Menopause check
No score, no percentage. Just an honest answer to the question you are actually asking: do my symptoms fit the menopause, and what is worth doing now?
Menopause check
A few questions, based on the Dutch GP guideline on the menopause. Your answers stay in your browser.
Please contact your doctor
You flagged a symptom that needs looking into first. That does not mean something serious is wrong — often it is not — but it does not belong to an ordinary menopause, and it is not something to judge for yourself. That is why we are not showing an outcome here: it could reassure you when it should not.
Bleeding after the menopause must always be investigated. Please make an appointment soon.
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Do you need a blood test?
Probably not. If you are over 45 and you recognise the symptoms, the menopause is a clinical diagnosis: your doctor makes it from your story, not from your blood. The Dutch GP guideline is explicit: FSH, LH and oestradiol are not recommended, because they add nothing to diagnosing the menopause or predicting when it will happen. FSH swings so much during the transition that a normal result does not rule the menopause out, and a high one does not prove it.
We sell that test. We still do not think you need it for this.
Possibly. Between 40 and 45, an FSH test can help if you have symptoms and your cycle is changing. Discuss it with your doctor.
Yes. Under 40, blood testing is genuinely useful to confirm or rule out an early menopause. See your doctor for this.
What may well be worth doing: checking your thyroid. An overactive thyroid causes hot flushes, palpitations and poor sleep — precisely the symptoms everyone attributes to the menopause. The guideline names the thyroid explicitly as something to rule out. That is a test that can actually tell you something.
Menopause CheckYou told us something else is going on. That matters: the symptoms you describe could just as easily come from there. Take this with you when you speak to your doctor.
Why there is no score here
Validated menopause questionnaires do exist, but all of them are under copyright and none is free to use on a commercial site. Building a lookalike and inventing our own severity bands on top would give a false precision that rests on nothing. So we do not. This check follows the Dutch GP guideline instead, and gives you an explanation rather than a number.
What is the menopause?
The menopause is a natural process that usually starts between the ages of 40 and 50. Your ovaries gradually produce less oestrogen and progesterone. That changes your cycle and often brings symptoms.
There are three phases. During perimenopause your cycle still works, but your periods become irregular. Most women notice their first symptoms in this phase. The menopause itself is your final period, on average around age 51.
The years after that are called the postmenopause.
Which symptoms fit the menopause?
The best known symptoms are hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. Poor sleep, mood swings, palpitations and needing to urinate more often are also common.
Symptoms alone do not say enough. They fit the menopause, but they also fit an overactive thyroid. That is why this check also asks about your age and your cycle.
Is a menopause test reliable?
A questionnaire like this one does not diagnose. It organises your symptoms and shows whether they fit the menopause. That is not the same as certainty.
Are you over 45 and do you recognise the symptoms? Then the menopause is a clinical diagnosis. Your doctor makes it on your history, not on your blood.
The Dutch GP guideline advises against measuring FSH, LH and oestradiol for this purpose. It concludes they add nothing to the diagnosis. Your FSH fluctuates so much during the menopause that a normal result does not rule it out. A high result does not prove it either.
The same applies to the FSH self-tests sold in pharmacies. They measure FSH in urine at a single moment. Manufacturers themselves often advise two tests a week apart.
When does a blood test actually help?
There are three situations where a blood test genuinely adds something.
Are you under 40 and have your periods stopped? That can point to early menopause. This is the most important reason to test, and to see your doctor.
Between 40 and 45 an FSH measurement can help if you have symptoms and your cycle is changing. Discuss it with your doctor.
Then there is the thyroid. An overactive thyroid causes hot flushes, palpitations and poor sleep. Those are exactly the symptoms most often attributed to the menopause.
Frequently asked questions about the menopause check
- Can you test yourself for the menopause?
- Partly. You can map out whether your symptoms and your cycle fit the menopause, and that is what this check helps with. Only your doctor can tell you for certain.
- Is a menopause test reliable?
- As a way to organise your symptoms, yes. As a diagnosis, no. Over 45 your doctor makes the diagnosis on your history, and the Dutch GP guideline advises against hormone measurements for it.
- Can the menopause make you feel nauseous?
- Yes. Nausea does occur during the menopause, although it is far less well known than hot flushes. Often several things are going on at once.
- Are the FSH self-tests from the pharmacy reliable?
- They measure FSH in urine at a single moment. That hormone fluctuates strongly during the menopause, so one reading says little. Manufacturers themselves often advise two tests a week apart.
This check is not a validated questionnaire and does not diagnose. It follows the Dutch GP guideline on the menopause to help you understand what your symptoms might mean. Always discuss your symptoms with your doctor.