Doctor Visit Prep

Walk in prepared. Walk out heard.

Doctor prep

this is your voice on paper. Take it with you, built from your data and the research, so the room hears you the first time.

Questions from your logs

Specific, personalised questions built from all of your logged data once you have at least 7 logged days, plus your conditions, medications, cycle history, and active goals.

You deserve to be heard

Use these scripts when you have been dismissed. They are firm, evidence-based, and respectful.

If told you are too young

"Research from the SWAN study shows perimenopause can begin in the late thirties. My symptoms have been present for [duration] and are significantly affecting my quality of life. I would like us to run a hormonal panel including FSH, LH, and oestradiol before drawing conclusions."

Sowers 2000 · Journal of Women's HealthThe largest longitudinal study of 3302 women aged 42 to 52 followed through the menopause transition across seven US sites. Documents vasomotor symptoms, mood changes, sleep disruption, and cardiovascular changes across racial and ethnic groups. Foundational dataset for all perimenopause cohort comparisons in Keza.

If attributed to anxiety

"I want to make sure we rule out the hormonal explanation before we focus on a psychological one. These symptoms follow a pattern related to my cycle. Can we check my hormone levels first?"

Faubion 2023 · Mayo Clinic ProceedingsSurvey of 4440 employed women aged 45 to 60. Menopause symptoms significantly associated with absenteeism, reduced productivity, and work limitations. Women with moderate to severe symptoms were significantly more likely to reduce hours or consider leaving employment.

If a specific condition is dismissed

"For HS: peer-reviewed research (Vossen 2017) shows HS is hormonally driven and responds to anti-androgen therapy. For PCOS: AE-PCOS Society guidelines support inositol and lifestyle as first-line. For endometriosis: ESHRE guidelines support multi-modal management, not pain relief alone. For thyroid: please run a full panel - TSH, free T3, free T4, and antibodies - not just TSH."

Karagaiah 2023 · Journal of Drugs in DermatologyAndrogens drive HS pathogenesis. Antiandrogen therapy including spironolactone shows significant improvement. Combined oral contraceptives with high estrogen to progesterone ratio reduce abscess and nodule counts in a 12 week study.

When to seek a second opinion

If your concerns are dismissed twice, your symptoms are escalating, or you are being told to "wait and see" with no plan - it is time to seek a second opinion. The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS) keeps a directory of menopause-trained providers.

Harlow 2012 · MenopauseGold standard clinical staging framework for reproductive aging. Defines early perimenopause as cycle variability of plus or minus 7 days, late perimenopause as 60 or more day amenorrhea, and menopause as 12 months amenorrhea. Keza's stage assessment algorithm is built on this framework.

The Menopause Society (formerly NAMS) Find a Provider