My Personal Journey Through Peri-Menopause
PLEASE NOTE: I paid for my own supplements, therapies and treatments and was not gifted products or paid by any company to write this blog.
I am not medically trained and you should always consult your GP or a medically trained practitioner before starting any new supplement or medication and always use as advised.
This blog contains affiliate links. Making a purchase via my affiliate link means I may receive a small share of the sale.
As a 45 year old skincare expert who is fortunate to be surrounded by many different ages of lovely female clients. I understand the importance of our mental health, hormones and wellness and the affect it has on our bodies, skin, mind and most importantly our life and relationships.
Peri-Menopause and Menopause are a very significant part of the female life. Sadly for my grandmothers and even my mother menopause just wasn't talked about back then.
Women quite often didn't talk to their family doctor, their friends or partners about what they were feeling and the symptoms they were experiencing. Women were told, and believed they just had to quietly get on with it without a fuss and just retreat into the back ground of society.
Now in 2025 things are changing for the better and conversations are starting to be had around this taboo subject. Women around my age are really starting to be more open and learning more about what Peri and Menopause really means for us.
We are learning more about how our bodies are changing and linking symptoms we are experiencing to this stage in our life. We are starting to feel heard, understood as well as help now becoming more available to us.
It still isn't all rosey for everyone though, I still know of many clients still being pushed back and not helped by their GP's, either being told they are too young to be having symptoms, or being told that they are not allowed to be on HRT until a certain age.
Women are often still being offered anti-depressants, sleeping tablets, pain medication or counselling instead of being really listen to. Peri-menopause/menopause is not even being brought up by or discussed by the GP's let alone treated.
I feel it is really important for us women to openly talk about how we are feeling, the more we keep talking about peri-menopause and menopause the more women will not feel alone with their symptoms. These symptoms can be really life consuming and can leave us feeling isolated.
In this blog I will talk about my own personal experience of entering into my Peri-menopause stage and the symptoms I have been suffering with, also information regarding supplements, medication and other alternative therapies that have helped me.
Are you feeling low in mood, lack of energy, brain fog and many more symptoms!
You are not alone, I am aged 45 and I am currently in my peri-menopause stage of life.
What is Peri-Menopause and Menopause?
Peri-menopause is when our ovaries function slowly starts to fail, and stop producing the correct levels of three important hormones, Oestrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone. These hormone levels start to become sporadic and irregular, spiking on some days and dropping on others. Peri-menopause can start up to 10 years before moving into the Menopause stage.
Menopause is when our monthly periods have stopped completely marking the end of our reproductive years. At this stage our ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and stopped producing any Oestrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone.
Our ovaries play the main role in hormone production and regulation, they supply our bodies with Oestrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone. There are also other organs that play a small contribution to producing and regulating these hormones, our Pituitary Gland and our Adrenal Glands.
While we are young these three hormones are crucial for regulating our menstrual cycle and supporting reproductive development. But also they have a big influence on many more aspects of our health such as mood, brain function, cognitive health, energy levels, heart health and musculoskeletal bone strength which are all so much more important as we age. So if we are producing less or none of these hormones in our bodies while at this stage in our lives, it is really going to influence our whole bodies health and our lives going forward.
Testosterone - Yes you read that right, us females do produce and use Testosterone in our bodies. Testosterone is responsible for libido, sexual desire, arousal and pleasure.
We still want to feel all these emotions even if we are middle age or older. Plus Testosterone also influences our mood, motivation, brain health, energy levels and bone strength I believe all these area's of our health are really important at any age.
My personal journey
Physical Changes
My personal journey has been a hard one so far, looking back now I believe my peri-menopause started in my mid to late 30's. It started with heavier and more painful periods than what I was used to.
My vagina started to feel numb, dry and uncomfortable all the time, so intercourse was painful and I started to also lose my libido so intimacy started to disappear, my advise is to keep honest communications with your partner, tell them how your are feeling. No loving partner should put pressure on you, so be completely open in your relationship and seek medical advise.
I also had bladder control issues, I needed the toilet more and had to run quicker to get there in time.
Weight Gain
I started to put more weight on mainly around my middle, but my diet hadn't changed.
I had severe muscle aches and pains, with joint stiffness especially first thing in the mornings, I would walk down the stairs like a 90 year old.
Skin and Hair Changes
My skin started to change, It became more dry and sensitive, my chest and cheeks started to flush red triggered by either my body temperature fluctuating or from a hot shower.
I also experienced skin crawling sensation on my back, arms and legs and over sensation to touch, just a small drop of water running down my back would feel like a tarantula crawling over me.
I noticed my hair starting to go very grey/white around the front of my hairline and it was starting to get drier and more delicate. I also had more hair loss and slower growth, My hair started to feel thinner and less volume.
Sleep pattern
My sleep became so patchy, almost every other night I struggled to get comfortable from my aches and pains and muscle cramps I just couldn't get to sleep, I laid there night after night overthinking and feeling alone.
