I'm nearly 50. My monthly cycles have gone from 28-30 days to 26-27 days over the last few years. In November, my periods were 2 weeks late. My breasts became sore and I felt like I had PMT. I have an underactive thyroid and, around the same time, I discovered I was low in iodine. A week after taking kelp, my periods restarted and I thought all was back to normal. Two weeks later, I find that my body is spotting brown blood and I am getting all the unpleasant symptoms of when a period starts e.g. tiredness, PMT, cramps, feeling unwell. My periods, however, haven't started. I have had this for 5 days and I'm at Day 16 of my cycle. Is it worth seeing if my GP will test my hormone levels? I just want to feel like myself again. Also, can you recommend a good book on the menopause?

This is a common scenario on the approach to the menopause and can go on for quite a while before your periods stop for good. Sorry!

Although your hormone levels are falling, there is still a monthly cycle; not high enough to trigger a bleed some months but still high enough to give the usual or exaggerated symptoms.

Your doctor can test your hormone levels and, although it is not particularly accurate, it can give you an idea as to what is happening. Low thyroid can, unfortunately, make menopause symptoms worse as well.

In the meantime you may find a good female multivitamin helpful, the herb Agnus castus can often help to rebalance the monthly cycle and some women find acupuncture really helpful at this stage.

I found the book 'Before the Change' by Ann Louise Gittleman very helpful; you can get this on Amazon but there are lots of good books out there. If you want a really good laugh have a look at Grumpy Old Menopause by Carol Wyer.

Eileen Durward