It's Not Just Hot Flashes ― Here's How To Track Menopause Symptoms

If you’re going through menopause or perimenopause ― or even know someone who has ― you’ll probably have thought to yourself, “why don’t they teach us any of this?!”. 

At least, that’s what I told myself when I found out that a frozen shoulder can be a symptom of menopause, and that it can last for decades from start to finish. 

Speaking on gut health company ZOE’s podcast recently, Dr Sarah Berry, who runs the world’s largest study on nutrition and menopause, said: “our parents didn’t talk about it, the generation before that didn’t talk about it. So we are unprepared.” 

Thankfully, she’s helped to create a tool that tracks symptoms you may never have known were even associated with the change. 

How does it work?

“You don’t go to bed one day where you’re premenopausal and you wake up the next day and, hey, I’m postmenopausal, that’s it, the menopause is done,” Dr Berry said.

Symptoms can start in the lead-up to menopause ― and they aren’t just losing your period and getting hot flashes. 

There “can be 50 and beyond in terms of number of symptoms,” the nutrition expert says, because, “Our brain is full of oestrogen receptors. Everywhere in our body has oestrogen receptors. Nearly every cell has an oestrogen receptor.” 

“So... it’s going to impact everything from our brain to our cardiovascular health, to our bone health, to our muscle health, and it’s going to cause therefore all of these really unpleasant symptoms that we talk about often to do with menopause,” she added. 

66% of women told ZOE they had 12 symptoms or more. 

So, Dr Berry helped to create a free menopause tracker that’s called the Menoscale, where you are on your menopause journey and offer relief according to your symptoms.

What can help to relieve menopause symptoms?

Dr Berry is looking into the role of diet and the gut on menopause symptoms. 

Though that’s interesting, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is well-documented and often effective. 

The NHS says that “it can help with most menopause symptoms, such as hot flushes, mood swings and vaginal dryness. It can also help prevent weakening of the bones (osteoporosis).” 

They say that you should speak to your GP about treatment as soon as you notice any perimenopause or menopause symptoms that are bothering you.