Perimenopause, HRT, and finally listening to my body

For months I put it down to burnout. Running my own business, two jobs, rugby, life. of course I was tired. But the brain fog, the low mood, the fatigue that wouldn't lift kept nagging at me, so I went back to my own menopause training and realised I was ticking every box for perimenopause. I'm 43. My periods are still regular. I didn't expect to be here yet.In this episode I'm telling you exactly what happened when I finally went to my doctor and burst into tears in front of her, what oestrogen actually does in the body (spoiler: pretty much everything), the full list of symptoms nobody warns you about, and why I've decided to start HRT alongside everything else I'm already doing to look after myself.If you're in your late 30s or 40s and playing rugby, or you're the older head in a changing room full of younger players who've never had this conversation with anyone, this one's for you. Let's stop pretending this doesn't happen to us.