Perimenopause Symptom Checker – Is This Menopause?

1. Brain Fog

Being unable to think, recall words, remember people’s names and forget the simplest of things was truly awful.

Brain fog is very common and research has shown that up to two-thirds of all menopausal and perimenopausal women struggle with this.

If, like me, you work full time, brain fog is a real charmer and pops up at the worst time. I ended up questioning if I was fit for the job anymore, I just couldn’t think straight.

For the longest time, I put brain fog down to being a busy Mum and a stressful job. Don’t put up with feeling awful and don’t assume it is not hormone related and is just because you have a busy life.

Go and speak to a healthcare provider and show this perimenopause symptom checker or track your symptoms over time, using a tracker like this.

2. Struggling to Concentrate

Trying to concentrate when you are spending so much energy trying to fight the fog can be hard. 

It can be frustrating not being able to focus and concentrate but this is a common symptom of perimenopause.

If you are asking yourself “Am I menopausal?” and, like the rest of us, have researched symptoms, you will see this popping up time and time again.

Struggling to concentrate is ranked highly when looking at symptoms affecting work.

Mental symptoms are often overlooked, concentration is one of them and it is one of the common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

3. Panic Attack

OK, this one was my nemesis. Let me tell you my story. I was standing in the kitchen making breakfast for the family when I started having chest pains and heart palpitations.

These were strong chest pains that made me have to take a seat.

They got stronger and stronger and I started to feel dizzy. Convinced I was having a heart attack I called 999 and they dispatched an ambulance.

Off to A&E, I went, and after numerous tests, it was concluded that my heart was healthy and strong. 

I felt awful for calling 999 but then the lovely doctor informed me that panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks.

Panic attacks??? I don’t get panic attacks, I was making eggs! It is worth noting at this point that I had no idea I was perimenopausal so, as you do, so it was put it down to stress and went home.

4. Anxiety

So, if you are experiencing increased anxiety then I am sending you all my love.

Anxiety is common and can truly take over and disrupt your life. There are many different ways it shows up but a few of mine were:

• Convinced people didn’t like me

• Became very fearful of driving in the dark

• Assumed everything I did was wrong

• I no longer felt attractive and was convinced my partner thought I was ugly

• Cried a lot because I now had a permanent feeling of dread

• Tiredness to rival my 10-year-old on a sugar come down

If you are suffering from this and just don’t feel like yourself, don’t pass it off as “I am a bit run down” “I will feel better in a couple of weeks” or “Who isn’t anxious these days!” (I told myself all of this for years) It does not matter what age you are.

Menopause in your forties is a real thing. Go and see your GP. 

Often anti-anxiety meds are prescribed without realising it is a symptom of the start of menopause, be sure to get the treatment that is right for you.

5. Mood Swings

This will sound dramatic but bear with me.

I honestly went from happy, to frustrated, anxious, angry, teary, laughing, to fearful, and back to low mood and full of rage all within one day.

This happened every.single.day. I thought I was officially losing it.

I snapped at my kids way more than I would, remember crying because they were playing up at bedtime and I was so tired and desperate to get to bed, I didn’t care that I had made them cry.

The guilt I felt the next morning was all-consuming.

Even this wildly out-of-character behaviour never made me ask the golden question “Am I Menopausal?” So what are perimenopausal mood swings like?

• Anger

• Irritability

• Remorse

• Sadness

• Aggression

• Fatigue

Your hormone levels fluctuate when your period is due, so you may have a really good idea of what I am talking about.

Many women recognise the mood changes, poor sleep bloating that come with their periods, it’s a little like that.

I was completely overwhelmed by my new feelings of anger and irritability so it did come as a shock to me.

6. Introversion

Can you be a sociable person and throughout a couple of years you slowly withdraw from your social circles, stop agreeing to meet up, delay replying to texts and find yourself in a position where you are alone and feeling shit?

If I had thought to do more research or even if I had been taught these things in school, this one I would have remembered.

Being introverted would have been the one menopausal symptom that surely wouldn’t happen to me.

But it did, so keep a close eye on this one. It can sneak up on you and it can change everything. You know you need support but you slowly move away from it.

7. Low Sex Drive

This is what it says on the tin.

Not everyone is prancing around in sexy underwear in their early forties being all kittenish and desirable, but nor are we dusty old maids ready to close up shop.

A drop in hormones does not help with wanting fun in the sheets, it leads to vaginal dryness and tightness, some people report a burning sensation down there and let’s be honest if you have been feeling any of this up to now your sex drive has left town. 

Low libido and vaginal dryness can be fixed with topical solutions from your GP, it’s worth a chat.

Even if you don’t fancy HRT there are solutions for this one so don’t slam down the roller shutters just yet.

Low sex drive was not one I expected to be on my perimenopause symptom checker but low libido happens to a lot of women at this stage of life and needs to be addressed.

8. Sore Joints

Many women suffer more from the physical symptoms of menopause.

