Here’s how to make the most of every precious second with your doctor. It happens all the time: A woman walks into her annual gynecology exam with a list of concerns, from irregular periods to itchy ears, and leaves disappointed when there’s no time to address them all. That’s because perimenopause and its myriad potential symptoms are a massive transition for all the systems in your body — meaning it deserves its own appointment, rather than trying to get all your questions answered between your Pap smear and breast exam.
Scary Mommy spoke with two perimenopause experts about when you should make an appointment just to talk perimenopause with your OB-GYN, and how to best prepare to get the most from your time with them. Perimenopause isn’t a disease; it’s a normal part of life, says Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a board-certified OB-GYN, Menopause Society-certified practitioner, and chief Medical Officer at Bonafide Health.
If you just want to check in about where you might be in your perimeno journey or ask a few questions, your annual appointment is a fine time to do so. You may or may not leave with solutions that day. I have these things that I have to cover at an annual.
Women oftentimes come in with this list of 12 things and leave very frustrated and really demoralized that they're not heard,” says Dr. Christy Guepet, board-certified OB-GYN and female pelvic medicine reconstructive surgeon, Menopause Society-certified practitioner, and member of the This Is Menopause advisory committee. Instead, use that time to gauge if your usual provider seems well-equipped to manage perimenopause and whether you want to schedule that next, more dedicated appointment with them or someone else.
The team that you would've created for yourself 10 years ago might not serve your needs at this stage in life. You really are looking for someone to help you navigate your decisions and choices at this stage in life. If the answer is that this is not this provider's niche or passion, then that's still good information because it allows you to start moving to another decision where you find that navigator.” We all know doctors’ time is short and perimenopause is a huge topic to tackle.
How can you get all of your questions answered and your problems on their way to being solved? Doing your homework goes a very long way, Guepet says. Keeping some sort of a tracker or calendar of your menstrual cycles or lack thereof can be very, very helpful to hone in on where somebody is in the journey of perimenopause and menopause,” says Dweck.
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