How to successfully track your perimenopause symptoms
- Andrea Marsh
- Apr 7
- 8 min read
One of the first points I’d like to make is that perimenopause and menopause are all part and parcel of the same change going on in your body. I’m always surprised when I write something about menopause and I’m asked if it’s applicable to perimenopause; or vice versa? Yes, yes, yes! Peri and menopause roll together. You can have symptoms specific to each whilst having the others. You can have hot flushes whilst you’re having periods or years after your periods stop. Perimenopause simply put is symptoms whilst you still have periods. Today’s blog is going to explain how to successfully track your perimenopause symptoms to give you clarity and why this is so useful to you and what you can do with this information.
Why tracking your menopause symptoms is important
When you’re in the dark you worry. When you can’t see the wood for the trees you can feel hopeless. Tracking is a powerful to enable you to better understanding your body and empower you to control your menopause transition. Spanning a decade or more with symptoms coming and going and changing regularly it is easy to feel lost and out of control. With brain fog also a major factor you’ll be likely to forget what happened when too!
This is why tracking is so invaluable to your mental health as well as understanding your physical wellbeing.
Better Understanding of Your Body
Menopause transition isn’t just a singular event—it’s a process that spans 10 or more years from perimenopause to post menopause. During this time, hormone levels fluctuate, leading to a variety of symptoms, including hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood swings, weight gain, and more. Tracking your symptoms can help you better understand your body’s rhythms and how they evolve over time. It allows you to identify patterns, triggers, and the duration of symptoms, which can give you valuable information about how your body is adapting to hormonal changes.
Identifying Triggers
Certain factors—such as stress, diet, exercise, and even weather—can exacerbate menopause symptoms. By tracking your symptoms and other lifestyle factors, you can begin to notice correlations between your symptoms and specific triggers. For example, you may find that drinking coffee increases your hot flushes, that eating highly processed foods makes your mood swings worse the day after or that certain foods trigger night sweats. Identifying these triggers gives you the power to make adjustments to your lifestyle and will start to alleviate some of your worst symptoms.
Improve communication with your healthcare provider
Peri / menopause is a highly individual experience, and it’s important to discuss your specific symptoms with your healthcare provider. Keeping a detailed symptom log is incredibly helpful during appointments. It provides concrete data on the frequency and severity of your symptoms, helping your provider offer tailored advice or treatment options. Whether you're considering hormone replacement therapy (HRT), lifestyle changes, or both tracking is invaluable to a menopause specialist like me to exactly pinpoint root imbalances in your body. In a consultations with me I use your information and ask further questions to create the patterns of organ imbalance and give you the symptom relief solution. If you’ve already got this data, I’d love it!
Track Progress Over Time
Menopause is a phase that lasts several years, and symptoms may vary in intensity throughout this time. I find that symptoms alter at times of stress or at certain times of the year. I’ve come to realise that September is always the month when a new symptom appears! Also, certain months of the year link to certain body organs in Chinese medicine and so this insight is very helpful.
By tracking your symptoms, you can see how they fluctuate and whether they improve or worsen. This can help you evaluate the effectiveness of any treatments you may be trying and give you a sense of control over this transition.
If you want to take supplements its beneficial for you to see how your symptoms alter as and when you add them in. It gives you hope and assurance that you’re on the right path.
Additionally, it can provide reassurance that the changes you’re experiencing are temporary and part of a natural process.
Empower Yourself
Menopause can sometimes make you feel out of control as your body seems to go through dramatic changes. Tracking your symptoms puts you back in the driver’s seat. It empowers you to take action, make informed decisions, and explore various management strategies that can make you feel better. It can also help you feel more connected to your body during a time when it may seem like everything is changing.
How to track your peri/menopause symptoms
Tracking menopause symptoms doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. With the right approach, you can gather valuable insights into your health. I literally had codes that I wrote on a calendar in my kitchen! Here’s how you can start:
Choose a Tracking Method There are several ways to track your menopause symptoms, so it’s important to find a method that works best for you. Some options include:
Journal: Writing down your symptoms daily in a notebook can be a simple and effective way to track your progress. Be sure to note the date, the specific symptoms you're experiencing, their severity, and any potential triggers (food, stress, sleep, etc.). Here’s one by Emily Barclay founder of the Perimenopause Hub.
Mobile Apps: There are many apps specifically designed to track menopause symptoms, such as Flo, Balance and a new exciting one coming soon Menovida. These apps allow you to log symptoms, mood changes, sleep patterns, and more. They often include helpful features like reminders, charts, and trend analysis.
Spreadsheets: If you prefer a more detailed approach, a spreadsheet can be a great way to track symptoms over time. You can set up columns for different symptoms (hot flashes, mood swings, sleep quality, etc.), and record your daily experiences. This allows you to spot trends and visualize how your symptoms evolve.
