Between appointments
The gap between appointments is where the useful information is generated, and where most of it gets lost.
If something was changed — started, stopped, a dose, a route — the gap is the experiment, and the record is the result. Without one, the review appointment starts from recall, and recall after a bad fortnight reports something different from what happened.
Four things to record, and the second is the one people skip:
1. The same symptoms you were recording before, in the same way, so before and after are comparable.
2. The exact date of every change. Started, stopped, dose changed, brand changed, route changed. This is the axis everything else is read against, and it is a one-line note that people are certain they will remember and do not.
3. Side effects, with dates. Timing relative to the change is the entire signal.
4. Adherence, honestly. Missed days, a late repeat prescription, patches that came off. A clinician told "it did not work" considers a dose change; told "it did not work and I missed two days a week" considers something else entirely.
And ask, at the appointment where a change is made, how long to give it. A date agreed in advance turns a vague wait into a defined trial with an end.
The before-and-after that actually reads
Keep the format identical either side of a change. That is the whole technique.
| Six weeks before | Six weeks after | |
|---|---|---|
| Flushes | Most days, 4 to 6 | About twice a week |
| Night waking | More than twice on 31 of 42 nights | More than twice on 28 of 42 |
| Mood episodes | 9 recorded | 3 recorded |
| Joint stiffness | 20 to 30 minutes most mornings | Unchanged |
That table is a consultation. It shows a clear response in one symptom, a partial one in another, and no change in two, which is a far more useful picture than "a bit better."
It is also the specific thing that stops a partial improvement from being reported as a failure, which is what happens when the last bad week does the summarising. When HRT does not seem to be working. · How to log HRT changes.
When not to wait
Go back sooner for:
- A new symptom that was not part of the picture before.
- A side effect that concerns you, rather than one you were told to expect.
- Anything your health service's guidance lists as needing prompt assessment, including specific bleeding patterns. Periods and bleeding.
- Anything that is frightening you, which is reason enough on its own.
"I have an appointment in eight weeks" is not a reason to wait when one of those applies, and a record makes the earlier appointment more productive rather than less.
If nothing has changed
That is a result, and it is worth arriving with clearly.
"No change over six weeks, here are the dates, and I took it as prescribed except for these four days" is actionable. "I do not think it did anything" is an impression, and impressions get a different response.
Bring the possible explanations too, rather than only the conclusion: the four missed days, the fortnight of bad sleep from something unrelated, the new medication started in week three. A clinician separating causes needs the confounders, and you are the only person who has them. How to read a menopause study covers why single-cause explanations of your own data are unreliable.
Keeping it sustainable
Two to four entries a week, not daily. A log demanding daily attention becomes a chore, then a gap.
Do not backfill. Leave gaps as gaps; reconstructed entries look like real ones and are not.
Drop severity scores before you drop anything else if capacity is short. Keep sleep, keep anything new, and keep dose changes with dates. Keeping a record when you have no energy.
Arriving at the review
Five things, and the first two do most of the work:
- The before-and-after, in the same format.
- Dates of every change.
- Side effects with dates.
- Adherence, honest.
- Questions, in priority order.
Then the closing question, again: what should I do if this has not improved by the next review? What happens at a menopause appointment. · The HRT review appointment. · What to say when you are not taken seriously.
HormoneLog holds the record and produces no assessment. No score, no threshold, nothing that tells you whether something worked. That judgement belongs to the person who can examine you, and the record is what makes their job possible. Why tracking perimenopause symptoms is worth it.
More in this section
About HormoneLog
HormoneLog is an iOS app from Baker Ventures LLC for tracking perimenopause and menopause symptoms and keeping an HRT record: what you took, at what dose, from when, and what changed afterwards. It is built for the appointment, where "it has been bad lately" is worth far less than a dated record of frequency and severity. The app is in development.
HormoneLog is a record-keeping tool. It does not diagnose, does not score you, and makes no claim about symptom relief. The guides on this site link to NICE, the NHS, the Menopause Society and peer-reviewed sources, and say plainly where the evidence is thin. Everything here is free and needs no account.
Questions and answers
What should I do between menopause appointments?
Record what happens, especially around any change that was made. The gap is where the evidence about whether something worked is generated, and without a record the next appointment starts from recall instead of from data.
How do I know if a treatment is working?
By comparing what you recorded before a change with what you recorded after, per symptom, with the dates of the change. That comparison is what a clinician interprets, and the interpretation is theirs rather than an app's.
Should I wait for the review appointment if something is wrong?
No. A new symptom, a side effect that concerns you, or anything your health service lists as needing prompt assessment are reasons to go back sooner rather than to wait for a scheduled review.
What if nothing has changed by the review date?
That is a result and it is worth arriving with, clearly, with dates. No change over a defined period is information a clinician can act on, and it is much stronger than an impression that it has not helped.
How long should I give something before deciding it has not worked?
Ask that question at the appointment where the change is made, because the expected timescale differs by symptom and by preparation. Having a date agreed in advance turns a vague wait into a defined trial.
What should I bring to the review?
The record from before and after the change, the dates of any changes, any side effects with dates, what you have missed or done inconsistently, and your questions in priority order.
HormoneLog. “Between appointments.” Baker Ventures LLC, September 7, 2026. https://hormonelog.bakerventuresstudio.com/guides/what-to-do-between-appointments/