Could it be the menopause?

Dr rosemary Leonard, w&h’s regular health columnist and author of Menopause: The Answers (orion spring), offers her checklist on what to look out for…

✢ Irregular periods not having a clue when the next one is going to be. And when you do get one, it may be horrifically heavy, or lighter than usual.

✢ hot flushes and sweats though some women get one and not the other. some women get them frequently 24/7, others less so, and some just at night.

✢ Disturbed sleep which may be due to night sweats, but sometimes occurs on its own and for no apparent reason.

✢ Loss of libido though this often happens about a year after periods have finished when your oestrogen levels have fallen to rock bottom.

✢ Mood swings often with sudden bouts of feeling irrational, anxious or stressed. ✢ Brain fog many women suddenly find they have problems concentrating.

✢ Dizzy spells sometimes with nausea.

✢ aching joints they shouldn’t be swollen, though. If they are, don’t blame the menopause.

✢ a change in your skin with all your skin feeling more dry than before. you realise you need a moisturiser for a “more mature” skin.

✢ a change in pubic hair your pubic hair may be thinner than before, and you don’t need to shave your armpits quite so often. on the flip side, you may have some upper-lip fuzz that needs attention… w&h