Peri menopause FAQs

How do I know if I’m in peri menopause?

The NHS has a small amount of information about peri menopause and menopause symptoms, but to be honest it’s a tiny, tiny snapshot of information that’s now available on the peri peri club.

Peri menopause can make an appearance in your life anywhere up to 10 years before you go through menopause, but broadly speaking it seems to come into your life between 2 and 5 years before menopause.

This is far from a complete list of symptoms, but here are just some of the symptoms you might experience in peri:

Tiredness lots of the time

• Mood swings
• All over aching
• Hot flushes
• Cold sweats
• Forgetfullness
• Sore boobies
• Brain fog
• Palpitations
• Headaches
• Dry vagina
• Itchy skin
• Weight gain
• Dry skin
• Changes in your menstrual cycle (eg heavier, lighter, shorter or longer cycles)

Are peri menopause symptoms worse before periods?

Periods themselves can vary hugely when you’re in peri menopause. They might be lighter, heavier, no different, or something else. My cycle can last anywhere from 3 to 38 days. Sometimes I’ll have pre menstrual bloating, or nausea or a heaviness like light period pain type cramping.  These variations are because hormone levels are dancing to their own tune in peri.

Peri menopause symptoms can worsen before your period, or they may not. The most helpful thing you can do is to keep conscious about your symptoms and experiences, so you’ll be able to identify if and when they change. Your friend might consistently find that she has pre menstrual bloating, for example, but before your period you might find your brain fog worsens. 

Can peri menopause cause nausea?

Yes. Why can you feel nauseous when you’re in peri menopause? It’s because of diminishing progesterone, which can also result in anxiety, indigestion and bloating.

Peppermint and ginger can help some people feel a bit brighter if they struggle with nausea, but ginger tea would probably be a healthier choice than a pack of ginger nuts. And add a couple of drops of peppermint oil into your smoothie rather than demolishing a box of After Eights.

If I’m in peri now, how long will it be until I’m in full menopause?

There’s a reallllly big potential range of time for how long you might be in the peri peri club before upgrading your membership. Patient.info says peri can last anything from a few months to 10 years. Nice eh. Women are normally in their 40s when they notice peri menopausal symptoms, with the average age symptoms start 47.

Why is peri menopause ruining my life?

If you feel like this, big hugs and love to you, because I did too. My fat, anxious, angry, sweaty body seemed completely lost in life. 

Once I realised I was in peri, I knew I could do something about it – to a degree.

I started drinking more water and eating more healthily, and reached out to my GP. I leaned on my friends; some of whom were also in the peri peri club, some of whom weren’t yet.

I researched HRT with the help of my fabulous friend Becca, who guided me to the NICE guidelines on HRT, which I took to my GP when I first had an appointment to discuss HRT.

HRT is NOT for everyone and is totally personal preference; it’s been a godsend for me, and the nightly hot flushes and cold sweats stopped one week after I started on HRT.

If you feel truly awful in lots of ways with peri menopause symptoms, lean on your support circle and talk to your GP. Something that is a proper game changer is actually labelling your symptoms as peri. You may get some comfort from understanding that MILLIONS of other women are in the thick of this strange period of your life with you.

It’s really only the past year or two that peri has even been ACKNOWLEDGED, let alone talked about. It can be frightening, confusing and really really distressing. Don’t struggle alone.

How can you treat peri menopause?

HRT, like I’ve said, is a very personal choice. It’s one way to alleviate some peri symptoms and is not the only option. HRT treats peri and menopause symptoms by topping up the fluctuating levels of oestrogen, which then means the symptoms subside. Hot flushes, for example, are believed to happen because low or inconsistent oestrogen levels make it hard for your body to regulate its temperature.

There are also some herbal medications like red clover leaf, but research and results are notiriously unreliable or incomplete, so if you’re looking into complementary medicines, I urge you to take up the converesation with your GP.

Strength training is reported fabulous for many peri peri club symptoms.

There are lots of supposed peri menopause supplements coming out of the woodwork, but PLEASE view these with suspicion and caution. Slick marketing can be expensive, and there’s no proof that a lot of these supplements relieve ANYTHING apart from your hard earned cash.

I can help you through coaching sessions. We can find ways to adapt your mindset, habits and behaviours so that you don’t have to put a fun, enjoyable life on hold until you’re through the other side of menopause.

What’s the difference between peri menopause and menopause?

Peri menopause, or as my friends and I like to call it, the peri peri club, is the transition to menopause. The NHS says that you’re in peri if you have symptoms of the menopause but you’re still having periods. 

It never fails to confuse and frustrate me that you can’t actually say you’re ‘in menopause’ because you’ve actually got to have gone through it. WTF? Why is that? Well it’s because menopause is going a year without menstrual periods. 

Periods can vary hugely when you’re in peri. They might be shorter, longer, lighter, heavier, or any combination of those. That’s because your poor hormones are all over the shop when you’re in peri menopause. More on that in the next question.

I get that in peri, hormones fluctuate. Which hormones fluctuate and why?

Three hormones come into play in female health – oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Testosterone, as in big bulky gym dudes? Yes, but also no.

Oestrogen (UK spelling), or estrogen (US spelling) is probably the first hormone that comes to mind when you think of women’s health or the menopause. It contributes to reproductive health. Progesterone regulates menstruation and supports pregnancy. Testosterone is a male sex hormone that is also produced in small amounts in women; it is important for muscle mass, bone health and to regulate the menstrual cycle and ovulation.

Oestrogen and progesterone rise and fall throughout a standard menstrual cycle, but in peri menopause they’re all over the place because they can’t regulate themselves. The result is those wild hot flushes that come out of nowhere, flashes of rage and many, many other unwanted and hard to manage symptoms. Testosterone doesn’t drop specifically in peri menopause or menopause, but it does decrease with age, so can be a factor in hormone fluctuations overall.