Mental health challenges
My mental health was the hardest symptom for me to live with. While I started going through peri-menopause I really started to feel down and had a constant sadness deep inside my soul for no reason.
My life was good but that didn't stop me from having a lot of dark, negative thoughts that wouldn't go away. My inner critical voice got louder and louder. I felt I was starting to lose control of my feelings and my mind.
I fell out of love with myself and everything around me. Although I thought I was good at hiding the way I was feeling my husband, clients and family members started to notice that I really wasn't quite myself. The power of lacking hormones and the effect it can have on your mental health and your brain is not to be underestimated.
I started to notice I was losing my confidence, my concentration and my motivation to do anything. My brain fog was bad, I couldn't remember names and my short term memory was getting really concerning. I could't tell you even what I ate for dinner the the night before.
Other Symptoms
Although the symptoms above lasted months, I also suffered from many symptoms that were very random and didn't last for very long but were still alarming, I suffered from heart palpitations on two separate occasions. I also had moments that my adrenaline was pumping fast and felt my speech was quicker and felt a bit panicky.
I suffered from tinnitus for 6 weeks, I could hear my pulse in one ear constantly. I Also started to get cluster heads that would come and go a deep pressure on my temple.
All of these symptoms I went to my GP about and investigations took place but nothing was found on my MRI and my ECG, so no answers to why these things were happening and then one day these symptoms just stopped and went away.
Other symptoms I know other women have suffered with are, burning mouth and gums, sore breasts, plantar Fasciitis, (condition affecting the muscles in your feet) Swollen hands and feet and many many more.
Very Important
Everyones symptoms are very different from each other, I didn't suffer from the well known and common hot flushes. From my experience and from talking to many women, we share some symptoms but not all and I believe every women's journey will have some similarities but on the other hand also very different.
If you are suffering from any symptoms, ailments or you have any concerns regarding your health it is very important that you go and visit your GP (General Practitioner) it doesn't matter how large or small your concern is please seek professional help and advice. Not all symptoms will, or can be directly linked to peri or menopause, other health conditions could be present so always go to your GP and tell them everything.
Enough Was Enough
After breaking down and having a heart to heart with my husband, I completely opened up about how I was feeling and I also told him about the dark negative thoughts I had been having. I straight away felt better by opening up but I knew I needed to get professional help.
As I said at the beginning of this blog, I think I had been suffering for many years before even considering peri-menopause.
I saw a Programme staring Davina McCall called 'Sex, Myths and the Menopause' that rang alarm bells with me, maybe my symptoms and the way I was feeling could be the start of my body going through the change?
Up until that moment I had many NHS investigations for my very painful, heavy periods and my symptoms of feeling unwell, dry and uncomfortable down below these investigations included ultrasounds, MRI scans, womb biopsy and many others over a period of 3 to 4 years. I felt I was getting nowhere as all my results came back normal.
I believed I had been suffering from Endometriosis (self Diagnosis) for over 15 years, it is a long story for another time but I felt not listen to and the NHS wouldn't test me for it so I was told they would't do anything else for me.
I started to look into a more holistic approach and started see an amazing Homeopathic practitioner. I had previously seen her 10 years before for my chronic fatigue syndrome and she was so good that I went back to her to see if she could help me again. She thought I was right and was suffering with Endometriosis and she treated me for my physical symptoms I had at that time.
I also started to see a Hypnotherapist to help me with my mind and mood. She really helped me to break the negative thought patterns and helped to stop my inner critical voice and the sadness I was feeling at the time.
I found Homeopathic treatment and Hypnotherapy really helped me with some of my early peri-menopausal symptoms and I felt much better, but after a couple of years I started noticing lots of others symptoms and after seeing Davina McCall's show and doing lots of my own research online, I started to see that maybe my Endometriosis had started to get worse due to now starting peri-menopause. I told my Homeopath I was going to try researching HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy).
Aged 40, I went to see my GP, I am very lucky to have a very understanding and caring GP. I told her that I think I maybe peri-menopausal and she explain that she will do full bloods but peri-menopause is very hard to diagnose as it doesn't always show up in bloods unlike menopause that does show up in a blood test.
Nothing did show up, so my GP sent me on my way to look into HRT and to have a think about if I wanted to start it or not.
After doing a lot of research, I decided that starting HRT maybe a good thing for me. From my research I found that although there still doesn't seem to be many 'up to date' trials or information regarding the benefits of taking HRT for peri-menopause, the information I did see was all very positive.
HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) will help top up my hormones I am lacking, to a normal level so my body isn't under so much stress and to relieve my symptoms.
I have been on HRT in the form of Oestrogen body gel, Progesterone tablets and Testosterone body gel for around 3 years now, and feel so much better. My life consuming symptoms really have reduced and started to disappear. I
started to feel so much more like my normal self. I started to gain my confidence back, my aches and pains have reduced massively. My mood swings have stopped and I feel more grounded. Being on HRT has been a really positive and good experience for me, but i understand that it is a personal journey for each of us and one size doesn't fit all.
