Menopause Hormone Therapy: Questions for Your Appointment
Tick what applies. You get a one-paragraph clinician summary and a numbered list of questions, framed by the 2022 NAMS hormone therapy position statement. Print it or copy it into your patient portal.
Clinician summary
Questions to ask
Common questions
What does the NAMS 2022 position statement say about who benefits most?
For women younger than 60, or within 10 years of menopause onset, with no contraindications, it says the benefit-risk ratio is favorable for treating bothersome hot flashes and night sweats and for preventing bone loss. Starting more than 10 years after menopause or after 60 looks less favorable, because the absolute risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, blood clots and dementia are higher.
Is hormone therapy the most effective treatment for hot flashes?
Yes, according to NAMS 2022: hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms and for the genitourinary syndrome of menopause (vaginal dryness, painful sex, urinary symptoms), and it has been shown to prevent bone loss and fracture.
What if I only have vaginal symptoms?
NAMS 2022 recommends low-dose vaginal estrogen, or other therapies such as vaginal DHEA or oral ospemifene, for bothersome genitourinary symptoms not relieved by over-the-counter products, when there is no other reason to use systemic therapy.
Does this page tell me whether I should take hormones?
No. It turns your situation into a written list of questions and a short summary to bring to an appointment. The decision depends on your history and an exam, made with a clinician.
How the list is built
The timing line uses the two markers in the NAMS 2022 abstract: favorable for women under 60 or within 10 years of menopause onset; less favorable for those starting after 60 or more than 10 years out. When you meet one marker but not the other, the page says so rather than picking a side. Each ticked symptom or history item adds the matching question; nothing is scored and no treatment is recommended. History items are flagged as things to raise, not as yes/no rules, because whether one rules out a specific product, dose or route is a clinical judgment. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Sources
- The 2022 hormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2022;29(7):767-794. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000002028. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Bring numbers too: Menopause Rating Scale · hot flash tracker · symptom diary · bone density T-score explainer