Signs of Perimenopause Most Women Miss and What They Really Mean - Transcript
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Tafiq Akhir aka Mr. Menopause (Speaker): [00:00:00] If you are a woman over 40 who's been feeling unusually exhausted, warmer throughout your days, or suddenly unsure why your body doesn't feel familiar anymore. Well, you definitely are not imagining things. Something real is happening and it deserves an explanation that finally makes sense. When Marilu first came to me, she felt that exact same way.
And today you're gonna understand how her experience can help you recognize what's happening in your own body. Welcome to the Mr. Menopause Show.
 Marilu came to me at 47. She was frustrated and tired of feeling confused by her own body. She also shared that she gets eight hours of sleep, but she wakes up rarely feeling rested, and she still gets her period, even though it's extremely sporadic. One month it's early. The next month is late. Sometimes it doesn't come at all.
She was also feeling [00:01:00] warmer throughout her day, and her moods went from calm to irritated without warning. She said, like so many other women have said to me before, that she doesn't feel like herself anymore. Her doctor told her that she wasn't in menopause yet because she still had her period. And just left it at that.
Meanwhile, her body is telling a very different story. She looked at me and desperately asked, "if this isn't menopause tq, then what's happening to my body?" So I pulled out a notepad and wrote down three words: Perimenopause, Menopause, and Post-menopause. Then I told her that all three of these sit under the menopause umbrella.
What you're feeling right now lives in the first word, which is Perimenopause. I explained that her hormones are shifting, and this is what's making her cycles unpredictable. But I also reassured her that her symptoms are real and that it wasn't in her imagination, [00:02:00] and that she actually is in the menopause transition. Just in the earlier stage of it.
Then I moved to the word menopause and explained that this is when you've gone 12 consecutive months without your period. That is when menopause actually happens. Then I moved to the last word: Post-menopause, which is everything that comes after that. I explained that her body is still changing and that it's part of the same journey, and as we walked through more information, I could see the tension leave her shoulders, her face softened, and for the first time in years, the story her body was telling her finally matched an explanation that made sense.
She was not broken. She was not too early either, by the way, she was simply in perimenopause. Which, as I shared with  Marilu, is part of Menopause. Marilu story is not unusual, unfortunately, it's the norm. Women are navigating some of the most significant hormonal [00:03:00] changes of their lives without a clear understanding of what stage they're in or what their symptoms actually mean.
And when you don't have that clarity, well, every choice becomes guesswork, right? Every symptom feels like a warning sign, and every day it feels like you're trying to solve a puzzle without having all of the pieces. And that's exactly why I wrote my new book. It's called "Decoding the 80 Symptoms and Side Effects of Menopause".
It's a straightforward and eye-opening book that finally connects the dots. Showing you how brain fog, joint pain, heart palpitations, hair changes, and more; are not random. They're part of the menopause journey. It also gives you proven evidence-based knowledge, tools, and support so you can recognize what's really going on in your body, feel seen and understood, and move forward with clarity, confidence, and care. Because once you understand the signs and symptoms [00:04:00] of menopause, well, everything you do next becomes easier.
Your questions become clearer, your care becomes more effective, and most importantly, you stop feeling alone in a process that should have never left you in the dark to begin with. Now I'm Tafiq Akhir, also known as Mr. Menopause. And if you don't know my story, my introduction to menopause began long before I ever planned to make it my life's work. It started when I was a teenager during a Cleveland snowstorm when I saw my mom standing in front of an open window with snow blowing into the room while drenched in sweat, and desperate for relief from an intense hot flash. Fast forward years later, while I'm working with women in fitness and wellness, I saw the same struggles repeated and client after client. The same exhaustion, the same frustration, the same confusion, and the same silence. And I realized that my mother's experience was [00:05:00] not an exception.
It was a pattern. Women were still facing the same challenges decades later with little more than scattered information, mixed messages, and guesswork. And realizing that connection to my mom's experience. Well, it just changed the course of my career. I began committing myself to providing the clarity, education, and support that my mom never had.
I've trained extensively in hormone and metabolic health, nutrition, fitness, menopause, and healthy aging. And I recently completed my naturopathic certification, providing me with deeper knowledge, tools, and resources to effectively serve as the guide that so many women have been missed. And my new book helps with all of this and more.
It officially releases on January 12th, 2026, and I believe that women deserve real answers that help them finally understand what their bodies are doing and why. And if you don't wanna wait for the release date, well, [00:06:00] you can start getting clarity today with my free masterclass. And that class is called "Stop Suffering Through Menopause". And it will help you understand your stage, your symptoms, and what your body has been trying to tell you.
It represents the beginning of what I wish that every woman had access to. Clear information, compassionate guidance, and the confidence to understand your body again. If  Marilu experience felt familiar to you at all, this masterclass will give you the direction, relief, and reassurance that you deserve.
Sign up to watch the free masterclass by clicking the link in the bio for this page, or in the first comment for this video. Thank you so much for watching. Be sure to subscribe. Look out for that book pre-sale, and I hope to see you in the masterclass. Once again, I'm Tafiq Akhir, Mr.
Menopause here and until next time, stay safe and be well.
