‘I thought my perimenopausal symptoms were early-onset dementia’
Danielle Hobson, 36, started experiencing anxiety for "weird and random" things two years ago. The mother-of-two also started getting night sweats, week long episodes of insomnia, heart palpitations and extreme aches and pains sporadically.
Danielle began forgetting the names of her friends, what she'd had for breakfast and what she was saying mid-sentence - and was worried she had early onset dementia, but after a work colleague mentioned perimenopause Danielle started researching for herself.
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Hide AdAfter a year of doctors appointments she was officially diagnosed and prescribed HRT - hormone replacement therapy - and says she feels like herself again.
Danielle, an intuitive business coach, from Doncaster, said: "I used to remember absolutely everything. Then all of a sudden I was forgetting names of people I'd known for years and it didn't feel like brain fog. It was complete and utter mind blank, like there was nothing in my brain. It really started to worry me as I run a successful online business.
"The aches and pains made me feel like an 86-year-old woman, not a 36-year-old mum. Then one day, I was on a networking call and I couldn't remember what I had for breakfast, but my colleague said she gets it all the time because she's perimenopausal.
"The second she said it it was like everything made sense. Instantly the symptoms made sense and it all came up online straight away when I started researching."
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Hide AdAfter eighteen months of sporadic symptoms, Danielle went to go and see her GP in February 2023 but was told she was "too young" to be perimenopausal.
She said: "I booked to see my GP and he asked me if I wanted some antidepressants. He said I was too young to be perimenopausal. He gave me a blood test but it didn't show any abnormalities. I felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall."
Danielle decided to look into different treatments instead and spent between £150 to £200 a month over the course of a year trying to treat her symptoms holistically.
She said: "After not being referred to a specialist, I took things into my own hands. I bought a load of supplements online, started Reiki therapy. Fortunately for me I am in a position where I can afford that, a lot of women can't. But there are also free resources for women online. I started working on my symptoms with my business partner, Jess, who is a holistic health coach at VidaFemme."
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Hide AdDanielle decided to pay for a private blood test to get further answers and looked into specific hormones, such as testosterone and oestrogen in-depth.
She said: "I was told by doctors that I had premature ovarian failure, as I was too young for perimenopause. This diagnosis was really scary and without an abnormal blood result I couldn't be referred to a specialist. I was exhausted and I felt so frustrated. I had insomnia too and I couldn't think straight. I started to wonder what if I never get help to change how I feel?"
In December 2023, Danielle was woken up by extreme pain in her ovaries and her husband took her to the hospital. She'd already missed periods and knew at this point she had to see a gynaecologist. She was diagnosed with a five centimetre ovarian cyst - a symptom of her hormones changing.
Danielle spent 13 hours waiting at the Doncaster Royal Infirmary before she was referred to the gynaecology unit. Her cyst cleared up overtime with the help of painkillers.
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Hide AdShe later saw a specialist in February 2024 and was formally diagnosed with perimenopause and prescribed HRT.
Danielle said: "Finally I was given HRT, nothing changed for six weeks at first, in that time I started sharing my story on TikTok. Between six to eight weeks I felt worse than ever, those two weeks were really hard but I stuck with it. Then one day while I was taking it I woke up one and I felt like me again. I felt like myself pre every symptom I'd had.
"I've now been on it for three months and touch wood, I feel great. My energy levels are high and I've just completed the couch to 5k. I'm also running two businesses."
Danielle is documenting her journey on HRT on TikTok and wants to help other women who are struggling to be heard by their doctors.
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Hide AdShe said: "Women in their 30s are now having these symptoms. There can't be a blanket approach to perimenopause anymore, it is changing. My daughter is thirteen and she knows all about my symptoms, it is not a taboo subject in our house."