Postmenopause FSH: skip the hormone test, book these health checks

Do you need a postmenopause FSH test to know where you stand?

No. The calendar does the defining, a hormone result doesn't change which checks are worth having, and the table on this page lists no hormone test at all. If one is offered, a useful question is what decision the result would change. NHS figures put menopause usually between 45 and 55, with symptoms lasting 7 to 9 years and sometimes longer. Plenty shifts in these decades that no lab number captures, and our guide to postmenopause symptoms covers what women actually notice.

The checks here follow the body systems that carry the risk now, and strength runs through all of them. For what to eat to support bone and muscle, see a balanced diet for women over 60 in our falls and fractures guide. For the years before this one, the menopause test page covers checks around the final period. The full list for every life stage lives under health checks for women.

Check, when, what to look for

Which bone, balance and cancer screening checks come first after menopause?

Bone density, falls risk and the cancer screening programs come first, because each has a guideline and a schedule behind it. Bone is the quiet one. Vitamin D gets most of the headlines, yet the scan and the fracture risk score are what show where bone stands, and our osteoporosis page explains what can follow a low result. In the US, the task force also recommends screening for postmenopausal women under 65 whose fracture risk looks higher (Grade B).

Let's be clear about falls: they are not simply the price of getting older. The 2019 Cochrane review of exercise for preventing falls in older people is the evidence behind asking about a strength and balance class. A yearly look from 65 at how steady you feel is a modest ask for something that can change decades of independence, and our falls prevention page sets out what women can do about them. What a DEXA scan involves, from booking to result, has its own page.

Cancer screening is where the US and UK part ways most, so the country column in the table repays a look. For a mammogram, the task force found the evidence insufficient to judge benefit and harm at 75 and older, which is not the same as evidence against it. A primary care provider (a GP in the UK) can talk through what fits your own health and history. Bowel screening has a home option, and our colonoscopy page compares that test with the home stool kit for women weighing up which route suits them.

How often are heart and blood sugar checks needed in postmenopause?

The table gives the intervals; this is the why. Heart and blood sugar checks are the quick ones, a cuff and a blood draw, and they catch problems that give no warning. Our page on normal blood pressure for women walks through how a reading is taken and what the two numbers mean. Blood sugar is tracked with HbA1c, a single blood test with no fasting rules attached to this page's figures.

Health at this stage is strength, function and how you feel, never a number on the scale. Women who want a body measure often prefer waist to height ratio, which we cover separately. Cholesterol is found by a blood test, not by how you feel, and our guide to high cholesterol symptoms in women explains what the test measures. Many women find it easiest to bring the whole list to one visit, and a well woman exam is a natural place to do that.

Next steps

One way in: go down the table and mark each row done, due or not sure, then take the not-sure rows to your next appointment. Screening and vaccine dates differ between the US and UK, so the country column is worth a second look. Between visits, a home blood pressure reading and the simple strength measures keep you informed without a waiting room. Anything on the red flag list is a reason to book sooner. Which checks to prioritize, and how often, is for you to weigh with the people who know your history: this is not one size fits all.