Home

Questions to ask before you decide

A single opinion rarely tells the whole story about a health decision. The questions below are the ones worth asking before you commit to a treatment, a medication, or a plan, and they point to published guidance so you can check the answers yourself.

Four topic areas

Four topic areas are covered so far.

• Weight management medications: the questions to ask before and during a conversation about medication, and how it sits next to eating and activity.
• GLP-1 agonist medicines: what to ask about how they work, how often they are taken, and who they may or may not suit.
• Perimenopause signs and timing: how to tell what you are noticing, how long it may last, and what to ask about sleep, weight and ovulation.
• Vaginal atrophy and GSM: questions about causes, hormonal and nonhormonal options, and whether it can be reversed.

If hot flashes are what sent you looking, the Menopause Society's patient page on hot flashes is a good place to start reading before you decide what to ask.

Questions in place of verdicts

Each page links to published guidance so you can read it yourself, and open points are written as questions for your clinician.

Integrative medicine is a label some practices use. Ask any practice that uses it what the label covers for your situation, then compare the answer with a neutral source such as the ABPS page on integrative medicine board certification.

Which questions to bring to a clinician

Start with whichever of the four areas matches the decision in front of you, and skim its questions before you form a view. Bring the ones that are still open to your own clinician, and consider asking a second clinician the same questions.

A second look, not a verdict

Good questions give a health decision a second look but never replace your clinician, so talk with them before you change any treatment.