To ask if this happens at 40?

[CobaltQueen]

I am about to turn 39 and know someone who is 41. She says she has been in peri menopause since 2020 and the following has happened-
Not being able to remember simple information such as names.
Smelling bad despite washing regularly.
Make up looking bad as ageing so much the same looks don't work anymore.
Amongst many more. Is this really the norm once you hit 40?

Obviously not. 40 is still pretty young. Don't listen to all this nonsense about "peri"....it's just a dustbin into which people dump mild inconveniences that they don't like.

I would say some / all the above (and more) can happen but not at '40'

I started getting brain fog around 46. Haven't had the bad smell thing

To be fair I had brainfog at 41 but that was the result of newborn baby sleep deprivation.

And I did stink but that was breastfeeding sweats related….

I think some of that does happen with peri menopause, but for most that's a lot later than 40!

For me things didn't start going downhill until I was 53.

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in my early 40s so I couldn’t tell if the brain fog and memory symptoms etc were down to that or perimenopause. I’m now 63, 10 years post my last period, no HRT and feel much the same as I did before.

Perimenopause is just the menopause symptoms before your periods actually stop. It's down to hormonal changes, not "feels". The effects are both quantifiable and qualitative.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/#:~:text=Perimenopause%20is%20when%20you%20have,hot%20flushes%20and%20irregular%20periods.

Mine started at 50.

I'm 40
Makeup looks fine, I altered it a bit but only as my skin is more dry
Don't smell at all but I do have a ridiculous shower routine
Memory is same as it was. I did try to put the kettle in the fridge this morning but then I did that when I was 20 so....

I'm well past menopause and haven't experienced any of this.

I didn’t start most of that until 51, the smell thing has just kicked in at 52 but it’s not all the time. I have started getting wrinkles in almost real-time, this month under eye wrinkles have appeared out of nowhere. On the bright side my sex drive has gone through the roof 😁

I hit Peri around 44, at 45 I've started HRT. My biggest issue has been temperature control. My skin is still good, but I take supplement's and look after it. I'm struggling with weight gain, that previously wasn't an issue and my memory at times is poor.

I'm fighting it tooth and nail with HRT.

I'm over 50 and none of that has happened to me.
I just don't give a stuff about peoples nonsense anymore which has been very liberating actually. 🙌🏻🤣

I'm 49 and have been through the menopause without experiencing any of the things you mentioned in your OP. The only thing I've noticed about my make-up is I do my upper eyeliner slightly differently - I have to do the cat eye "flick" at a sharper angle (more upwards than before).

Everyone should get their thyroid levels checked in their 40s.

I did as my dad had undiagnosed hypothyroid for years which damaged his heart. Mine was well into the normal range.

Course it's not the norm. Do you not think if there was such a drastic shift in the health of women over 40 there would not be more knowledge about it?

Can she definitely attribute her symptoms to perimenopause?

What are the 'many more'? Is she doing anything to combat her memory changes?

Skin changes as it ages and most people who wear make up change either what they're using or how they're applying it.

Hormonal changes can impact how often we need to wash ourselves and how products we might have been happy using for years, don't seem to do the trick.

I suppose with menopause there is a sharper change in hormones than we have been used to (like puberty and pregnancy) so they might be more noticeable.

It's different for everyone.
45 - 55 I stank, sweated constantly, struggled to remember my own name, and couldn't organise my way out of a paper bag. Skin was fine but my hair went weird. Unsuitable for HRT and natural supplements did nothing. It was hell. Now I'm out the other side and Much better except for vaginal atrophy.
Also, ignore people who say to look at your mother's experience. Mine woke up one day at 53, realised she hadn't had a period for a few months and carried on as usual. Not fair!

Your friend needs to buy a new washing machine. No doubt she’s not showering twice a day.

In respect to makeup - skin changes. I can’t wear Clinique any more. The lady refused to sell it to me because it oxidised on my skin and turned bright orange.

41 here. About 5 years ago my makeup stopped working the same - foundation and lip products I always used suddenly seemed to suck my skin dry and look cakey.

My only other changes are that I find myself saying things that make me feel old, humming and singling while I do housework, trying to zoom in on a piece of paper, etc. and my sieve brain seems to be getting more holes.

Am 56. Still menstruating! Well x4 cycles over last 12 months. Didn't realise I was in peri until about 2 yrs ago when I started to get long slow waves of heat lasting hours. Noticed the smell then too wtf! Started hrt and realised I had a load of symptoms I had been ignoring were there all along. Aches and pains the aforementioned heats brain fog the odour dry dry dry skin outside and in (!) anxiety and sleep problems.
The hrt made some symptoms disappear and calmed down others. Not a magic bullet but so useful.
Should have done my homework on symptoms and been on hrt at least 5 yrs earlier is my point
Told my GP I'm staying on it til I die!

I'm mid forties, have had forgetfulness, night sweats, fatigue, insomnia, and aging for 3/4 years now. Not gone drs yet. Started missing periods this year

Nearly 62 now. Menopause happened about a decade ago. Apart from periods gradually pestering out I barely noticed.

I did experience the occasional spell of getting very hot but it wasn't as bad as I was led to expect.

No memory issues, but then I was working in a job that kept me mentally challenged.

I did have to find a new deodorant (try men's), my regular one didn't do it's job anymore.

No and I'm 45.

I'm 45 and it hasn't happened yet

Am 49 now. Around 45 hair started falling out massively. It's stabilised now - still thin but not getting worse - but it is very, very dry, such that it breaks off when I brush it. I had RAGE RAGE RAGE around 45 as well, constantly angry for several months. Some brain fog, but nothing major (like putting the recycling in the wrong bin). Evening primrose dealt with hot flushes. I think I'm over most of it now. Will be 12 months in Nov.