face, neck, shoulder massage 💆🏻♀️ and it has helped tremendously. I seem to have a lot of tension in my head. What energy work did you do? I had a headache, almost migraine all weekend, but it didn’t come and I was verrrrrrry happy.
That’s good to know! I’ve been tracking my migraines since they got regular just before Christmas. I’ve been tracking;day they started, length and symptoms. For a while I thought there was a specific food/drink trigger as they were always starting at the weekend!
Yes, keep noting the cycle day that they happen. It may or may not be hormone related, but always good to know for if/when you see your doctor about it.
Yes, it’s true I do need to note the day of the cycle too. Thank you so much. What can of supper can a doctor give? Now I’ve read that you can’t really have a blood test to show it…
Thank you for this. I have been navigating all kinds of different symptoms/changes/something in the past couple of years and as someone who has been on birth control pill forever and also on SSRIs forever it's been tough to figure out what's the cause of what and what relates to what and what to do about it. And the only people who ever help are other women going/gone through it. Even if it's not the same experience at all, there's always a relatable gem that gives me insight. Love your list of "this all actually happened too".
Thank you for writing so eloquently about the "unraveling". Like you, I mistakenly thought in my 20s that menopause was about being hot, sweaty, moody and then your periods stopped. I had never heard the word "perimenopause" 8 years ago when I first started noticing symptoms. Not one doctor that I saw even mentioned the word, and because I was cycling "normally," no one thought it was perimenopause.
Now that I know what's happening, it makes managing the symptoms much easier. And the cycle awareness that you've been writing and podcasting about has been so helpful for me understanding my cycles and how to arrange my life according to the season. Thank you ❤️
My first symptoms were things like low mood and low energy (caused by low iron which has been an issue). I went to my GP over a few years with these issues before I asked about menopause. She said (and by this time I think I was 47) “oh no, you are too young for that”. Note she was a she! Since I did realised what this was and that antidepressants hadn’t really been what I needed through my mid 40s I felt cheated of proper support. In only these few years since I started feeling the effects there has been an incredible amount of progress in bringing awareness and support to mid life women. I did go on hrt for 2 years but had to stop as I developed oestrogen positive breast cancer - caught early luckily. So since then I’ve been winging it - evening primrose oil helped a bit and I’m on tamoxifen which is a hormone blocker. Then last October I had the period from hell and never stopped bleeding. Had various (intrusive) investigations- they scared the life out of me saying an ovarian cancer marker had showed up in my bloods- turned out it was a polyp rooted in my endometrium. In December I had a procedure to remove it and since a few days after that there’s been no bleeding, periods or anything. I feel changed. I’d be very surprised now if I did get another period. At 52 that seems fair. But - there are still all the symptoms of drying out and peri/menopause. Brain fog, hot flushes, night sweats, waking up either for a wee or from a scary dream, dry skin, dry eyes, reduced vision, thinning hair, brittle nails that split and break. It’s no easy ride - however - I do feel more empowered, freer, less anxious about my appearance or who likes me or not. I’d say I’m coming into my prime in terms of emotional wellbeing. So though nothing seems to make my skin or hair happy, I feel like I’m at the start of a new dawn and am raring to go (when I have the energy!) Thank you for your article Jess - and for sharing Lisa 💚
🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜
Bronwen, thank you for sharing your journey.
Your story enriches the collective stories of women in their menopause rite-of-passage.
As women we go through several rites of passage.
Menache- mostly not celebrated
Marriage- celebrated
Pregnancy and childbirth- celebrated
Menopause- not celebrated
We celebrate the mother archetype phase only.
What a disservice it has been for the young girl becoming and the wild woman becoming.
These rites of passage journeys are our stories to share.
Thank you, Bronwen.
Beautiful article! This comes at a time when we're all feeling a bit of unraveling whether hormonal or otherwise. I like Jess's perspective that this unraveling doesn't have to be a bad thing as it helps us get to the next phase of life. We're learning through perimenopause that we don't have to hold on so tight to life. It can be an uncomfortable adjustment but I believe helps us to be better as we age.
I really loved the section where Jess talks about what she knew about menopause. I also thought no big deal I'll breeze through it for the exact same reasons. Little did I know that it would be life-altering in so many ways.
And the quote about perimenopause being a call to home and rest was perfection.
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comment.
