How to prepare for a GP appointment about your cycle
· 1 min read
Ten minutes goes quickly. Here is what to bring so none of it is spent reconstructing dates.
A standard appointment is around ten minutes. A surprising amount of that can go on trying to remember when something started.
Bring dates, not adjectives
The most useful thing you can arrive with is a record: the start date of each recent period, how long each lasted, and when symptoms happened. Three to six months is plenty.
Write down your three questions first
Appointments drift. Knowing the three things you most want answered — and asking the most important one first — is the single most effective thing you can do.
Say what it is stopping you doing
Clinicians act on impact. "I am tired" is easy to absorb; "I have missed four days of work in two months and I fall asleep at six" is not. Describe the effect on your life, not only the symptom.
Things worth mentioning even if they feel unrelated
- Any new medication or supplement
- Weight change
- Family history of early menopause, thyroid problems, endometriosis or clotting disorders
- Mood changes
- How you are sleeping
Ask what happens next
Before you leave: what are we doing, when should I expect to notice a change, and what should bring me back sooner? Writing the answers down is not fussy — most of us remember roughly half of what is said in a consultation.
If you feel dismissed
Ask directly what else could explain the symptom, and ask for it to be recorded that you raised it. You can also ask to see a different clinician. Persistence is reasonable, and being organised makes it easier.