I come from a family who all have arthritis. So when I started to get awful joint pain in my arm, my hip and my knee a few years ago, I immediately thought “Here we go” and I put up with it for years.

Not being able to lie on my left side because of the shooting pain in my arm or roll to the right because of my sore hip, sleep evaded me for a very long time.

I was a burned-out, sleep-deprived, hobbling ball of stress.

Joint pain on of the common physical symptoms of menopause and once I started looking at a perimenopause symptom checker, I was finally able to make the connection and realise that this may not be arthritis.

There is something powerful about being honest with your GP and telling them you know your stuff and you want it to be considered.

Knowledge is power.

9. Bloating

Bloating is extremely common in menopause and perimenopause but bloating is something we all sometimes experience.

It can be around the time of our periods, or if we eat something we are intolerant to (in my case gluten) the list is endless.

Bloating due to menopause is not quite the same, it hangs around most of the time.

Perimenopause bloating can feel like tightness, fullness, uncomfortable and a bit gassy!

I remember the bloating went all the way up to my ribcage, there was an actual ridge that stuck out below my rib cage so you could physically see where the bloating started. I looked pregnant.

10. Breast Soreness

Like bloating, breast soreness might be something you go through every month and your boobs are a little more sore than normal.

Sometimes it can just be one boob, and they both are sore. In my case, it was my left boob.

It was painful and the only way to describe it was a little like burning, oh and I had a swollen armpit which I later found out was my breast tissue.

At the time I was concerned so, I went to my doctor who referred me to the breast clinic. 

Multiple tests later and I was given the all-clear from anything nasty, It was here that I heard for the first time, a consultant says, “You are of an age now where your hormones are changing – take Evening Primrose oil”

You would think this would have sparked my conversation into menopause but nope off I went just thrilled it was nothing horrid.

If you have any changes in your boobs, any at all, no matter how small. Please go and speak to your GP. Get the girls checked out.

Sore boobs comes up on perimenopause symptom checker every time I search for it, it’s a common one.

11. Irregular periods

There is nothing more terrifying than knowing you still get periods but are not 100% sure when the crimson mistress will rear her head!

Some months I come on when I am expected to, other months I am 7 days early or 10 days late and on we go, dancing the dance to a tune I am no longer familiar with. 

When I started to have irregular periods, I immediately thought I was pregnant and took lots of tests and couldn’t understand why they were irregular and why they were SO heavy.

I had no idea how to prepare for it and to be honest, I still don’t.

Tracking your periods over a few months and going to your GP armed with this perimenopause symptom checker will help them when looking at all your menopause symptoms combined.

12. Tingling Extremities

In my case, it was my fingers.

I would often start with a tingle and free fall into full-on pins and needles in my hands. I could be seen shaking my hands around whilst sitting on the sofa like a mad woman.

I had put this down to poor circulation because the exhaustion was all-consuming and I was not working out anymore. 

It’s worth noting here to keep an eye out for numbness and crawly skin like something is crawling on your skin, but there is nothing there.

Nothing quite like freaking out in a morning meeting because I was convinced there was something on my sleeve. Cheers, menopause.

13. Weight Gain

Weight gain is a tricky one.

We are in our forties and it is really common to put on a little weight as we age but for me, it was the craving for sweet foods to power me through the tiredness and comfort me from my anxiety.

Also, to be honest. I was drinking more than I should. I felt sad, exhausted, and thought I was going crazy, so drinking on a night was on one the only ways I could get to sleep. 

And we all know drinking does not exactly help with weight loss…

14. Tiredness (who am I kidding? I mean exhaustion)

Waking up tired, needing to nap in the middle of the day, and crying for your bed by 8 pm is NOT something to pass off as being busy.

Menopause fatigue does not come close to being an acceptable term for what I was feeling, I was broken.

I had to have a disco nap (there was never a disco) every single day. I felt like I did in the first trimester of being pregnant. 

For those of you ladies without kids, it is exactly like the exhaustion you feel when you have had the toughest mental few months, you keep fighting and fighting it but then your body declares “NOPE” and wants to collapse. 

My get up and go, got up and went.

This was made worse when fellow symptoms of anxiety, sleepless nights and sore joints came to join the party.

It is not normal to be that tired and you know when you are weirdly tired. Don’t pass it off, go and see a GP. If you suffer from this symptom check out this post on fighting fatigue.

15. Hot Flushes / Hot Flashes

Ah, the red-cheeked, sweaty cow bag that is a hot flush.

I work for a military company which is 98% male and can’t begin to tell you how often a hot flush would come when I needed it not to.

In the middle of a tense meeting, in front of my peers in the boardroom, on Zoom calls and in several client meetings.

The desire to rip off my skin and throw it at the nearest male who didn’t have a bloody clue was insatiable. “Sorry sir but your enormous amount of progesterone is peeing me off” 

The weird looks you get with hot flushes is the thing that I don’t understand.

