For those of you who have come out the other side from the menopause journey, I wondered if you could give me some reassurance (hopefully!). I feel I am early in my perimenopause journey despite being 46 (my own mother didn’t see her periods let up until she was 59). I am, however, tremendously affected by my hormones and have always been. I should add I am not on any form of hormone-affecting anything - no pill or coil or HRT. My cycle is short - normally 22-24 days - and I feel I get very few ‘good’ days. Days 1-7 are my period (pretty heavy), but I start feeling ovulation mood swings from day 5. I get ovulation-related cramps, sore breasts, bloating, acne, thrush (chronic) memory loss, and insomnia days 5-14. I am also more likely to have migraines with aura around this time as well as food aversions and cravings. Days 14-17 are my only good days. Days 17-22/24 are pre-menstrual so cramps, mood swings, sore breasts, bloating, acne, insomnia, occasional overheating, migraines (not including aura), food cravings (especially sweet things). I understand everyone says perimenopause is awful and going through menopause has a hugely long list of just all the horrific things in the world. On the other side however is there freedom from all of this? Do I get more than 2-3 good days a month where I feel I can function like a normal human being? Does everything just finally stabilise when all the god awful oestrogen finally goes?