Patient information from BMJ

Menopause: questions to ask your doctor

Last published:Sep 11, 2020

If you're going through the menopause, you may want to talk to your doctor to find out more. Here are some questions that you may want to ask.

General questions

• How do I know I've reached the menopause?

• Is there a test I can have to find out whether I'm going through the menopause?

• What symptoms am I likely to get? Hot flushes? Night sweats?

• How long will I have these symptoms?

• Do I still need to use contraceptives?

• How will the menopause affect my health in the long term? What problems am I likely to get?

• Am I at higher risk of thinning bones (osteoporosis)? Is there a test I can take?

• Am I at higher risk of heart disease or stroke?

• Should I have my blood pressure and my cholesterol levels checked?

Questions to ask your doctor about hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

• Do you recommend that I take HRT? Why or why not?

• Which symptoms can HRT help with?

• What side effects might I get with HRT?

• Will the side effects go away?

• What are the different ways I can take HRT?

• Do some ways work better than others?

• Do some ways of taking HRT have fewer side effects than others?

• Do different HRT products have different doses of hormones?

• How long will I have to take HRT?

• What are the health risks with taking HRT?

• Am I at high risk or low risk of getting health problems from HRT?

• Can HRT help prevent any health problems?

• How can I work out if HRT is right for me?

Questions to ask your doctor about other treatments

• Are there other treatments that can improve my symptoms?

• How can they help?

• What are their side effects?

• How long will I have to take them?

• Is there anything else I can do to relieve my symptoms?

• What other treatments can prevent thinning bones? Do I need to consider one of these treatments?