PERIMENOPAUSE & YOUR GP
Your GP said you’re too young for perimenopause. Here’s what to do next.
PERIMENOPAUSE & YOUR GP
Being dismissed by a doctor who tells you to “come back in a few years” is one of the most common experiences Australian women in their late 30s and early 40s are reporting. Here’s why it happens, what the evidence actually says, and exactly what to do next.
If you’ve ever sat in your GP’s office, listed your symptoms, suggested it might be perimenopause, and been told you’re “too young” — you’re in the company of hundreds of thousands of Australian women.
You’re not imagining it. You’re not being dramatic. And you’re not too young.
Here’s what’s actually going on, and what to do about it.
There are 3.28 million Australian women aged 40–59 — the age range where perimenopause is most common. One in four experiences symptoms severe enough to disrupt daily life. And yet a recent survey found 40% of women currently in peri or menopause don’t understand what’s happening to their bodies, and three in five Australians don’t know where to turn for information.
Part of that gap is medical training. Until very recently, most Australian GPs received almost no formal education in perimenopause and menopause. The Medical Journal of Australia has been blunt about this — a 2023 paper called it an “underserved” area of women’s health and called for urgent reform. The Federal Government is now funding Australia’s first national clinical guidelines for perimenopause and menopause, due in 2026–2027.
In other words: the situation is changing. But many of the GPs Australian women see today haven’t been adequately trained, and don’t yet have updated guidelines to work from. The result is the conversation almost every woman in her early 40s has had:
“You’re too young. Come back in a few years and we’ll think about it.”
This is the moment most women either give up — or push harder.
I’m 42. I started feeling “off” at 41 — anxiety from nothing, waking at 3am unable to fall back asleep, a fuse so short I lost my mind at my husband over the way he’d organised our new fridge. I unloaded on him over beer placement, then burst into tears and apologised for being a psycho. I’m a great sleeper. I’m not someone who flips out over beer placement. Something was wrong.
I went to my GP and said I thought it might be perimenopause.
“No. You’re too young. Come back in a few years and we’ll think about it then.”
She seemed a bit annoyed. “There seems to be a lot of people hearing things online and asking about HRT,” she added. “We can do some blood tests to see if anything else might be going on.”
On a follow-up visit with a different GP, I tried again. This time I was handed a printed copy of the Australasian Menopause Society symptom checklist. “Have a look at this. Have a look at the website.” That was it. Here’s a printout. Off you go.
It wasn’t until I saw a third doctor — Dr Kelly Needham, a doctor with a specialist interest in menopause — that I got a proper assessment. We worked through the AMS symptom checklist together. We talked about family history (it turned out my mother had been in full menopause by 47, which nobody had asked me). I left her office on the eve of my 42nd birthday with my first HRT prescription.
The difference between those consultations wasn’t that some doctors were good and others were bad. The difference was that one had specific training in perimenopause and the others didn’t.
Here’s the part your GP may not have explained clearly.
In Australia, the average age of natural menopause is 51, with a normal range of 45–55. Perimenopause — the transition leading up to menopause — typically lasts four to eight years, and can last as long as ten. That means perimenopause symptoms most commonly begin in a woman’s early to mid 40s. For many women, they begin in the late 30s.
Early menopause (between 40 and 45) and premature menopause (before 40) are also real and well-recognised in Australian clinical guidelines. They are not rare. Around 1 in 10 women goes through menopause earlier than the average.
So when a GP tells a 41-year-old she’s “too young” for perimenopause, the medicine doesn’t support that. Perimenopause at 41 is squarely within the normal window.
“Perimenopause can begin in a woman’s late 30s and is common throughout the 40s. Telling a woman in her early 40s that she’s ‘too young’ isn’t consistent with current evidence. The diagnosis is based on a thorough symptom assessment in the context of a woman’s age, menstrual changes and overall health — not on a single number on a chart.”— Dr Kelly Needham, Women’s Health Doctor & PeriHelp’s clinical partner
Another common dismissal: your GP orders a blood test, the result comes back “normal,” and you’re told it can’t be perimenopause.
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of perimenopause diagnosis. And it’s worth understanding clearly, because it’s the second-most-common reason Australian women in their 40s get sent home without help.
“A thorough assessment of symptoms is more useful than blood tests in diagnosing perimenopause. Normal hormone levels do not rule out perimenopause as a cause of your symptoms. Perimenopause is a time when hormone levels fluctuate dramatically from week to week and month to month. A single blood test is just a snapshot — not an indicator of what your hormones are doing over time.”— Dr Kelly Needham
In practical terms: your oestrogen could be high one day and low three days later. The blood test only captures one moment. A woman in clear perimenopause can absolutely have a blood test that looks technically normal.
This is why the Australasian Menopause Society and international guidelines recommend that perimenopause in women over 45 is generally diagnosed on symptoms alone — not on bloods. For women under 45, bloods may be ordered to rule out other things, but they’re not the gatekeeper for the diagnosis itself.
If you’ve been told you’re too young, or that your bloods are normal, or that what you’re experiencing is anxiety, stress or “just life” — here’s a clear path forward.
“Trust yourself. If your symptoms are affecting your daily life, your sleep, your relationships or your work, that warrants a thorough assessment regardless of your age. You don’t need to be in distress to deserve good care — but if you are in distress, please don’t wait.”— Dr Kelly Needham
If you’ve done all of the above and you’re still not getting anywhere, you have options.
Every Australian woman who advocates for herself, gets the right care, and tells her story makes it slightly easier for the next woman. Your GP today is shaped by their training. Their training is being updated. The national clinical guidelines being developed right now will significantly improve perimenopause care across the country — but that change will take years to fully filter through. In the meantime, your voice and your persistence in your own consultation matters.
And one more thing worth saying out loud: most Australian GPs are doing their best with the training they have. They are not the enemy. The system has been failing women for a generation, and it’s finally being fixed. You can be patient with your GP as a person while still being firm about your need for proper care.
Nine quick questions, a personalised next-step guide, and a downloadable GP conversation template you can take to your next appointment.
Is it peri? Take the free check →You don’t have to wait a few years. You don’t have to white-knuckle through this. There’s a path forward, and it starts with the right conversation — with the right doctor — armed with the right information.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your specific situation. Reviewed by Dr Kelly Needham, Women’s Health Doctor, on 14 June 2026.