Time is money so let’s get down to the most annoying things that the wondrous change brings with it:

Hot flushes (US Hot flashes):

They never tell you what the menopause will bring with it. Maybe I was unlucky, maybe others don’t get those symptoms. The hot flushes (preferably called power surges), which make for an interesting nights sleep. You go to bed in the deep mid winter, naked and within 10 minutes are flinging covers off. Not so nice for a partner.  Then you are cold, then you are hot. Not just hot but sweaty, which of course means once you cool down you are well cold.

“Think of a hot flush as the same as a hot iceberg and imagine the boiling going on under the surface!”

Naked or Not

How are you supposed to dress? It’s cold out there. A jumper of course, only of course not because within moments of pulling it over your slowly getting warm head, you break out into an almighty sweat.

My suggestion? Layers. Lots of them. Vest top, loose over top, cardi or wrap, but plenty to divest yourself of, but plenty to put back on again. Natural fibres if you can find them and afford them too.

Thing to avoid

Things to avoid: coffee, red wine  – yeah I know unfair 😉 well in fact all alcohol, but that’s just mean, man-made fibres, radioactive men (if you’ve slept with one you know what I mean) it’s torture, trust me, chocolate, oh and apparently smoking.

Things to try

They make these face spritzers – I think Evian has one, you can get it in Superdrug for a couple of quid, deffo worth it, and carry some facial wipes with you.  It might be a good time to try and go facially naked for a while if you can, because sweat and foundation / cover ups just don’t mix well. Also, if you have never used it before, neutral face powder to disguise the glowing shine that you will start to emit is a good way to go.

If you don’t want to go the way of HRT, which a lot of us don’t, there is one good product, that really worked for me, the first time I used it, but strangely, when I went back to it – it stopped working.  It was the thing that made me realise that whatever you put on your skin is actually going into your body. I know it’s probably obvious but it had just not really sunk in before.  But if you think about it, they wouldn’t give you patches — either give up smoking or hormone or   if your body didn’t drink them up and digest them would they, how would they work, so, same goes for everything else we put on our body, perfume, foundation, moisturiser etc!

Anyway – quick digression, one thing that did work for me, and gave me honestly instant relief. Wild Yam cream.  I’m not a selling site so I am not recommending any particular one.  You rub a small amount on your tummy and that’s it. Honestly I went from 8 flushes in half an hour to two in a day.

Hair – have a think about going short, or if not then long enough to tie up, hair gets really hot, makes your head feel you are sticking your head in a furnace.  There have certainly been times when I have just dunked my head in a sink of cold water 😉

So, I will come back and revise this if I can think of anything more, and if you have any good tips please do add them.