It is the main thing we were all taught about menopause. I got two at school: hot flushes and your period stop. Boom, that’s it. It’s menopause.

Turning bright red and sweaty with hot flushes should not be as startling for people to see as it is. Get over it folks, it’s a hot flush, it’s hell and you will need to understand that I can still function with a red face, just about.

16. Headaches and Migraines

OK, I was surprised to learn when researching a perimenopause symptom checker how often menopausal ladies cite headaches as a symptom.

So many poor women have debilitating migraines and it can truly ruin your quality of life. 

My headaches did turn into migraines and usually piped up 1 week before when I had guessed my period may be coming.

I had never suffered from migraines and had no idea how awful they are. My headaches are accountable for my low mood for the last few years.

I am so sorry ladies if you suffer from these (at any time) you have all my sympathy. They are nasty.

17. Night Sweats

I am lucky to have avoided night sweats in any serious way. The waking up hot a lot was my thing, but not soaking wet. I have friends who have them and it is not fun.

Aside from the obvious and waking up in night sweats, disturbed sleep leads to a lack of sleep and becomes a bigger problem.

This is often an early sign that you have started your perimenopause journey.

Night sweats can have a number of reasons behind them, go get it checked.

18. Difficulty Sleeping

Being in bed and staring at the ceiling is not new for me, I am an overthinker and in a busy job with kids and dogs, sometimes this is my only chance to think clearly.

This was different.

All my usual tips and tricks to gently send me off to Slumberland no longer worked. Instead of staring at the ceiling for maybe an hour or so, this was lasting way into the early hours. 

As a side note on this, sometimes we forget to include disturbed sleep. This can simply be waking up more than normal in the night, or waking up and struggling to get back to sleep even if you have nothing on your mind.

Lack of sleep contributes to your low mood, takes away your energy and lack of sleep can give you dizzy spells.

19. Sore Gums

Taking care of my teeth is something I take great pride in. I have a cracking set of gnashers and I intend to keep it that way, but one of my perimenopause symptoms was sore teeth and gums.

I floss as well as anyone but now my gums would bleed more often and I would find myself saying “My jaw hurts” This is not a normal thing to say.

Perimenopause can lead to wobbly teeth and even tooth loss so don’t discard this one as having too many Werther’s Originals.

Dry mouth is worth talking about here, there is a link between a drop in oestrogen and having less saliva, which can lead to needing to down a pint in the night.

20. Fearful

I briefly covered this in number 4. (Anxiety) but it bears repeating.

The thought of driving at night and the action of driving in the dark became so alien to me, I would get teary at the thought of it, having always been a confident driver and drive around the UK in my job but this was truly awful. 

I was diagnosed as perimenopausal in the winter time and that is because this fear was so bad that my day ended at 3:30 and I would not go out, so I pushed to see a GP.

All of the other symptoms you see above I didn’t put together and think “Am I menopausal?” But then I saw Davina McCall on Steph’s Packed Lunch and she said that she, at the start of menopause, became fearful of driving. This stopped me in my tracks. 

Once I heard Davina’s symptoms all lumped together, I immediately went online to find a perimenopause symptom checker that might give me the answers. 

From there I saw a GP who was a menopause specialist and we discussed that in my early 40s, I was indeed starting menopause.

Honourable Mention to Perimenopause Symptoms

Having covered the main symptoms and talked about those that affected me the most but please note that there are many many more.

I don’t want to leave you without giving an honourable mention to:

• Wild Hairs – boobs, chin, anywhere you least expect it and they are usually wiry little buggers.

• Body Odour – you may find that your once natural musty scent is more post 100m sprint sweat.

• Extreme Cold – like a hot flush you may experience extreme cold. Clumsy – out of nowhere your depth perception is off and you find yourself bumping into things.

• Skin Changes – What? I can thank my menopausal transition for my new weird skin that rejects my moisturised and I can no longer dye my own hair. Cheers.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Well, this one is easy. It sucks, it can suck when you have no idea why you are feeling this way or why these things are happening to you. That is why I put together this perimenopause symptom checker. 

Hormones fluctuate, ladies, some days you feel great, others you feel awful. Symptoms change from day to day.

So if you are reading this, then PLEASE beat the door down to your GP but make sure they understand menopause, HRT and alternative options to help.

Too many GPs have basic knowledge, leaving ladies suffering for far longer than needed. Write down everything you are going through and go in armed with info, symptoms, frequency and a determined attitude. You’ve got this. Don’t suffer anymore. 

If you want to reach out, drop me a note. I’d love to hear from you.

It can be lonely when you are the only one who thinks this is happening to you. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I heard “It’s not menopause, you are too young” Piss off!!! You know your body better than anyone, trust your instincts, and know that you will find answers and support if you look hard enough.

If you need to offload, I am here for you, drop me a note and let’s have a chat.

Kathryn x