Menopause symptom record
Fluctuating symptoms are almost impossible to describe accurately from memory. A few weeks of notes turns an impression into a pattern, and a pattern is something a clinician can act on.
How to use it
Copy the table onto paper, or rule up a sheet with the same columns. Fill it in once a week, on the same day, rather than daily: weekly scoring is accurate enough and is far more likely to be sustained.
Score each symptom on a simple scale.
- 0: not present this week.
- 1: present but not troublesome.
- 2: troublesome, noticeable most days, interferes with some activities.
- 3: severe, interferes with work, sleep or relationships.
Add the date of any period, and note whether it was lighter, heavier or the same. If periods have stopped, record how many months it has been.
The record
| Symptom | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot flushes: number per day, roughly | ||||||
| Night sweats: nights affected | ||||||
| Sleep: difficulty falling or staying asleep | ||||||
| Mood: low, irritable or tearful | ||||||
| Anxiety | ||||||
| Concentration and memory | ||||||
| Fatigue | ||||||
| Joint or muscle aches | ||||||
| Headaches or migraine | ||||||
| Palpitations | ||||||
| Vaginal dryness or soreness | ||||||
| Pain during sex | ||||||
| Urinary urgency or frequency | ||||||
| Interest in sex | ||||||
| Skin or hair changes | ||||||
| Period: date, and lighter, heavier or same |
What else to note underneath
- The two or three symptoms that affect daily life most. Rank them. This is the single most useful line on the page.
- Anything that reliably makes symptoms worse: alcohol, caffeine, a warm room, stress, poor sleep, a particular point in the cycle.
- Anything already tried, how long for, and whether it helped.
- Current medicines and supplements, including anything bought without a prescription.
- Relevant medical history: blood clots, migraine with aura, breast or gynaecological conditions, high blood pressure, and family history where it is known. These questions come up in the consultation and having the answers ready saves time.
- Days missed at work, or activities given up.
How long to keep it
Four to six weeks is usually enough to show a pattern. If cycles are still occurring, running it across two cycles is better, because the relationship between symptoms and the cycle is frequently the most informative thing in the record. There is no benefit in keeping it for six months before making an appointment.
What the record is for
Three things. It shows severity in a form that is hard to dismiss. It shows the pattern, including whether symptoms cluster at a particular point in the cycle, which supports a diagnosis of perimenopause when a blood test would not. And it identifies the target: treatment is aimed at the symptoms that matter to the person, and a ranked list makes that conversation quick.
It is also useful afterwards. Repeating the record several weeks after starting a treatment gives a clear before and after, which is far better than trying to remember whether things have improved.
What it is not
It is not a diagnostic questionnaire and it does not produce a score that means anything on its own. Symptoms in this list have other causes, including thyroid disease, anaemia, depression and sleep disorders, and part of the point of a consultation is to consider those. Nothing here is entered anywhere or sent anywhere: it is a paper record for one person's own use.
Before the appointment
Read perimenopause for what is likely to be asked, and take the question list for a menopause consultation. If vaginal dryness, pain during sex or urinary symptoms scored above zero, say so explicitly: those respond to a different treatment from hot flushes and are frequently left out of the conversation entirely. See genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
Where this information comes from
The symptom list follows public guidance and patient information published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Health Service, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Last reviewed: September 2026