Checklist

Questions to bring to your clinician

Appointments are short, and it is easy to leave without asking the thing you came for. This checklist helps you gather the facts a clinician will probably want and offers questions you might ask about periods, hormone-related symptoms, menopause or mood. It is for preparing a conversation, not for working out what is wrong.

1. Before the visit: what to write down
2. Questions you might ask: periods and cycle changes
3. Questions you might ask: hormones and menopause
4. Questions you might ask: mood, stress and sleep
5. At the end of the visit

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Why prepare

A clinician will usually ask when symptoms began, how they have changed, your medicines, your history and how life is affected. Having these ready makes a short visit more useful and helps you leave with a plan. Cross out what does not apply and add your own questions. It is always fair to ask the clinician to explain something in plainer words, or to ask what the alternatives are.

If you feel dismissed or rushed

It is reasonable to say that the problem matters to you, to ask the clinician to write down what was discussed, and to ask what would change their advice. If you are not comfortable with the answer, you can ask for a second opinion. Bringing a written record, such as the diary, gives the conversation something concrete to work from.

What this page does not do

It does not suggest treatments, doses or medicines, and it does not tell you what a clinician will conclude. Do not start, stop or change any medicine, including hormonal contraception, because of something on this page.

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Where this comes from

The list of things to note before a visit, such as symptom timing, period history, medicines and family history, reflects what patient-education material from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Office on Women's Health and the UK National Health Service commonly suggests preparing. The questions are general prompts written for this page, not clinical guidance or a quotation from any body.