We are now discussing menopause openly at last and bringing the discussion into the mainframe, but there’s a part of it that is often misunderstood – and that’s perimenopause. Perimenopause is the first stage of the menopause process and can start several months, or as much as 8 – 10 years, before menopause. Symptoms of perimenopause start before your periods stop - and can begin earlier than you would expect. For most women this starts in their 40s, although it can be earlier. Menopause is the point where a woman no longer has menstrual periods for at least 12 months.
Because perimenopause can start several years in the lead up to menopause, many of us don’t realise or recognise that our symptoms are associated with perimenopause, and instead attribute what we are feeling to ageing, stress, anxiety or depression. Some of the symptoms, like ‘brain fog’ can leave us feeling as if we aren’t coping at work (concentration can be tricky on some days!) and so we start to lose c
