Questions worth asking a (peri)menopause practitioner
A good first (peri)menopause appointment should leave you knowing three things: what the working explanation for your symptoms is, what the options are including doing nothing, and what happens next if the first option does not work. If you leave without those three, you have grounds to ask again or seek another opinion.
Questions about the diagnosis
These establish whether your symptoms have actually been assessed rather than assumed.
- What do you think is causing my symptoms, and what else could it be?
- Do I need any tests, and what would they change?
- Where do you think I am in the transition?
Questions about the options
The aim is to hear a range, with trade-offs, not a single recommendation with no alternatives.
- What are my options, including not treating this right now?
- What are the benefits and risks for someone with my history?
- How long before I know whether it is working?
- What are the common side effects, and which ones should worry me?
Questions about what happens next
This is the part most often skipped, and the part that determines whether you get stuck.
- When should I come back, and what should prompt me to come sooner?
- If this does not work, what would you try next?
- Who do I contact between appointments?
What does a good answer sound like?
A good answer engages with your specific history rather than giving a general position, acknowledges uncertainty where it exists, and gives you a timeframe. An answer that dismisses the question, or treats a preference as settled without discussing alternatives, is a reasonable trigger for a second opinion.