The 48 Signs of Peri/Menopause: The Framework Every Filipina 35+ Should Know
And how MTick®, the global certification, verifies that a product helps support women through them.
You wake up at 3 a.m. for the third night this week. The next morning, you walk into a room and forget why you came in. By lunch, a colleague says something ordinary and you feel a flash of irritation that surprises even you. By dinner, you cry at a commercial.
Maybe you have Googled it. Maybe a friend has mentioned hers. Maybe your doctor said something vague about “your age.”
What is happening to you is not random. It is not a personality flaw. It is not something to push down with another cup of coffee and a longer to-do list. There are 48 documented signs of peri/menopause — and most Filipinas have never been told even five of them.
This is the framework every woman 35 and older deserves to have. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it. And once you have it, you can stop accepting “just live with it” as an answer and start asking better questions.
Where the number 48 comes from
GenM is a UK-based menopause community and certifying body that has done what most national health systems have not. They catalogued every documented sign of peri- and post-menopause into one verified list, working with clinicians, researchers, and tens of thousands of women’s testimonies. The result, published openly at gen-m.com, is 48 signs.
It is not a marketing list. It is the source list every menopause-friendly product certified globally must demonstrate it supports. We will come back to that.
First, the list itself.
The 48 signs, grouped
These signs do not happen to every woman, and rarely all at once. They appear, fade, return, and change shape across the years before, during, and after menopause. The point of the list is not to alarm. The point is to give a name to what is already happening.
Hormonal and menstrual (3)
- Irregular periods
- Decreasing fertility
- Worsening PMS
Body temperature — vasomotor (3)
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Feeling cold
Sleep and energy (3)
- Sleep issues / insomnia
- Fatigue
- Lack of motivation
Cognitive and emotional (9)
- Brain fog
- Short-term memory issues
- Loss of concentration
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Panic disorders
- Loss of confidence and self-esteem
Musculoskeletal (3)
- Joint pain
- Muscle tension
- Loss of bone density
Skin, hair, nails (7)
- Altered skin (electric-shock sensations, formication)
- Changes in skin texture
- Itchy or crawly skin
- Thinning hair
- Nail changes
- Acne
- Body odor
Cardiovascular and head (4)
- Heart palpitations
- Breathing difficulties
- Dizziness
- Headaches and migraines
Digestive and weight (3)
- Nausea and digestive issues
- Bloating
- Weight gain
Urogenital (4)
- Bladder weakness
- Recurrent UTIs
- Vaginal dryness
- Changes in sex drive
Breast (3)
- Sore breasts
- Sagging breasts
- Changes in breast size
Sensory and oral (5)
- Dry eyes
- Dry mouth
- Changes in taste and smell
- Burning mouth syndrome
- Dental problems
Nerve and other (1)
- Tingling extremities
That is 48.
Read the list twice. Most women find at least eight or ten that describe a real experience they have had in the last six months and never had a name for.
Why naming this matters
Naming is not dramatizing. Naming is the first thing that lets you do something about a problem. When sleep, mood, and memory share one underlying biology — falling and fluctuating estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and their downstream effects on cortisol, neurotransmitters, bone, gut, and skin — they stop feeling like a dozen separate failures. They start looking like one transition.
For Filipinas in particular, this matters more, not less. The cultural script for midlife women is to absorb. Carry more, complain less, suffer quietly. That script is not warmth. It is unpaid labor dressed up as virtue, and 48 signs is the data the script does not want you to have.
Once you have the list, three things change.
First, you stop questioning your sanity. Tearful one hour, sharp the next, foggy by Friday — that is not a personality. That is biology.
Second, you can speak to a doctor with specifics. “I have eleven of the 48 signs, including night sweats, joint pain, and short-term memory issues” is a different conversation from “I just don’t feel like myself.”
Third, you can evaluate products honestly. Which products help support which signs? Which are evidence-based? Which are marketing?
That last question is what MTick® was built to answer.
What MTick® is, in plain language
MTick® is the universal symbol for menopause-friendly products. It is delivered by GenM — the same organization behind the 48-signs framework — and it was developed in partnership with Boots, one of the UK’s most trusted pharmacy-led health and beauty retailers, in 2022. It piloted across 150 products and 1,000 stores before being launched publicly in April 2023.
MTick® exists for one reason: so women can shop with confidence. When you see it on a product, you are seeing a third-party certification that the product helps support one or more of the 48 signs.
To earn MTick® certification, a product must meet at least one of three criteria, plus a customer-rating threshold.
- Backed by Claims. Authorized medicinal, cosmetic, or health claims supported by regulatory bodies such as the FDA or EFSA, with robust scientific evidence.
- Tried and Tested. Clinical or user trials with menopausal women showing statistically significant results for specific menopause signs.
- Features technology. Functionality or materials proven through independent testing to support a menopause-related need.
Plus a Trustpilot rating of four stars or above from real customers.
Source: GenM. MTick® certification criteria. gen-m.com
MTick® is not a cure. It is not a substitute for a doctor. It does not promise that any single product will resolve any single sign. What it does is hold a line. A product that carries the symbol has earned the right to say it helps support menopausal women. A product that does not, has not.
SecondSpring and the MTick® standard
SecondSpring is the first MTick®-certified menopause-friendly brand in the Philippines.
We did not invent the 48 signs and we did not invent MTick®. We chose to be measured against them, because Filipina women deserve products that meet a global standard — not just a local marketing claim. SecondSpring is formulated for women navigating perimenopause and menopause, third-party tested, and built around clinically researched ingredients including VERISOL® collagen peptides from Germany at the studied dose.
That is the point of certification. You do not have to take our word for it.
What to do with this list now
Save it. Forward it to a friend, a sister, a mother, or a daughter who has been Googling at 3 a.m. and finding nothing useful.
If you recognize even five of these signs in yourself, bring the list to your next OB-GYN visit. It will change the conversation.
And the next time you see a product marketed at women in their 40s, ask the one question that matters: which of the 48 signs does this actually help support, and what evidence backs that?
If a brand cannot answer, it is selling you packaging. If it can, you have something to work with.
Frequently asked questions
Are these signs the same for every woman?
No. The 48 are the documented possibilities, not a checklist every woman will go through. Most women experience a personal cluster — one woman’s perimenopause might be sleep, mood, and weight; another’s might be skin, joints, and irregular cycles. Both are normal.
Does having a few of these signs mean I am in perimenopause?
Not on its own. Many of these signs overlap with thyroid issues, stress, anemia, and other conditions. The list is a starting point for a conversation with a healthcare provider — not a diagnosis. If you are between 35 and 55 and recognize several signs that have appeared in the last year or two, perimenopause is a reasonable hypothesis to investigate with your doctor.
Can a supplement treat any of the 48 signs?
No supplement, including SecondSpring, treats or cures any of these signs. What well-formulated nutrition can do is help support women through this life stage, using ingredients that are clinically studied, properly dosed, and certified against a global standard like MTick®. That is the honest line, and it is the only one we will draw.
The 48 signs are not a problem to be solved by reading a list. They are a vocabulary. Once you have it, the rest of the conversation — with your doctor, your family, your products, and yourself — gets sharper.
This is what every Filipina 35 and older deserves to have. Now you do.
No Approved Therapeutic Claims.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. The content is not written by or reviewed by a licensed medical professional and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information shared here is intended to help women become more informed about perimenopause and menopause — it is not a substitute for professional medical consultation. If you are experiencing symptoms or have concerns about your health, please consult a qualified healthcare provider such as an OB-GYN or general practitioner.