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Menopause

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Is this brain fog? Peri-menopause?

3 replies

Potteryclass1 · 28/01/2026 07:22

Brief version: my brain let me down this morning convincing me to change platforms at a station I’ve used weekly where I know the correct platform. I was hot and sweaty. I am 47. My period is due and I feel very unsure of myself and I can’t concentrate. Is this peri-menopause? Sleep is ok (i wake to go to the loo, which is annoying), no alcohol, exercise lots, healthy eating (probably a bit too much refined sugar).

long version: I went to catch an early train into London this morning for work. My husband dropped me to a nearby station that isn’t my everyday one. However I’ve lived in the area all my life, so I know the station and use it once a week.
At the last minute I convinced myself I was on the wrong platform. Fast trains into London have left from this platform for the 47 years I’ve been on this planet. In fact I caught a fast train from this platform last week!

i decided to walk back up the stairs to get to another platform (the stopping service) and I missed the fast train. I was hot and sweaty all of a sudden. I also missed the stopping service as I felt paralysed with just not knowing where I should go so I stood still. I will now miss my connection to Manchester.

i have no idea why I did this. My period is due and I have always felt a bit clumsier than usual in the days preceding, ever since I was a teenager. I am struggling to concentrate and easily distracted these last few days too.

i have never experienced something where I doubt myself this much. Is this a sign of peri-menopause? I’m 47.

OP posts:
Willowkins · 28/01/2026 08:17

This reminds me of the PMDD I had when I was younger. Some months I would forget how to get home or what time it was. This got a lot worse when I started perimenopause and I had to take time off work because I couldn't do my job.
Hope you get answers. In my case, HRT has changed my life and I plan to stay on it until I'm 70.

Potteryclass1 · 28/01/2026 08:39

Willowkins · 28/01/2026 08:17

This reminds me of the PMDD I had when I was younger. Some months I would forget how to get home or what time it was. This got a lot worse when I started perimenopause and I had to take time off work because I couldn't do my job.
Hope you get answers. In my case, HRT has changed my life and I plan to stay on it until I'm 70.

Thank you for the reply. It’s exactly that - similar to how I felt with PMDD when younger but more intense. The problem is that this is week 4 of a new job (same specialism but whole new complex industry) so I have lots to learn and I have been brought in as an “expert”.
your reply has given me comfort, though, that this is normal. Thank you

OP posts:
Potteryclass1 · 28/01/2026 08:40

Willowkins · 28/01/2026 08:17

This reminds me of the PMDD I had when I was younger. Some months I would forget how to get home or what time it was. This got a lot worse when I started perimenopause and I had to take time off work because I couldn't do my job.
Hope you get answers. In my case, HRT has changed my life and I plan to stay on it until I'm 70.

Thank you for the reply. It’s exactly that - similar to how I felt with PMDD when younger but more intense. The problem is that this is week 4 of a new job (same specialism but whole new complex industry) so I have lots to learn and I have been brought in as an “expert”.
your reply has given me comfort, though, that this is normal. Thank you

OP posts:
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