Record Symptoms Regularly Consistency is key for symptom tracking. Make a habit of recording your symptoms daily or at least a few times a week. The more consistent you are, the more data you’ll have to draw from, helping you see clear patterns. Try to note:
Type and severity of symptoms: hot flushes, night sweats, irritability, fatigue , muscles aches, mood swings
Frequency: Did they occur every day or just a few times a week?
Triggers: Did certain foods, activities, or events seem to make your symptoms worse? Always note what you did that day like exercise or alcohol coffee or even forgot to take supplements!
Track Your Menstrual Cycle Even if your periods have become irregular or stopped altogether, tracking your cycle can still be helpful. For women in perimenopause, hormonal fluctuations can cause changes in your menstrual cycle, and knowing where you are in your cycle can help you understand how your symptoms might relate to those changes. When your periods stop that’s when other symptoms appear; I got hot flushes when I would’ve had a period not whilst I was having them.
Including Lifestyle Factors is important too. Your diet, exercise routine, sleep habits, and stress levels can all influence your menopause symptoms. Make sure to track lifestyle factors that might affect your symptoms, such as:
Diet: What foods or drinks are you consuming? Are there any that seem to trigger symptoms (e.g., caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, sugars)?
Exercise: Funnily enough too much of the wrong type of exercise can trigger crying, anxiety, loss of sleep and increase low moods. Note the types you do.
Sleep: I break this down into sessions. Can’t get to sleep, wake between 1 and 3 feeling hot (night sweats) , wake up around 3 or 4 am wide awake, awake after 4 am with dark distressing thoughts. They all link to lifestyle factors which I decode and resolve in my consultation.
Stress: is a major root cause! Along with tracking start planning ahead in your diary for downtime/ me time that allows you to get some rejuvenating resting.
Review Your Data Regularly Once you’ve been tracking your symptoms for a few weeks or months, review your data. Look for patterns or trends that stand out. Are your hot flushes worse at certain times of day? Do they correlate with specific foods or activities? Are your mood swings more severe around your period or linked to junk food the night before?
Adjust your lifestyle needs Only when you have a clear picture of your symptoms and triggers, you can start making adjustments to your lifestyle for symptom relief. This might include dietary changes, exercise routines, stress management techniques, or trying different supplements or treatments. Tracking can help you see what works and what doesn’t and if you’re struggling to do this then reach out to me – it’s what I do!
My perimenopause tracking story
My background is data analysis and so I’m pretty well versed in tracking information and so I can virtually do it in my head but the odd note on a calendar is helpful! Plus, I was 10 years into my journey of Chinese medicine which drums it into you to track your symptoms.
When I was in my early 40s, I got night sweats; these were very defined and I realised I only got them on a Saturday night! When I’d ruled out stress what was left was what I ate and drank; and the time of night that I did this. Saturday food and drink was similar to a Sunday but around 3 hours later and heavier on the sugar side. I was able to make some changes which lead me to looking after my liver and I haven’t looked back.
5 years later I noticed I was always feeling low specifically on a Monday morning and on tracking realised that I wasn’t taking my supplements over the weekend and that along with alcohol with the Sunday evening meal was most likely impairing my gut performance. I’d ensure by Monday lunchtime I’d taken my supplements and had a heavy lunch of vegetables / soup and by Monday afternoon I felt like a new me!
When anxiety struck badly and I researched Ashwagandha I was able to see that it had worked the first week. I’d gone from anxiety 6/7 days to 1 in 7 days. This is the power of tracking.
How to successfully track your perimenopause symptoms
Tracking your symptoms during menopause is one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself during this transitional time. It helps you gain insight into how your body is changing, identify patterns and triggers, communicate confidently with your healthcare provider, and find strategies that work for your unique needs. By tracking your symptoms regularly, you can feel more in control and less overwhelmed by the changes happening in your body.
Remember, menopause is a natural phase of life, and with the right information and support, you can navigate it with confidence, feel a greater sense of well-being with a more positive outlook throughout.
If you would like help interpreting your tracking into lifestyle changes and supplements aka lifestyle medicine then please book in for a chat with me.
Meet Andrea - Holistic Menopause Specialist
Andrea is a shiatsu and Chinese medicine practitioner who uses the principles and wisdom of Chinese medicine in a completely practical way to help you resolve your symptoms naturally and effectively. If you live locally you can book in for a wonderfully relaxing Shiatsu for Menopause, otherwise Andrea does online in depth consultations where you'll leave with an actionable plan to follow. Andrea is also passionate about doing workplace talks and has written a book to help you step through simple and effect changes to reduce your symptoms: Understanding Your Menopause