What a timely read as I’m questioning the changes happening in my body. I’m wondering how you knew you were starting perimenopause? 💚
For me (Lisa not Jess!) it was when I started to get hot flushes/flashes in my early 40s. Looking back with what I know there were other signs too. I just didn’t know. Jess will answer too I hope 😊
Sheila, because I did'nt know the signs to look for, it took about 2 years before I realized my symptoms were common signs of perimenopause.
The craziest part is that perimenopause can start way before we skip cycles. I always thought, 'well, I haven't skipped a cycle, so I guess this is just what periods do'. As I said, I had come into cycle awareness at the time that I came into perimenopause. Had I been tracking before the perimenopause shift, I would have known in that first year.
Some signs to look for:
New mood changes
Brain fog
New anxiety
Changes to period length
Changes to cycle length
Night sweats
Hot flashes/flushes
Insomnia or frequently waking through the night
Menstrual headaches at ovulation and/or menstruation
Anovulatory cycles
"Not feeling like myself"- see this article on the Periprofessional substack.
I highly recommend that you track your cycle days for the next 3 months charting symptoms and also what your overall energies are like.
If you aren't into journalling, check out tracking apps as this is a great place to start.
Also, if you are interested in learning all things perimenopause, I can point you to a great substack in this category: The Periprofessional. Check out her substack webpage as it has definitions and how to find perimenopause doctors etc.
One thing is for sure, there are many substack authors creating community for women on this journey. You are welcome to join me on this journey! The more, the merrier!
Oh crikey! What a stunning reply. I have subscribed to Preriprofessional and have read 'Not feeling like myself'.
It's very hard to unpick between what I call my holy trinity of infertility (endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids) and these symptoms.
Changes to cycle length, increase in blood during my period and migraines are my two things given me a niggle. The migraines, though, weirdly, most consistently don't fall on the week of my period. So not sure if they're hormone related.
And I'm on antidepressants after a rough year. So my mood changes have been very much in the positive direction! I've been feeling happy. Plus I'm having more energy (but I've been in burnout and I've got my existing issues which are at their best as I've been off work and therefore not stressed).
Oh these human bodies are hard to figure out. But I'll be doing my reading.
Are there any particular markers in blood tests I could be looking for?
My migraines upped a notch during the beginning of perimenopause. The neurologist (a man) said: well, they could get better or worse. Not super helpful. I did some other energy work around my migraines. That and perhaps timing helped and I hardly get them anymore. Saying that, I’ve had headaches and “almost migraine” for nearly two weeks now. 🤷🏼♀️
Haha that’s hilariously useless information! I had a head, face, neck, shoulder massage 💆🏻♀️ and it has helped tremendously. I seem to have a lot of tension in my head. What energy work did you do? I had a headache, almost migraine all weekend, but it didn’t come and I was verrrrrrry happy.
I'm glad your mood is on the up and up!
Menstrual headaches don't always line up with the period week.
Mostly it has to do with spikes and drops in estrogen.
Which in peri can happen at different times.
When you start tracking note the day your migraine kicks up.
As to the other two signs they are very often associated with perimenopause changes.
That’s good to know! I’ve been tracking my migraines since they got regular just before Christmas. I’ve been tracking;day they started, length and symptoms. For a while I thought there was a specific food/drink trigger as they were always starting at the weekend!
Yes, keep noting the cycle day that they happen. It may or may not be hormone related, but always good to know for if/when you see your doctor about it.
Yes, it’s true I do need to note the day of the cycle too. Thank you so much. What can of supper can a doctor give? Now I’ve read that you can’t really have a blood test to show it…
Thank you for this. I have been navigating all kinds of different symptoms/changes/something in the past couple of years and as someone who has been on birth control pill forever and also on SSRIs forever it's been tough to figure out what's the cause of what and what relates to what and what to do about it. And the only people who ever help are other women going/gone through it. Even if it's not the same experience at all, there's always a relatable gem that gives me insight. Love your list of "this all actually happened too".
Thank you for writing so eloquently about the "unraveling". Like you, I mistakenly thought in my 20s that menopause was about being hot, sweaty, moody and then your periods stopped. I had never heard the word "perimenopause" 8 years ago when I first started noticing symptoms. Not one doctor that I saw even mentioned the word, and because I was cycling "normally," no one thought it was perimenopause.
Now that I know what's happening, it makes managing the symptoms much easier. And the cycle awareness that you've been writing and podcasting about has been so helpful for me understanding my cycles and how to arrange my life according to the season. Thank you ❤️