Menopause Symptoms: Recognising the Signs of Your Changing Body

Menopause is not a switch that flicks overnight, unless you’ve had a complete hysterectomy. For most women, it is a gradual hormonal transition that begins with subtle whispers from the body long before your period ever stops. As a chiropractor with over 25 years experience, I’ve spent my career studying how the human body communicates, adapts and compensates. Menopause is one of the most profound examples of this. Your body isn’t failing, it’s recalibrating. And once you understand the “why” behind your symptoms, the whole experience becomes far less frightening.

One of the most common questions women ask when these changes begin is: when does menopause actually start?

When Does Menopause Start?

Many women assume menopause begins when their periods stop, but the transition often starts years earlier.

The stage leading up to menopause is called perimenopause, and it is during this time that hormone levels begin to fluctuate. For some women this transition can begin in their early 40s, while for others it may not start until their late 40s.

During perimenopause the ovaries gradually begin producing less oestrogen, but the change rarely happens in a straight line. Hormone levels can rise and fall from month to month, which is why many women experience symptoms that feel confusing or unpredictable.

Because this transition can begin years before the final menstrual period, many women notice changes long before they realise menopause may be approaching.

Understanding what is happening inside the body during this transition can help explain why many women notice changes long before their periods stop completely.

Why Oestrogen Levels Drop

Throughout your reproductive years, your ovaries produce most of your oestrogen. But as you move into your mid-40s (though this varies from woman to woman), the ovaries gradually wind down their hormone production. Their output becomes inconsistent, one month high, the next month low, which is why early peri-menopause can feel so unpredictable.

When the ovaries begin stepping back, the body turns to two backup sources to keep oestrogen circulating.

Your adrenal glands, which sit just above the kidneys, begin producing a weaker form of oestrogen once the ovaries reduce output. But there’s a catch: the adrenals have many responsibilities, and their top priority is survival.

When the body is stressed, the adrenals prioritise the production of:

• cortisol
• adrenaline

These stress hormones are essential in short bursts because they sharpen our reflexes, heighten awareness and prepare us to react quickly in challenging situations, all designed to increase our chances of survival. But those short bursts were meant for rare, acute events. The reality today is that most of us are living in a state of ongoing, low-grade stress. This means the adrenal glands rarely switch off. When they are constantly busy producing cortisol and adrenaline, they simply don’t have the capacity to create the hormones required for a smooth menopause transition. With the adrenals stuck in “survival mode”, oestrogen production naturally falls behind.

This is why stress and menopause symptoms are so tightly connected. The more stressed you are, the less oestrogen is manufactured, the more intense your symptoms can become.

When the ovaries and adrenals can’t meet the body’s needs, your fat cells step in. Adipose tissue is capable of producing a small amount of oestrogen. This is one reason weight gain during menopause, especially around the abdomen, hips and thighs, is extremely common.

This isn’t a sign of failure. It’s simply your body compensating. By storing extra fat, it’s trying to create an additional source of oestrogen to help stabilise hormone levels throughout the menopause transition.

However, without balanced hormone production and efficient liver clearance, this weight can become extremely stubborn and difficult to shift. What used to work, more exercise, stricter eating or cutting calories, often has little effect, because your body has stored this extra fat for a purpose: to help maintain oestrogen levels during this transition.

The Missing Piece: Your Liver's Role in Hormone Balance

There is another organ working quietly behind the scenes that determines how smoothly this hormonal shift unfolds, your liver.

Your liver isn’t just a detox organ. It is also responsible for:

• metabolising and clearing used or excess oestrogen
• processing hormonal metabolites
• supporting healthy inflammation levels
• reducing the body’s overall toxic load
• helping the adrenal glands function more efficiently

During peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause, the liver is under more pressure than usual. When it is overburdened, from stress, alcohol, medication, environmental toxins or hormonal fluctuations, it cannot efficiently clear inactive or excess oestrogen. This may influence how hormones are processed in the body, which some women associate with symptoms such as:

• weight gain
• bloating
• breast tenderness
• worsening hot flushes
• mood fluctuations
• fatigue
• skin irritation

 

So when the body is producing less oestrogen but simultaneously struggling to clear what remains, symptoms become more pronounced. Many women explore lifestyle and nutritional approaches that support liver function and overall metabolic balance during this stage of life.

