Steph, 51. I genuinely cannot tell anymore whether what's happening to my brain is perimenopause or just fifteen years of being a working mum slowly catching up with me. Because here's the thing. I've always been sharp at work. Quick in meetings, good with detail, remembered everything without writing it down. And now I'm sitting in a team briefing last Tuesday and I could not retrieve the word 'provisional'. I knew what I meant. I could picture the concept. The word just wasn't there. I ended up saying 'the not-yet-confirmed version' and my colleague looked at me a bit sideways and I wanted to sink through the floor. My GP basically shrugged and said stress and tiredness. Which, yes, possibly, but I've been stressed and tired before and I didn't lose words in front of my manager. The only thing I've actually changed recently that seems to be doing something (maybe, possibly, too early to say) is sorting out my lunch. I was eating basically nothing until 3pm, then crashing horribly and the afternoon was a write-off. Started making sure I'm getting proper protein at lunch, actual food, not a sad desk sandwich. The afternoon fog isn't gone but it's... slightly less catastrophic? I think? But I genuinely don't know if that's the food or just placebo or a slightly better week. And I don't know if any of this is hormones or burnout or both. Going back to the GP and I want to explain the work impact properly this time, not just say 'I'm a bit forgetful'. Does anyone write it down before they go in? Specific examples? I feel like I need evidence or she won't take it seriously x