16 Jun
ok so this is going to be a long one, sorry in advance, i'm typing this at 11pm which is basically my new normal because sleep is apparently optional now?? I've been trying to track my cycles and symptoms properly for about two months because I have a GP appointment coming up and I want to go in with actual information rather than just saying 'I feel weird and tired and anxious and also my periods have gone strange' and watching her nod politely and do nothing. I need dates. I need patterns. I need evidence basically. So I downloaded about four different apps. Here is my extremely unglamorous review of all of them. The first one was clearly designed for people trying to get pregnant. Every single screen was about fertile windows and ovulation and I'm 40 and in the middle of wondering if I'm perimenopausal so that was a fun mismatch. Deleted it after three days. The second one was actually okay for logging periods but the symptom options were really limited? Like I could log 'cramps' and 'bloating' but there was no option for 'sat in the car park at Tesco for ten minutes because I couldn't remember why I'd driven there' or 'cried at a Boden email'. Brain fog wasn't even a category. Mood options were basically happy, sad, or anxious, which doesn't really capture the specific flavour of 'fine but also somehow not fine at all'. The third one wanted me to pay £9.99 a month before I could see my own data properly which, no. The fourth one I'm still using. It's not perfect. The interface is a bit clunky and I keep accidentally logging the wrong date. But it lets me add free text notes which is the bit I actually needed. So now I'm writing things like 'woke at 3am, mind racing, nothing specific' or 'period started, heavier than last month, really tired by 2pm'. Just observations really. Not sure what I'll do with it yet but at least I'll have something to show someone. What I actually want to know is whether anyone has found something better. Specifically something that doesn't assume you're either trying to conceive or already fully in menopause, because I'm in this weird middle bit where I don't quite fit either. My cycles have changed, I'm anxious in a way I wasn't two years ago, I'm tired in a way that sleep doesn't fix, and I'm 40 which apparently means I'm 'too young' for some of this conversation but also old enough that my body is clearly doing something. Also does anyone just use a notes app or a paper diary? I keep thinking maybe simpler is better and I'm overcomplicating this. Would love to know what's actually working for people in this room specifically, not just general period trackers designed for 25 year olds x