Night sweats Teft me SCARRED FOR LIFE

After an early night, Annemarie Roberts-Lorenzini woke up in agony

- FRANCES LEATE, CANDICE FERNANDEZ

Menopause is the time of life that so many women dread. Mood swings, loss of libido, headaches, joint pain... the list of symptoms goes on. At 50, I knew I was in the thick of it when the hot flushes and night sweats became unbearable. Lying in bed, I'd wake up with soaking-wet sheets, my body burning with heat, then in a flash I'd be so cold my teeth would chatter. The only thing that warmed my bone-deep chills was a long, hot soak in the bath. But while I hoped I'd only have to put up with it all for a few years before I was out the other side, a horrific accident left me with devastating injuries and now, I'm living with the consequences.

In May 2024, I'd been married to Luca, then 53, for 20 years. While I worked as a nanny, he ran a successful restaurant. Our daughter, Francesca, then 20, had gone off to uni and although we missed her terribly, we were looking forward to enjoying some time together as a couple again.

But I'd been struggling with crippling anxiety ever since my youth. At its worst, my panic attacks were coming three times a day - my chest would tighten and I'd gasp for breath, certain I'd stop breathing altogether, until eventually, by staying as calm as I could, it would pass.

Over the years, with medication I'd got them under control, but when menopause reared its ugly head, my anxiety was back with a vengeance. I continued taking my meds, including sleeping pills at night, but when I became unable to do my job, my doctor prescribed me a new, stronger anti-anxiety tablet to be taken before bed.

Unable to remember