Why Menopause Symptoms Show Up Everywhere

Oestrogen isn’t just a “reproductive hormone”. It interacts with thousands of receptor sites throughout your body, including:

• 
  the hypothalamus (your internal thermostat)
• skin
• bones
• muscles
• joints
• brain
• blood vessels
• digestive tract
• vaginal tissue

When oestrogen levels fall or fluctuate wildly, and when metabolites are not cleared efficiently, every one of these systems can feel the change.

Your symptoms aren’t random. They are simply the result of a body receiving less hormonal support than it once did.

Common Symptoms of Peri-menopause and Menopause

Many women experience a wide range of symptoms during peri-menopause and menopause, often long before they recognise the hormonal transition as the underlying cause. Below are some of the most commonly reported menopause symptoms.

Hot Flushes and Night Sweats

Triggered by the hypothalamus responding to a narrowed thermoregulatory range caused by declining oestrogen levels. With this “thermostat window” becoming much smaller, even slight changes in body temperature can trigger an exaggerated heating response, leading to hot flushes and night sweats.

Sleep Disturbances During Menopause

Oestrogen influences serotonin, melatonin and body temperature, all of which are essential for quality sleep. When oestrogen drops, your ability to fall asleep, stay asleep and cycle through restorative sleep stages can be disrupted. Add stress hormones like cortisol into the mix, which naturally keep you alert, and it becomes even harder for the brain and body to switch off at night.  

For more information on supporting sleep during menopause, you may find our guide on improving sleep during menopause naturally helpful.

Mood Changes and Emotional Sensitivity

The brain contains many oestrogen receptors, so fluctuations directly impact emotional regulation, resilience and overall stability. These hormonal shifts can leave you feeling wonderful one day and completely flat the next, often without any obvious trigger, leaving you wondering what on earth has changed.

Weight Gain During Menopause

A normal biological adaptation to declining oestrogen: your body stores extra fat to generate additional hormonal support, while a sluggish liver struggles to clear the metabolites that build up during this transition.

Digestive Changes and Bloating

Oestrogen plays a significant role in gut motility, microbiome balance and inflammation. As levels decline, digestion can slow down, become more erratic or more reactive to certain foods. Many women notice increased bloating, constipation, sensitivity and that “heavy, full” feeling that appears out of nowhere. These changes aren’t digestive weakness, they’re the gut responding to reduced hormonal support.

Dry or Sensitive Skin

Oestrogen helps maintain collagen production, skin hydration and the strength of the skin barrier. With less oestrogen, the skin loses moisture more quickly, becomes thinner and more prone to irritation or itchiness. This can make the skin feel tight, dry or unusually sensitive, especially on the arms, legs and face.

Vaginal Dryness

Reduced oestrogen directly affects the vaginal tissue, decreasing lubrication, elasticity and natural moisture. This can lead to dryness, discomfort, itching or burning, especially during intimacy. It’s one of the most under-discussed symptoms of menopause, yet one of the most common.  For more information check out our Menopause – healthy skin and intimacy guide. 

Reduced Libido

Hormonal changes, disrupted sleep, increased stress hormones and vaginal dryness all contribute to a reduced desire for intimacy. This isn’t psychological, it’s the direct result of your hormonal environment shifting and the body trying to adapt.

Joint Pain and Stiffness

Oestrogen has natural anti-inflammatory effects and helps maintain joint cushioning. As levels fall, inflammation increases and tissue repair slows, making joints feel stiffer, sorer or less mobile. Many women wake up feeling “creaky” or notice new aches that weren’t there before.

Brain Fog and Memory Changes

Oestrogen influences key neurotransmitters and supports healthy blood flow to the brain. When levels fluctuate, concentration, recall and mental clarity can dip. This can feel like losing your train of thought mid-sentence, walking into a room and forgetting why you’re there, struggling to find the right words or taking longer to process information that once felt effortless. This isn’t “old age,” it’s a hormonal imbalance.

