Just when you’ve gotten over childbirth ... here comes the perimenopause!

OK. So those of us with children know there is an unspoken conspiracy preventing any discussion with women yet to have children about the realities of childbirth and what it can do to Your Downstairs.

What I didn’t know, is that if you have children in your mid-to-late thirties, another fresh hell awaits you a mere handful of years later. Ever heard of the perimenopause? Me neither, until I tried to work out why I was feeling so tired all the time by googling for an answer.

I admit, the most obvious reasons are probably because I’m a 40 year old who works full-time, has two young children, doesn’t exercise, eats a little too many crisps (‘chippies’ to my fellow compatriots) and prefers to say ‘Cheers’ with a glass in her hand, rather than unwinding by Saluting the Sun.

However, symptons of the perimenopause include:

• Feeling the cold (see my earlier piece on this)
• Difficulty sleeping (yes, sometimes)
• Mood changes, anxiety, irritability (I can be the Queen of Irritability in the right circumstances)
• Heart palpitations (yes, particularly if trying to run up stairs in heels)

The Mayo Clinic website says perimenopause marks the interval in which your body begins its transition into menopause. When perimenopause starts and how long it lasts varies. It says you'll probably notice signs of impending menopause, sometime in your 40s. But some women notice changes as early as their mid-30s.

The signs and symptoms of perimenopause can occur 10 to 15 years before actual menopause occurs, which is the final cessation of your menstrual cycle. Oh my god.