Perimenopause symptoms
Perimenopause symptoms explained: irregular periods, hot flushes, sleep, mood, brain fog. When to see a GP, what a blood test can and cannot show, and the nutrients people look at.
What is usually behind it
Perimenopause is the years before periods stop, usually the forties, when hormone levels swing before they fall. The common symptoms are irregular or heavy periods, hot flushes and night sweats, broken sleep, low mood or anxiety, brain fog, joint aches and changes in skin and hair.
See your GP if periods are very heavy or frequent, if bleeding happens between periods or after sex, if symptoms affect daily life, or to discuss the options available to you. This page is about nutrition and does not cover those options.
What a blood test can show. Hormone tests are not usually needed to recognise perimenopause over 45. Ferritin matters because heavy periods are the commonest cause of low iron in this age group; vitamin D and B12 are worth knowing too. Free blood test result interpreter.
What people in this position most often look at. Magnesium, which contributes to normal psychological function and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue; iron where ferritin is low; vitamin D, which contributes to the maintenance of normal bones, which matters as oestrogen falls; vitamin B6, which contributes to the regulation of hormonal activity.
Next: Supplements for menopause and perimenopause · Nutri365.
Written by Nutri Tailor from the Health Reference Library. Last checked 6 September 2026. General information, not personal advice.