Menopause & Your Doctor

 Talking to your doctor about menopause

by Dixie Mills, MD, FACS

Menopause is now a household word. We find the term in jokes, on the news, and it’s now even easily discussed with our girlfriends. But how often do we bring menopause up with our healthcare providers? Or how often do they talk to us about it?

In the past, menopause was just accepted as a fact of life. Not much attention was given to it in medical school, but in recent years, with the growing number of proactive baby-boomer women, it is definitely receiving more attention. Unfortunately, all this news brings with it a negative side in that menopause is now seen as a disease that doctors need to manage, fix and treat.

While we might want the easy fix, many women are not happy with these ideas, and are resisting them and asking for more. We applaud you for this. And much of our website is devoted to meeting those needs. However, we understand that a woman just can’t do everything, and she occasionally would like some assistance from the medical profession.

Here are some scenarios of the patient–doctor relationship to give you ideas for how this topic can be broached, and how to get the help you want and deserve during menopause and perimenopause. We’ll refer to your healthcare provider as a doctor, while recognizing that many of you see nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, or physician’s assistants and feel that this is great — sometimes even better!

Beginning the process

Our goal is for you to find a health provider who will work with you as a partner. This way you can collaborate on finding your best options during this often challenging period in your life. Most women have a primary care doctor or gynecologist whom they see for regular Pap tests. This is a great place to start. Explain to the front office staff that you would like some time — at least 15 minutes — to ask your doctor some questions about menopause, and you would like a separate appointment for this. If your doctor is in a group practice, ask if there is someone in the group who specializes in menopause.

Office practices vary widely when it comes to menopause. Some have a menopause library with books to check out; others have hand-outs to read; others offer show-and-tell sessions. If not, you can ask for a referral to a practice that does offer something like this. If you can’t get a referral or you’re a newcomer to the area, you may need to do some research on your own. Start by asking friends and acquaintances for recommendations. You may need to be a detective and do a little research. Thankfully, research is getting easier these days with internet connections.