As clichéd as it may be, time really does seem to go by a lot faster as you get older. It’s all very well saying you want to live in the moment But these days moments whizz by so quickly that by the time you realise you are experiencing one its gone.
Although there are plenty of wonderful things about getting older… um, nothing springing to mind just now… peri-menopause is not one of them. Peri-menopause just refers to those years before actual menopause, which is official once periods have stopped for a year. And although the average age for menopause in the west is about 51, it can happen later or in your 40s or even late 30s.
Is this peri-menopause?
Which brings me back to the issue of peri-menopause. For some women the declining estrogen can bring uncomfortable side effects. These may include:
• hot flashes and night sweats
• insomnia – possibly caused by the night sweats or the stresses of work, kids, parents and
• irritability and mood swings
• vaginal dryness, which can also bring on issues with recurring urinary tract infections
• irregular periods
• headaches
• weight gain
• body and joint aches.
Some women cruise through this transition relatively unbothered by symptoms. While women in China and Japan appear to be far less bothered by hot flushes, which some studies have put down to a diet high in soy.
All I know is that the old stalwarts of exercise, a healthy diet, plenty of sleep, wine, layers of clothing to adjust for wildly fluctuating body temperature, fast drying bamboo bedding, good friends and a sense of humour are essential to getting through it.
Cool and calma 