Perimenopause can be difficult to recognise because symptoms often come and go, periods may remain regular, and hormone levels fluctuate daily — making blood tests unreliable.

Early signs commonly overlap with stress, sleep disruption or emotional load, and many women assume they’re “too young” to be experiencing hormonal change. For women balancing work, school-aged children and sometimes ageing parents, it’s easy to attribute these shifts to life’s demands rather than perimenopause, even when they’re significantly affecting daily wellbeing.