Nearly 40% of women say they were misdiagnosed during perimenopause. And honestly? We need to talk about it.

Imagine walking into your doctor’s office because you don’t feel like yourself anymore.

You’re exhausted.

Your sleep has gone rogue.

Your mood feels… different.

Maybe your anxiety has suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Your brain feels like it has 47 tabs open and absolutely none of them are loading.

You’re gaining weight despite doing what you’ve always done.

Your periods are changing.

And somewhere along the way, you start wondering:

“What the hell is happening to me?”

Now imagine being told it’s anxiety.

Or depression.

Or stress.

Or that you’re simply getting older.

Or, perhaps the most frustrating one of all…

“That’s just what happens at your age.”

Here’s the thing.

Sometimes those diagnoses may be correct.

But sometimes there’s another piece of the puzzle that isn’t being considered:

perimenopause.

And a recent survey has highlighted just how big that gap may be.

Nearly 40% said they felt misdiagnosed

A 2025 survey of more than 1,000 women in the US found that 39% said they felt they had been misdiagnosed when seeking care for perimenopause symptoms.

More than half of respondents had received treatment for conditions including anxiety, depression, panic attacks or mood swings.

And here’s the bit that really caught my attention:

Only 42% said their primary care provider or OB-GYN had initiated a conversation about perimenopause.

Meanwhile, women were turning to Google and family members for information instead.

Let that sink in for a second.

We’re talking about a life stage that can have a significant impact on how a woman feels physically and emotionally…

Yet many women are still having to become detectives in their own bodies.

Perimenopause isn't just about hot flushes

This is where things get particularly tricky.

Because when most of us heard the word “menopause” growing up, we probably pictured one thing:

Hot flushes.

Maybe a woman fanning herself dramatically while everyone around her pretended not to notice.

But perimenopause can involve a much broader range of symptoms.

Changes to your menstrual cycle.

Hot flushes and night sweats.

Mood changes.

Vaginal dryness.

Muscle and joint symptoms.

Changes in sexual desire.

And other symptoms can occur too.

Which means it can be incredibly easy to look at ONE symptom in isolation and completely miss the bigger picture.

You’re not sleeping?

Must be stress.

You’re anxious?

Must be work.

You’re struggling to concentrate?

Maybe you need a holiday.

Your periods have changed?

“That's normal as you get older.”

You’re exhausted?

“Try going to bed earlier.”

🙃

And suddenly you’re spending months — sometimes longer — trying to fix individual pieces of a puzzle without anyone stepping back and asking:

“Could these things actually be connected?”

But there’s another important conversation we need to have

Let’s not swing from one extreme to the other.

Because hearing that nearly 40% of women felt misdiagnosed doesn’t mean every symptom a woman experiences in her 40s is automatically perimenopause.

And it definitely doesn’t mean you should self-diagnose based on a TikTok video.

There are other conditions that can cause similar symptoms, which is exactly why getting proper medical advice matters.

In fact, NICE guidance says that for otherwise healthy women aged 45 and over with menopause-associated symptoms, perimenopause or menopause can generally be diagnosed from symptoms and menstrual history rather than routinely relying on hormone blood tests, because hormone levels fluctuate during the transition. Other tests may still be appropriate when another cause is suspected.

In other words:

Your symptoms matter.

Your history matters.

The bigger picture matters.

And asking questions about perimenopause shouldn't be dismissed simply because you don't fit some stereotypical picture of what menopause “looks like”.

So what can you do if you think something isn't adding up?

First:

Start paying attention to patterns.

Not just individual symptoms.

What's happening with your cycle?

How's your sleep?

Your mood?

Your energy?

Your body temperature?

Your concentration?

Your physical symptoms?

When did things start changing?

What's different from your normal?

Because sometimes the most useful information isn't one dramatic symptom.

It's the pattern.

Second:

Take your concerns to a healthcare professional.

And don't be afraid to say:

“Could perimenopause be part of what's going on?”

You don't need to walk into an appointment pretending you already know the diagnosis.

You simply need to open the conversation.

And third?

Don't ignore symptoms that are affecting your quality of life.

You don't have to simply grit your teeth and accept feeling rubbish because you've reached a certain age.

There are conversations to be had.

There are treatment options to explore.

And there are evidence-based ways to manage symptoms.

Because here's the truthbomb 💥

Perimenopause isn't a personality flaw.

It's not you suddenly becoming “too emotional”.

It's not you being lazy.

It's not you losing your mind.

And it's certainly not something you should have to quietly endure because nobody warned you it was coming.

For far too many women, the first sign that something is changing isn't a helpful conversation with a healthcare professional.

It's a late-night Google search.

A conversation with a friend.

A random Instagram Reel.

Or the moment you finally think:

“Hang on… could this actually be perimenopause?”

And that's exactly why we need more conversations about it.

Not so we can diagnose ourselves.

Not so we can blame every symptom on hormones.

But so women have enough information to recognise that something may have changed — and feel confident enough to ask the right questions.

Because understanding what's happening in your body isn't “being dramatic”.

It's being informed.

And honestly?

About bloody time.

Note: The “nearly 40%” statistic refers to the 2025 US Perimenopause Focus survey, commissioned by Biote, in which 39% of respondents reported that they felt they had been misdiagnosed when seeking care for perimenopause symptoms. It should not be interpreted as a population-wide estimate of confirmed clinical misdiagnosis.