This check uses the Menopause Rating Scale, a validated questionnaire developed in the 1990s and used in clinical research worldwide. It asks about eleven symptoms and scores each from none to very severe.
What makes it more useful than a simple symptom list is that it groups your answers into three domains, because menopause does not affect everyone in the same way.
Somatic covers hot flushes, heart discomfort, sleep problems and joint or muscle pain.
Psychological covers depressed mood, irritability, anxiety and physical or mental exhaustion.
Urogenital covers sexual problems, bladder problems and vaginal dryness.
Two women can score the same total while having entirely different experiences, and the domain breakdown is what shows that.
The total runs from 0 to 44. Broadly, scores under 5 indicate little or no symptom burden, 5 to 8 mild, 9 to 16 moderate, and 17 or above marked.
These bands describe symptom burden, not disease. A high score does not mean anything is wrong with you; it means your symptoms are affecting your life enough to be worth addressing.
The domain scores matter more than the total for deciding what to do. A woman scoring high on somatic symptoms has a different conversation ahead of her than one scoring high on psychological symptoms, even at the same total.
It cannot tell you whether you are in perimenopause. That is a clinical judgement based on your age, your cycle pattern and your symptoms together.
It also cannot distinguish menopause from conditions that mimic it. Thyroid disease, iron deficiency, depression and sleep apnoea all produce overlapping symptoms, and all are more treatable when identified. If your score is high and hormone treatment has not helped, those are worth excluding.
The most practical use is as a baseline. Score yourself now, start whatever you are going to try, and score again after twelve weeks. That comparison tells you far more than any single result, and it converts a vague sense of feeling better or worse into a number you can discuss.
It is also useful to take to an appointment. Symptoms described in general terms are easy to absorb into normal ageing; a validated score with domain breakdown is harder to dismiss and gives a clinician something concrete to work with.
The result is downloadable as a PDF for exactly that reason.
Related reading: The first signs of perimenopause · The 34 symptoms of menopause · The truth about HRT research · Thyroid or hormones?
Educational only, not medical advice. A high score is a reason to speak to a doctor, not a diagnosis.