Because Perimenopause Needs Receipts
I did not create The Peri Files because I have perimenopause figured out.
I created it because I very much do not.
I created The Peri Files because perimenopause needs receipts — symptoms, patterns, questions, medical waits, body changes, mood changes, and everything we are tired of trying to explain from memory.
I created it because my body started acting like an unreliable witness, the healthcare system handed me an eight-month wait, and I got tired of trying to explain symptoms I barely had language for.
That was the wait for an OB-GYN referral when I started seriously looking into HRT.
Eight months is a long time when you feel mostly fine.
It is a very different kind of time when you are not sleeping, not focusing, not feeling like yourself, and trying to figure out whether you are hormonal, burned out, aging, anxious, exhausted, depressed, overstimulated, or just losing your actual mind.
Spoiler: sometimes the answer is yes.
To several.
At once.
Perimenopause did not arrive gently
I wish I could say this all started with one cute hot flash and a fan.
It did not.
For me, perimenopause showed up as a whole case file.
Broken sleep.
Brain fog.
Mood swings.
Anxiety.
Irritability.
Body changes.
Focus problems.
Pelvic floor issues.
Rage that arrived faster than my ability to explain it.
Exhaustion that did not care how much I still had to do.
And I always have a lot to do.
I am a blogger, author, data analyst, homesteader, wife, mother, grandmother, student, EMR, and chronic “figure it out” person. My entire personality is basically documentation with a side of stubbornness.
But even I found myself staring at my own symptoms thinking:
And maybe worse:
How am I supposed to prove it?
That is why this is called The Peri Files
Because that is what perimenopause started to feel like.
A file.
A folder.
A stack of clues I kept adding to because none of them made enough sense alone.
Sleep changes.
Mood changes.
Cycle changes.
Weight and body changes.
Hot flashes.
Night sweats.
Pelvic floor symptoms.
Labs.
Medications.
Supplements.
Appointments.
The days I felt fine.
The days I absolutely did not.
The days I wondered if I was overreacting.
The days I realized I had probably been underreacting for years.
The Peri Files is my attempt to put all of that somewhere useful.
Not polished.
Not perfect.
Not wrapped in soft-focus wellness language about “embracing the journey.”
More like:
Here are the symptoms.
Here are the patterns.
Here is what I noticed.
Here is what helped.
Here is what did not.
Here is what I wish I had known sooner.
Bring the receipts.
I used Wisp as a bridge, not a replacement
I want to be very clear about this part because it matters.
When I was facing that eight-month wait for an OB-GYN referral, I used Wisp as a bridge.
Not because I wanted to avoid in-person care.
Not because I think telehealth is the answer for everyone.
Not because I believe every woman needs HRT.
I used it because I needed help sooner than “maybe sometime eight months from now.”
I needed to start the conversation. I needed options. I needed someone to look at the symptoms I was already documenting and help me figure out a next step while I waited for the system to catch up.
That is the kind of thing I want to talk about here.
The practical middle.
The messy gap between “something is wrong” and “I finally have an appointment.”
The part where women are still working, caregiving, parenting, farming, creating, managing households, answering emails, feeding everyone, remembering everything, and trying not to completely unravel while waiting for care.
So yes, I am sharing my Wisp link.
Affiliate Disclosure
I may earn a commission if you use this link, at no extra cost to you. I am sharing it because it was part of my real experience, not because it is the right fit for everyone.
This is not medical advice. Anything related to hormones, prescriptions, HRT, or perimenopause treatment should be discussed with a qualified healthcare provider who understands your personal health history, risks, and goals.
What The Peri Files will be
The Peri Files is going to be part personal essay, part research folder, part symptom tracker, part resource hub, and part “no, you are not imagining this.”
I will write about perimenopause symptoms, HRT waiting lists, midlife health documentation, symptom tracking, self-advocacy, and the weird overlap between hormones, stress, sleep, work, family, and identity.
I will write about perimenopause honestly.
The rage.
The brain fog.
The sleep deprivation.
The body changes.
The medical self-advocacy.
The weird grief of not feeling like yourself.
The relief of finding language for something you thought was just a personal failure.
The absolute nonsense of being expected to function like normal while your hormones are running an internal crime scene.
Some posts will be practical.
Some will be personal.
Some will probably be a little feral.
That feels appropriate.
What this is not
This is not medical advice.
I am not here to diagnose anyone. I am not here to tell you what medication to take, whether HRT is right for you, or which provider you should use.
I am here to document.
To ask better questions.
To notice patterns.
To stop minimizing symptoms just because we have been trained to keep going.
To build tools and resources that help women walk into appointments with notes instead of apologies.
Because “this is not normal for me” should matter.
Because women should not have to become full-time investigators just to be believed about their own bodies.
But since many of us do?
Fine.
Let’s build the file.
Why I am putting this on EricaButeau.com
This site has always been where I put the real stuff.
Work. Family. Health. Writing. Homesteading. Business. Reinvention. The messy middle of trying to build a meaningful life while also being a human being with a body that occasionally files formal complaints.
The Peri Files belongs here because perimenopause is not separate from my life.
It is happening right in the middle of it.
In the middle of writing books, including my North Country romantic suspense series, Androscoggin After Dark.
In the middle of building businesses and projects that matter to me.
In the middle of homesteading, farm life, and the work we are doing through Legacy Acres at Stearns Brook Farm.
In the middle of caring for animals.
In the middle of family stress.
In the middle of school, work, marriage, aging, ambition, exhaustion, and trying to become the kind of woman who does not abandon herself just because everyone else needs something.
That is the honest center of this project.
I do not want to disappear into midlife.
I do not want to be quiet about the parts that are hard.
I do not want to perform graceful aging when what I actually need is sleep, support, information, medical care, and a place to put the evidence.
So I made one.
Where to Find The Peri Files
The Peri Files is growing beyond one blog post. The main project home is at PeriFiles.com, where I will be building out resources, updates, and the bigger case-file style home for this work.
The app lives at app.perifiles.com. That is where The Peri Files becomes more than a story — a place to start documenting symptoms, patterns, notes, and the receipts we wish we had sooner.
You can also visit The Peri Files page here on EricaButeau.com for the personal hub, updates, and context behind the project.
This space on EricaButeau.com will stay personal. It is where I will write honestly about the lived experience behind the project: the waiting, the documenting, the rage, the questions, the healthcare gaps, and the small wins that come from finally putting the pieces together.
PeriFiles.com
The main home for The Peri Files project, updates, resources, and case-file style content.
The Peri Files App
The app home for documenting symptoms, patterns, notes, and the receipts we wish we had sooner.
The Peri Files is for anyone who has ever thought:
- Why am I so tired?
- Why can’t I focus?
- Why am I suddenly furious?
- Why is my body changing this fast?
- Why do I feel like myself and not like myself at the same time?
- Why did no one explain this better?
- Why do I feel like I need proof before I am believed?
Same.
That is why this exists.
