Perimenopause Symptoms
Perimenopause can bring over 40 recognised symptoms. Sulu helps you track the ones that matter most to you, so you can see what’s changing and share a clear record with your doctor.
Vasomotor
Hot flashes
Sudden waves of heat, often in the face and upper body. You may flush, feel prickly or dizzy, and then suddenly feel cold afterward.
Night sweats
Hot flashes that happen during sleep, sometimes soaking through sheets. Even when the sweating feels brief, the disruption carries into the next day as fatigue and brain fog.
Heart palpitations
A sudden awareness of your heartbeat as it races, pounds or flutters. It can come out of the blue, which is often the most alarming part.
Cognitive & Emotional
Brain fog / memory
You walk into a room and forget why. You search for a word you've used a thousand times. One of the most common, and most frustrating, perimenopause symptoms.
Anxiety / overwhelm
New or worsened anxiety that feels different from ordinary stress. A sense of dread or restlessness can arrive without a clear cause, and everyday demands can feel like too much.
Low mood / emotional swings
Feeling flat, sad or unmotivated for long stretches, or swinging quickly into tears. It can feel like PMS that never really leaves, or something hard to explain when life on paper looks normal.
Rage / irritability
A shorter fuse than usual, sometimes flaring into anger that feels out of proportion. Noise, mess, interruptions and ordinary demands can feel bigger and more physically charged than before.
Sleep & Energy
Sleep disruption
Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking at 3am and never properly getting back down. Poor sleep amplifies everything else.
Fatigue / low energy
Bone-deep tiredness that sleep doesn't fully fix. It can feel like your battery isn't recharging properly, even when you're trying to rest.
Musculoskeletal
Joint / muscle pain
Stiffness, aching or swelling in joints, especially hands, knees and hips, and tight, sore muscles in the neck, shoulders and back. Your body can feel older overnight and less forgiving than it used to be.
Headaches / migraines
New headache patterns or worsening migraines. They can behave less like a single symptom and more like a system under pressure.
Reproductive & Urinary
Vaginal dryness
Reduced moisture and elasticity due to declining oestrogen. Because it's an intimate symptom, many women leave it out, but it still counts.
Urinary issues
Increased frequency, urgency, or recurrent UTIs. It can show up out of nowhere and start limiting where you go and how confident you feel.
Decreased libido
Less interest in sex or intimacy than before. It's common and rarely talked about, and it still counts.
Breast tenderness
Soreness, swelling or sensitivity in the breasts that comes and goes, sometimes out of step with your usual cycle.
Other Common Symptoms
Hair loss / thinning
More hair in the brush or the shower drain, or hair that feels thinner than it used to.
Dry skin
Skin that feels drier, tighter or more reactive than before.
Bloating
A swollen, uncomfortable feeling in your belly that can build over the day, even when you haven't eaten differently.
Digestive issues
Nausea, reflux, or changed bowel habits. This symptom cluster often gets overlooked in menopause conversations.
Dizziness
Feeling lightheaded or unsteady without an obvious reason, sometimes for a moment and sometimes for longer.
Tingling extremities
Pins and needles in your hands or feet, or crawling feelings on the skin. It can be hard to describe and easy to dismiss, especially when it comes and goes.
Period changes
Irregular, heavier, lighter or skipped periods are often the first sign of perimenopause. Sulu doesn't treat them as a symptom. You log your period in the daily check-in as light, medium or heavy flow, and your report shows your period days alongside your symptoms.
This page is for informational purposes. Sulu is a tracking tool, not a diagnostic service. If you’re experiencing new or concerning symptoms, please speak with your doctor.
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