I am 65 and though I have had many symptoms over the years. I have managed OK with them so far but i have suddenly had a surge over last few months. I'm not sleeping, get memory loss, I have heart flutters and missed beats. I thought at this age they would ease up?

I know, it seems mean that some symptoms pursue you for longer. It's just the last flurry of hormonal shifting though, so hang on in there. There are lots of things you can do to counter the symptoms you are experiencing currently -

1. Drink heaps of water, because this counters the heart flutters and irregularity. Try to cut out caffeine, because this just makes things worse. Banish added salt and salty foods too, for the same reason.

2. Breathing exercises are free and really effective for the heart symptoms - just something as easy as counting to 3 whilst you breathe in and again to 3 as you breathe out will be very helpful.

3. Get some gentle outdoor exercise every day if you can - just 10-20 minutes gentle walking makes you feel heaps better, as hormones circulate in the bloodstream so keeping active is a good fix. You will also find that the herbal remedy Ginkgo improves memory and a general feeling of being more mentally alert and focused

4. Don't eat a heavy meal in the evening - keep your main meal for lunchtime. Eat at least 3 hours before going to bed to reduce the likelihood of digestive processes keeping you awake.

5. If you are still struggling to sleep then check out the sleeping remedy Dormeasan, which tends to work very quickly and doesn't give people that heavy, hungover feeling in the morning, as medication sometimes does.