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Lottie Ryan has opened up about embracing perimenopause and how she felt 'out of control' before realising that the changes that her body was going through were hormonal. At first, Lottie admits she couldn't fathom why she felt so off and put her symptoms down to being under stress, but a chat with her mum Morah made her see that she could be having a hormonal issue. A follow-up chat with a medical professional cemented her thinking that perimenopause might be behind her symptoms. According to the HSE, Perimenopause is when you have symptoms before your periods have stopped completely. Symptoms can start 7 to 10 years before your periods stop. 'At first I didn't put two and two together, I just thought I was stressed, tired, maybe run down. It wasn't until I had a conversation with my mum about what she'd gone through, then spoke to my childhood best friend, who's a women's health physio, that I started to think, "Hang on... this could be hormonal",' she told Natural Life Magazine. Lottie, who has just turned 40, recalled how her symptoms started to affect every aspect of her life. She said: 'Before I knew what was going on, I felt like I was losing control of my mood, my memory, even my sense of self. 'Once I got answers, it was like a fog lifted. I still have days where I have to manage things, but now I understand why they're happening, and that makes all the difference.' That said, Lottie's biggest surprise with perimenopause was the anxiety she had started to feel. View this post on Instagram 'I always thought menopause was about hot flushes and trouble sleeping; I had no idea it could affect your mental health. That was the biggest shock for me.' Lottie also said she was surprised by how 'invisible' these changes can be to everyone else and how you can be going through a 'huge shift' in your mind and body, but nobody at work would know. Lottie uses HRT and a mix of supplements to stay on top of how she's feeling, but is frustrated by how it wasn't an easier process to understand. '... It felt like I had to fight for that clarity; it wasn't straightforward, and I had to push to get the right help,' she admits.