Irregular Periods

One of the earliest signs of perimenopause. As oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate, cycles may shorten, lengthen, become heavier, lighter or completely unpredictable. For many women, it almost feels like going back to the early days of getting a period, needing to keep spare sanitary products in your bag “just in case” because you can no longer rely on your cycle’s timing. These irregularities simply reflect the ovaries transitioning into retirement.

Hair Thinning

Oestrogen supports the hair growth cycle, helping strands stay in the growth phase longer. When levels drop, hair sheds more quickly and grows back more slowly, leading to thinning or reduced density, particularly around the temples and part line.

There are over 60 recognised symptoms, and each woman experiences her own unique combination.

Why Many Women Feel Like They’re Not Themselves During Menopause

Of all the symptoms women experience during peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause, one of the most distressing is the feeling of simply not being yourself. Many describe it as though someone has hijacked their zest for life and left behind a dull, tired version of who they used to be. It’s not just physical tiredness, it’s emotional flatness, reduced motivation and a sense that your usual spark has expired. This experience is incredibly common, yet often never spoken about.

Low energy is one of the most common and frustrating symptoms of peri-menopause. With declining oestrogen, the adrenal glands working overtime to manage stress, disrupted sleep and a liver under increased pressure, the body simply doesn’t have the reserves it once had. Oestrogen also plays a role in mitochondrial function, the part of your cells responsible for producing energy, so lower levels can directly impact vitality. This combination often leaves women feeling unusually fatigued, “heavy” or unable to bounce back the way they used to. Your body isn’t becoming lazy; it’s working harder behind the scenes to keep you balanced.

Understanding the physiology behind menopause can help women make more informed choices about lifestyle and self-care during this transition.

This holistic, whole-body approach is where women see the greatest improvements.

Hormotion® Lotion Natural Wild Yam Cream contains a blend of plant-derived ingredients traditionally used in complementary health practices and commonly included in formulations designed to support overall hormonal wellbeing. Our requirement for oestrogen isn’t static, it changes moment by moment depending on stress levels, sleep quality, emotional load, physical demands and even temperature regulation. Creating a routine that includes Hormotion® Lotion, formulated with botanicals commonly associated with women’s hormonal wellbeing, can be a helpful place to begin. Many women choose to incorporate topical botanical preparations like this as part of their daily self-care routine during times of hormonal change.

It contains a synergistic blend of therapeutic botanicals, each targeting a different part of the endocrine system:

Traditionally used in herbal practice and commonly included in formulations associated with women’s hormonal wellbeing.

Traditionally used in herbal medicine and often associated with supporting endocrine system balance.

Provides essential fatty acids that contribute to normal cellular function and are often included in women’s health formulations.

An adaptogenic herb traditionally used to support stress resilience and nervous system balance.

A botanical widely used in complementary health traditions and commonly included in products designed for women experiencing menopausal changes.

Traditionally used as an adaptogen and commonly included in formulations aimed at supporting vitality and overall wellbeing.

Together these botanicals form a multi-ingredient formulation designed to complement a broader approach to wellbeing during times of hormonal change.

PlantEm Essentials® CleanEm Detox contains a range of whole food ingredients commonly included in nutritional approaches that focus on supporting normal digestive and liver function. These ingredients are often used as part of broader wellness routines that support the body’s natural metabolic processes.

Some women choose to combine topical botanical preparations with nutritional and lifestyle approaches that support overall wellbeing during menopause, such as incorporating products like Hormotion® Lotion and PlantEm Essentials® CleanEm Detox as part of their daily routine.

Menopause symptoms often begin gradually in your early to mid-40s, but the timing is different for everyone. Despite how overwhelming it can feel, your body is not broken. It is simply responding to:

• declining oestrogen
• increased stress load
• reduced clearance of hormone metabolites
• thousands of receptors suddenly receiving less support

 

Once you understand the physiological changes that occur during menopause, the experience can often feel less confusing and easier to navigate with informed lifestyle and wellbeing choices.