Symptoms

The changes women report most often through perimenopause and menopause, what is known about each, what helps, and when to see a doctor.

A close portrait of a woman looking directly at the camera

Well over thirty symptoms have been associated with perimenopause. Most women experience some of them; almost nobody experiences all of them.

The difficulty is that individually, each has other plausible explanations. Tiredness, low mood, aching joints and poor concentration are all things a busy person in their forties might reasonably attribute to being a busy person in their forties. It is the combination, and the timing against cycle changes, that forms the picture.

If you are not sure whether what you are experiencing fits, the symptom check takes about two minutes and gives you a summary you can take to a doctor.

Articles in Symptoms

Brain fog in perimenopause

Word-finding trouble, lost concentration and a memory that suddenly seems unreliable. What is known about cognitive changes in…

Fatigue and exhaustion

Tiredness that sleep does not fix is one of the most common complaints in perimenopause — and one of the most likely to have a…

Heavy and irregular periods

Cycles that shorten, lengthen or disappear, and bleeding heavy enough to plan your life around. What is expected in perimenopause…

Hot flushes and night sweats

What a hot flush actually is, why they happen, how long they last, and what reduces them. The most recognised symptom of…

Joint pain and stiffness

Aching hands, stiff mornings and shoulders that will not free up. Joint pain is one of the most common and least recognised…

Low libido in perimenopause

Loss of interest in sex is one of the most common changes through perimenopause and one of the least discussed. What contributes…

Low mood in perimenopause

Feeling flat, tearful or unlike yourself in your forties is common in perimenopause — and commonly mistaken for depression alone.…

Perimenopause and anxiety

Anxiety that arrives in your forties without an obvious cause is a common and under-recognised feature of perimenopause. Here is…

Sleep problems and insomnia

Waking at 3am, unable to get back to sleep. Why sleep breaks down in perimenopause, why it drives so many other symptoms, and…

Urinary symptoms and recurrent UTIs

Needing to go more often, sudden urgency, leaking, and urinary tract infections that keep coming back. Why urinary symptoms rise…

Vaginal dryness and discomfort

Dryness, irritation and pain during sex affect a large minority of women after menopause. Unlike most symptoms it does not…

Weight and body shape changes

Weight that settles differently in your forties, on a diet that has not changed. What is actually happening, what the evidence…

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Answer a few questions about how you have been feeling. You get a plain-language summary you can take to any doctor — ours or your own.