Your healthcare provider will review your symptoms and what makes them better and worse. Using a symptom tracker can help you answer these questions and remember important information about your symptoms. The Menopause Foundation of Canada has a symptom tracker specific to perimenopause and menopause.

Tests and assessments

Your healthcare provider may need to do some tests and assessments to help find the cause of your symptoms and to rule out other health problems. The tests and assessments that your healthcare provider recommends depend on your symptoms and health history. They may include:

• monitoring your height, weight, and blood pressure
• blood tests to look at your risk for heart disease, check for causes of fatigue and other symptoms, and screen for type 2 diabetes
• blood tests to check your kidney and liver function (to see which medicines are safe for you)
• pregnancy test
• pelvic exam
• pap test or cervical screening test
• mammogram (breast cancer screening)

Hormone testing is not usually recommended because hormone levels can change a lot during perimenopause and menopause. These day-to-day changes make a single blood test unreliable, so the results of hormone testing do not help your healthcare provider determine what treatment would be best for you and does not help with monitoring medicine doses. Hormone testing may be useful if you are under 45 to check if you have a condition called premature or early menopause.

It is important that you understand why your healthcare provider is recommending a test. You always have the choice to do the test or decline. If you need more information to help you decide, talk with your healthcare provider.

Other things to tell your healthcare provider

You are the most important part of your healthcare team. Tell your healthcare provider about the impact that perimenopause, menopause, or your symptoms are having on the things that are important to you, like your job, hobbies and interests, and relationships.

Talk with your healthcare provider about the outcome you are hoping for from your appointments.

Making the most of your appointments

If you don’t understand what your healthcare team is telling you, let them know right away. Be open and honest. You might say:

• “It sounded like you said that I should… Did I understand that correctly?”
• “Can you show me a picture or model to help me understand?”

Learn more about working with your healthcare team and making the most of your appointment.