Do you have fatigue, anxiety, sugar cravings, or dizziness? Are you waking up at 2am for no reason, putting on weight for no reason, feeling bitchy, itchy, or otherwise off where you used to be? Are you in your mid-thirties or older? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you my friend might be in perimenopause!
If you’re a mom, you know “the juggle”. It’s the school runs, playdates, the career/partner demands, trying to remember to order the blue bags before they run out so you don’t have to ask your neighbour for the fifth time. We’re used to being tired. We’re used to being a little stressed - but do we have to live like this?
Of all the episodes I have done, this is the one people have requested the most. I’ve had friends tell me they feel like they’re “dropping balls” they used to catch with ease. I’ve heard about the 2am wake-up calls where your brain decides to replay every awkward thing you said in 2014. I’ve even felt that inexplicable ‘mom rage’. I bark. It’s not cute.
In the latest episode of Mom Life in Luxembourg, I sat down with Dr. Susanne Folschette, a local GP who has lived in the Grand Duchy since she was eight. She’s one of us – multicultural, multilingual, and a high-achieving mom.
You’d think a medical doctor would have all the answers, right? But Susanne shared a story that stopped me in my tracks. A few years ago, she started feeling like she was “walking on a boat.” She was dizzy, exhausted, and suddenly terrified of driving through the tunnels on the freeway.
She went to the doctors. She ran the tests. They told her she was just “overstressed”.
It turns out, Susanne wasn’t just tired. She was in perimenopause. And the wild part? Not only did her doctors miss it, she is a doctor and couldn’t even recognise it in herself at first!
One of the biggest takeaways from our chat – and something I think every woman needs to hear – is that we are looking for the wrong signs. We’ve been told to wait for the hot flashes and cycle changes. But according to Dr. Folschette, those often come last.
The real early warning signs are much stealthier. We’re talking big time mood shifts, anxiety, or irritability that can end marriages and damage careers. Brain fog – walking into a room and forgetting why you are there in the first place. Sleep interruptions. Sleep sabotage, she says, is actually usually the symptom that comes first.
We live in a country with world-class healthcare, yet many of us feel dismissed when we bring these ‘vague’ symptoms to our doctors. Dr. Folschette and I dive deep into why this happens and – more importantly – what we can do about it right here in Luxembourg.
We also speak about her personal why behind founding her non-profit, LetzMenopause. LetzMenopause is a new organisation that’s changing the game for awareness and education for a very important topic that affects fifty percent of the adult population.
Why you might be in Perimenopause and What to do about it with Dr. Folschette, Founder of LetzMenopause
If you’ve ever felt like you’re ‘crazy’, ‘lazy’, or just ‘past your prime’ (spoiler: you’re definitely not), this episode is for you. Please give it a listen and let me know what you think. You can reach me via email at momlife@rtltoday.lu or you can find me on social media @momlifeinluxembourg. To learn more about Dr. Folschette, please visit: LëtzMenopause.lu or visit her on Instagram @letzmenopause.
