Am I in Perimenopause? The Big Checklist

“I just don’t feel right. I don’t feel like my old self. What’s happening to me? Am I in Perimenopause” 

These were the exact words I spoke to my husband a few years ago when I was trying to figure out what was going on with my body and mind. 

I had gone from being an organised person with a sharp mind to a vague and confused dizzy lady who found it hard to remember what she was doing from one moment to the next. I would walk into a room and stand, looking around vaguely, trying to remember what I had come in for. Goldfish brain was definitely the operative word.

Who put this random bottle of wine in my trolley?

Strange things would happen to me. I often found items in my supermarket trolley that I had no recollection of putting in. I knew I must have chosen them, but I had absolutely no memory of it. It was like having a phantom shopper adding surprises at the checkout. 

I found items in the fridge that totally didn’t belong there. I lost and misplaced things. I stumbled over words and forgot old friend’s names. I actually started to wonder if I had some kind of early-onset dementia [and scared myself to death by googling it!}

And there were other strange symptoms too. Old injuries flared up. An old ankle fracture from 20 years ago suddenly started to ache. The small of my back started to feel stiff and I got a literal pain in the butt which made me hobble about when I got up in the morning. I started to feel like a rickety old lady. I felt like I had changed overnight from a fit youngish person to a frail 90-year-old.

This was what gave me the clue that maybe there was more to this than sudden and dramatic overnight ageing. Maybe it was something to do with the fabled Menopause. At that time I didn’t have any of the classic symptoms such as hot flashes so it took me a little while to figure out what was going on. Maybe I was a little in denial too. 

However, when I put two and two together I understood and accepted what was happening. This was Perimenopause!. It was actually a relief to realise that I wasn’t going mad and that there was also something I could do about it…

What is Perimenopause? Am I in Perimenopause?

Perimenopause is simply the period of time when your fertility starts to decline. It can start anytime between 40 and 58 but the average age is 51.5 years old.

What I didn’t realise was that the language around menopause is very confusing. When we say “I’m going through Menopause” what we are probably referring to is Perimenopause. 

What? Menopause lasts a day?

Menopause itself is defined as the moment when a woman has gone a full year without having a period. So you are through menopause in the blink of an eye and are then defined as Post-Menopausal. Menopause itself literally lasts a day.

Its the damn Perimenopausal transition period that’s the tricky bit!.

So Perimenopause is the time period when our sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone decline and fluctuate. It’s not a calm controlled decline either. Hormones are fluctuating up and down like a crazy wild rollercoaster and that is what causes some of the more unpleasant side effects of the transition.

Perimenopause can last anywhere between 5 to 10 years. Some women will sail through it smoothly but others will have to cling on for dear life through the toughest storms and wild waters before reaching the calm on the other side of transition.

Why it’s important to know when you are in Perimenopause

The short answer is “So you don’t think you are losing your mind!”

Before I realised what was happening to me I truly thought I was going mad. I didn’t feel like myself at all and this started to affect all areas of my life including my relationships and family, my work and other areas of my health.

I believe that knowledge is power. Once I understood what was happening I could stop worrying, and then take steps to improve the situation {some of which I will share with you below}.

I understood that the aches and pains, anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, disappearing libido and memory issues were all parts of the jigsaw and could be improved.

The Belly Fat Solution

14 Day Menopause Weight Loss Plan

The Holistic Way To Balance your Hormones, Lose Weight & Feel Great – in 14 days

If you need a holistic and structured weight loss plan that walks you through losing your Menopause Belly Fat this may help you. It’s designed specifically for women struggling with their weight at midlife… and exercise is optional!

You can read more about my Belly Fat Weight Loss Plan here

Belly Fat Solution Menopause Weight Loss Plan

Natural Menopause Remedies

Women over the centuries have discovered various roots and plants which had properties to help ease menopause symptoms. These include things like Black Cohosh, Turmeric and Red Clover.

I have put together a comprehensive list of Natural Menopause Supplements which helped me on this page. There are a few other surprises in there too which I found really helpful.

Hormone Replacement Therapy {HRT}

Whilst my instinct is to try natural remedies first, for some women this is just not enough. I have met ladies who were absolutely incapacitated by Perimenopause and really needed the extra help of HRT. It seems like Bio-Identical Hormones should have a greater chance of working in harmony with the body. However, this is a confusing minefield so please do some careful research before deciding what to take. 

Positive Perimenopause

There are lots of positives to the Perimenopause. Once hormones are under control and have fallen you may find a new calmness in your life. I feel I have reached this place whereas before I was renowned for my volatile personality. People actually now describe me as a “calming influence” which makes me giggle inwardly. They obviously didn’t know me 5 years ago!

Sex can improve as well, being free from the constant pregnancy worry that is drummed into us as teenagers and still sticks there at the back of the brain. 

But the biggest positive for me is feeling that I am at the beginning of a new and exciting part of my life where I feel free and finally able to be myself without the expectations, pressures and harassment that come with the fertile years [I haven’t been catcalled by a builder since perimenopause kicked in. How do they know!}

So in short. You will feel like yourself again. Take control, take care of your body and move forward positively into your exciting future.

PS. If you feel like you need a little revitalisation, download my FREE ebook below for inspiration to help you relight your fire at midlife.