Menopause treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Yes. Our physicians will be happy to discuss menopause with you.

The symptoms and signs of menopause are usually enough for women to know they've begun menopause. Therefore, a test for menopause is not always required in order to get a menopause diagnosis.

Since menopause is a natural part of a woman's reproductive life cycle, there are no direct menopause treatments. However, the doctor may make some recommendations to help with management of your menopause symptoms.

Yes. Our physicians can prescribe menopause medications online during your consultation. Once you accept a menopause prescription, you’ll have the option to pick it up from any pharmacy or to have it delivered to your door at no additional cost.

You can visit our How it works page to learn more.

Menopause is the natural time that occurs in every woman's life when she no longer experiences her menstrual cycle.

This typically occurs in women over 40. For most women, menopause starts when they reach their early 50's.

The most common menopause symptoms include:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Irregular periods
• Issues sleeping
• Mood swings
• Dry skin
• Thinning hair
• Slowed metabolism or weight gain
• Vaginal dryness
• Chills
• Less fullness in the breasts

The most frequent cause of menopause is the natural decline in reproductive hormones that women experience, usually after the age of 40.

Other less common causes can trigger menopause to start. These include:

• A hysterectomy
• Radiation or chemotherapy
• Primary ovarian insufficiency

A doctor on Maple will discuss options with you on how to treat your menopause symptoms. The doctor will factor in how severe your symptoms are and what you're experiencing.

Hormone therapy for menopause can be effective for women experiencing particularly strong symptoms or frequent hot flashes.

Your doctor may recommend you first try some over-the-counter menopause treatments. If they aren't effective, other menopause prescriptions can help reduce your symptoms.

Some of these menopausal treatment prescriptions include:

• Low-dose antidepressants
• Vaginal estrogen
• Clonidine
• Gabapentin
• Osteoporosis medications for treatment or prevention

Usually, menopause will begin when women are in their 40's or 50's. It can also be triggered by an underlying cause such as radiation, a hysterectomy, or primary ovarian insufficiency.

The average age for women to start menopause is around 51.

If you're wondering why menopause causes hot flashes, the answer lies in your body's natural thermostat – the hypothalamus.

Most research suggests that your hypothalamus starts receiving less estrogen because of menopause, so it becomes more sensitive to the slight temperature changes that occur in your body.

In other words, when the hypothalamus thinks your body is getting too warm, it activates a hot flash in order to cool you down.

Normally, when menopause begins, it's signaled by the end of your periods.

It's still possible to have menopause with periods, but you might notice that your periods become lighter or heavier. They could also begin to occur every 2-3 weeks, or not happen for months at a time.

Eventually, this will progress to your periods stopping altogether.

Menopause and weight gain are often related. This is due to the fact that postmenopausal women have slower metabolisms. Many women have to eat less and exercise more often just to maintain their premenopausal weight.

Menopause and depression have a less predictable relationship. Because menopause affects a woman’s hormones, it's possible that this could lead to depression.

In fact, menopause is considered a risk-increasing factor in middle-aged women who are susceptible to depression. However, this doesn't impact every woman in the same way and can vary greatly from one person to another.

If you believe you're experiencing depression as a result of menopause, talk to a doctor on Maple about menopausal treatment options that could help you manage your depression.

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $85/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: Access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

We accept all major credit cards, including AMEX cards, as well as Google and Apple Pay.

At Maple, we proudly prioritize privacy as a cornerstone of our virtual care services. We strictly adhere to privacy and healthcare legislation in Canada, such as PIPEDA and PHIPA regulations, to ensure patients' personal and health information remains completely private and safeguarded.

Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

All providers delivering healthcare through Maple are licensed in Canada and governed by their licensing regulatory colleges, and in all instances, must act in accordance with the governing principles set out in the telemedicine policies of each medical regulator in the applicable province.

Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.