Over my 3 years of taking HRT I have had my dosage changed by my GP to find the right personal dosage for me as I mentioned everyone is different and treatment needs to be customised to your own needs.
Supportive Supplements
A year ago I wanted to find a nutritional support to take along side my HRT to help me further during my peri-menopause and to continue taking into my menopause, that would help support my body as it is changing.
I know the importance of taking a multi-layered treatment approach to wellbeing and this is when I found Kollo Health and their MENO Support Supplement, I just had to try it.
Kollo Health MENO Support Supplement
Kollo Health Premium Liquid Meno Support is a specially formulated liquid supplement that aims to provide nutritional support for women experiencing menopause or peri-menopause.
It's crafted to help maintain normal energy levels and support overall vitality during this transformative phase of life.
How To Take MENO Support Supplement
The supplement is conveniently packaged in individually dosed liquid sachets, making it simple to take. Just snip or tear off the tab at the end of the sachet and either squeeze the contents directly into your mouth or mix it into half a glass of water, stir to dissolve and then drink. The supplement features a delicious apple and blackcurrant flavour.
Personally, I mix mine into chilled water, and take last thing at night, which also helps me stay hydrated throughout the night and the magnesium helps my muscles relax and helps me sleep.
Be sure to follow the recommended daily dosage as indicated on the packaging.
Kollo Health Liquid Meno Support was perfect for me as it offers a promising solution for all women seeking nutritional support during menopause and peri-menopause.
It has carefully selected ingredients and comes in a convenient liquid form which is easier for your body to absorb. It aims to provide comprehensive support for menopausal health and overall vitality.
The formula includes vital nutrients that support menopause health, mind, body and general vitality. While also supporting energy levels, cognitive function, overall wellbeing and supporting our immune system.
Key ingredients and nutrients
- Lion’s Mane Extract 1,500mg
- Magnesium Citrate 56.25mg
- Ashwagandha Root Extract
- Red Clover Extract 100mg
- Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) 5μg
- Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) 200μg
- Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 1.4mg
Benefits
Lion’s Mane Extract - is adaptogen mushroom to enhance cognitive function and regulate your mood as well as supporting our immune system.
Magnesium - is a crucial mineral to support electrolyte balance, muscle function, and nervous system health. Helps your muscles and nerves relax improving the quality of your sleep.
Ashwagandha Root Extract - offers benefit to help lower stress and anxiety levels, helps balance your hormones and improves mood.
Red Clover Extract - reduces hot flashes and night sweats, improves bone health and also has cardiovascular health benefits as well as helping aid oestrogen production.
Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) - helps brain fog, mood swings, depression by promoting serotonin production.
My Personal Review
I absolutely love this supplement and have been taking it for over nine months now.
Since incorporating it into my night time routine, I’ve noticed real improvements in my mood, energy levels, overall positivity, and the quality of my sleep.
I would highly recommend this supplement to anyone seeking extra support and well-being during peri and menopause. It taste lovely and there is no need to take multiple amounts of chunky supplements and vitamin tablets because each daily sachet has everything you need for your daily recommended dose.
Kollo have done all the hard work for me, they have done the research and worked out all the positive supplements and vitamins that my body is needing at this stage in my life, all in the convenience of a daily sachet. These supplements not only taste good, but they are so easy to take.
In the past I would quite often purposely forget to take my 5 different chunky vitamin tablets at night because I couldn't face swallowing them. But now I have all those vitamins and extra supplements in one easy sachet.
What I also particularly appreciate is Kollo’s strong ethos and genuine commitment to women's health. Their partnership with GenM which is a leading organisation focused on ending the stigma around menopause and transforming women's health through education.
Conclusion
Raising awareness and supporting each other through this important stage of life is the reason behind me opening up about my own personal journey into Peri-menopause.
I hope it goes a little way to highlighting the importance of us talking more about this subject and opening up to our partners, friends and family, also getting the help that we need.
I don't want women feeling alone and isolated during what can be a very life consuming stage.
If you are suffering from any symptoms, ailments or you have any concerns regarding your health it is very important that you go and visit your GP (General Practitioner) it doesn't matter how large or small your concern is please seek professional help and advice. Not all symptoms will, or can be directly linked to peri or menopause, other health conditions could be present so always go to your GP and tell them everything.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog - My Personal Journey Through Peri-Menopause. I hope you have found this blog informative and I hope it has encouraged you to open up about your own experiences and pushes you to ask for the help you need. If you are feeling some of these symptoms, please know that you are not alone, there are many of us struggling in silence.
I also hope this blog may have also inspire you to try Kollo Health's Meno Support Supplement and start your journey to feeling more like your old self, with an extra spring in your step. By clicking on one of the many links in this blog you can use my personal link to receive 30% off your first box of 3 months sachets.
Click the purple link below ⬇️
If you have any questions or comments please leave a message below.