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Halcyon

Perimenopause and menopause, explained

Something has changed. It has a name.

Clear, sourced information on what’s happening in your body and what you can ask for. Use it today, with or without our app. Print it. Send it to your sister.

Start with what you’re noticingCheck your symptoms

Where do you want to start?

Pick what sounds most like you. Each leads to a short, practical page with sources at the end.

PeriodsMy periods changedShorter cycles, then longer gaps. Heavier, or barely there. What’s typical in your 40s, and what to get checked.Read the guide →SleepI can’t sleepNight sweats that wake you several times a night. Wide awake at 3am. Why it happens, and what helps.Read about night sweats →Mood and mindI feel like a different personAnxiety you never used to have. Sudden rage. Losing words mid-sentence. Hormone changes can do this, and it’s worth raising.Read the guide →TreatmentI’m thinking about HRTWhat NICE and The Menopause Society agree on, where the evidence stops, and what to ask.HRT, straight →AppointmentsI have an appointment coming upChoose your questions, describe symptoms so they land, and get the most out of ten minutes.Read the guide →Not sureTick what you’ve noticedA checklist of common symptoms. Print a one-page list to take with you. No account needed.Open the checklist

Symptom index

You’re not imagining it.

These are real, common, and some of the ones people are least often told about.

Night sweats→Lower estrogen narrows the temperature range your brain treats as comfortable. A small rise can then set off a full cooling response, sweat and all.Brain fog→Lost words and blank moments are common in perimenopause. Poor sleep makes them worse, and for most people they ease afterwards.Aching joints→Stiffness in hands, knees and shoulders is a common, and often unexpected, symptom of the transition.Racing heart→A pounding or fluttering heart is common around menopause. It still deserves a check to rule out other causes.Itchy, crawling skin→Skin often gets drier as estrogen falls, and can itch or feel like something is crawling on it.Needing to pee urgently→The bladder responds to estrogen too. Urgency, trips at night and more infections are common. It’s treatable.
See the full symptom checklist

Guides

Browse all guides →
BleedingIrregular bleeding in midlife: what is expected and what needs checkingUpdated 15 July 2026 · 8 minHRTHormone therapy: what the guidelines say, and where they stopUpdated 24 July 2026 · 11 minSleepSleep in perimenopause: night sweats, insomnia, and the apnoea nobody mentionsUpdated 27 June 2026 · 8 minHRTHow long does HRT take to work? What the guidelines say about timingUpdated 1 September 2026 · 6 min

One page, on paper

Walk in with your story on one page.

Tick your symptoms, choose your questions, add what you’re taking. Print it. A clinician can read it in a minute. No account needed.

Build my one page

Logging as you go? Halcyon, our iPhone diary (coming soon), builds this page from what you record, including dose changes. About the app