Falling estrogen and rising inflammation can fuel a surprising array of menopause symptoms,

We’re told what to expect when we’re expecting — but not so much at midlife, when we might not expect to inhabit a body that no longer feels quite like our own.

Yet that’s exactly what happens to a startling number of women as menopause approaches. Relatively predictable symptoms such as hot flashes, mood shifts, vaginal dryness, and hide-and-seek periods can be trumped by a tsunami of new concerns from head to toe.