Your 40+ Annual Visit · It Has a Name Ch. 11

What to check, when, and where countries differ. Tick off what's done — see what's missing. Save or print and bring it to your appointment.

Three tests you can skip

❌ FSH to confirm perimenopause. Levels fluctuate too much for a single value to mean anything (exception: suspected POI before 40).

❌ Tumor markers "just in case." CA-125, CA 19-9 — designed for monitoring known cancers, not screening healthy people (exception: BRCA/Lynch).

❌ "Functional lab" panels. Saliva hormone tests, hair adrenal panels, microbiome panels marketed as "screening." No serious endocrinology association recognizes them as a basis for treatment.

Run before your next visit

Two free online calculators take ten minutes between them and will change your next conversation with your doctor:

FRAX — your 10-year fracture risk
ASCVD / QRISK3 / Australian CVD Calculator — your cardiovascular risk

→ Go to the calculator hub