1. Hot Flashes: Sudden feelings of intense heat, often accompanied by sweating and a red, flushed face.

2. Night Sweats: Severe hot flashes that occur during sleep, leading to excessive sweating and disrupted sleep.

3. Vaginal Dryness: Decreased moisture and elasticity in the vaginal tissues, leading to discomfort or pain during intercourse.

4. Mood Swings: Sudden changes in mood, including irritability, anxiety, and depression.

5. Fatigue: Persistent tiredness and lack of energy.

6. Sleep Disturbances: Trouble falling or staying asleep, often exacerbated by night sweats.

7. Decreased Libido: A reduction in sexual desire.

8. Cognitive Changes: Issues with memory, concentration, and overall cognitive function.

9. Bone Density Loss: Increased risk of osteoporosis due to the sudden drop in estrogen levels.

10. Weight Gain: Changes in body weight and fat distribution.

11. Joint Pain: Increased pain and stiffness in the joints.

12. Hair Changes: Thinning hair or increased hair shedding.

You’ve probably heard about many of these symptoms, and so had I, so I was ready for most of them. My hair thinned at the front and went through periods of heavy shedding, but it usually grew back except in the front. Luckily, I didn’t really have mood swings. Anxiety wasn’t new for me either, since I was already dealing with it.

But I wasn’t ready for the severe memory loss and trouble thinking clearly. When I looked for information, I didn’t find much about this side effect, so I want to talk about it here. It had a big impact on my life and caused a lot of worry and fear. These symptoms were much worse than the usual ‘brain fog’ people mention when talking about menopause.

1. Memory: The ability to store, retain, and recall information. This includes short-term memory (holding information temporarily) and long-term memory (storing information over a longer period).

2. Attention: The capacity to focus on specific stimuli or tasks while ignoring others. It involves both sustained attention (maintaining focus over time) and selective attention (concentrating on relevant information).

3. Perception: The process of interpreting and making sense of sensory information, such as sights, sounds, and smells.

4. Executive Functions: Higher-order processes that involve planning, decision-making, problem-solving, and the ability to manage and regulate one’s thoughts and actions. This includes skills like working memory (holding and manipulating information in the mind), cognitive flexibility (adapting to new situations), and inhibitory control (resisting impulses).

5. Language Skills: The ability to understand and use language effectively, including reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension.

6. Reasoning and Problem-Solving: The capacity to analyse situations, identify problems, generate solutions, and make decisions.

7. Visual and Spatial Processing: The ability to interpret and respond to visual and spatial information, such as recognising shapes, patterns, and spatial relationships.

8. Processing Speed: The speed at which the brain can process information, which affects how quickly one can understand and respond to stimuli.

I want to share how these symptoms affected my life and what I did to cope with them.

I started forgetting things a lot. For example, I would go to the pharmacy to pick up my medication and suddenly forget my own address.

Shopping at the supermarket became difficult. Even with a list, I would walk around for hours, unable to match the words to the items I needed. At the checkout, I sometimes forgot to pack my bags, as if I missed that part of the routine. When asked about my reward card, I knew I had one but couldn’t remember where it was, and I would sometimes try to pay with it by mistake. More than once, staff or security checked whether I was okay or offered to help. One day, I just stood there in tears, staring at my shopping, not knowing what to do next.

I also started forgetting everyday words, as if they just disappeared from my mind. Sometimes, I made up new words or mixed up old ones. At work, I was in an important role and led meetings, but I found myself struggling with words I had always used. This really hurt my confidence. It made it hard for me to speak up, visit customers, or attend meetings. In general, it shook my self-assurance.

After several appointments and tests, doctors ruled out dementia. Because of my history of abuse, I was offered therapy. I knew these symptoms weren’t linked to my past, since I had healed and could tell when I was stressed or anxious, but I still went to the therapy sessions.

As I looked into the issue and talked to more people, I found that others going through menopause had similar, and sometimes even worse, symptoms.

1. Keeping a detailed diary helped me stay on top of everything I needed to do, from making tea and getting things from the freezer to shopping and posting parcels.

2. I made a habit of noting where I put things, giving each item a set place, and always putting it back right away. If I lost track of something, I checked my notes.

3. I kept all my notes in one place. I learned to use Notion for this, and I still use it to organise and track my tasks.

4. ChatGPT has been a great help in building my vocabulary, writing documents, and preparing for meetings.

5. I prepared carefully for every meeting, even making notes for words I might forget.

6. For every trip, I wrote down the departure time, route, who to ask for when I arrived, and where to park.

Staying organised and paying attention to details has eased a lot of the stress and worry I used to feel when I forgot things or struggled with tasks. I still have trouble with words sometimes, but planning ahead has made things much less stressful.

I also use HRT patches, which have helped. With these strategies, I feel much better than before. My confidence isn’t perfect yet; I still sometimes forget or make up words, but it’s much better now.

I use HRT patches, which have provided some relief. With these strategies in place, I am significantly better than before. Although my confidence is not yet 100%, as I still occasionally forget or invent words, it has improved considerably.