Adelaide woman Meg Hayward was forced to see 15 specialists – losing two jobs along the way – before she got an accurate diagnosis and the medical support she needed.
Melbourne osteopath Katie Willy found herself unable to get out of bed, sobbing to her husband that he and the kids would be better off without her.
Sydney business owner Camilla Thompson was yelled at by a male GP, and told “come back when you haven’t had a period for 12 months”.
For thousands of Aussie women, perimenopause isn’t just a biological transition, but a logistical, emotional and financial nightmare in which they’re up against medical gaslighting, administrative red tape and a heightened risk of both divorce and suicide.
It’s time to Fire Up! Menopause will affect more than 50 per cent of the Australian population but women are struggling to access basic information and treatment, and talking about it is still taboo.
In partnership with Priceline Pharmacy, we want to change that. We want to start a national conversation. We want better education for healthcare professionals. We want every Australian to understand the symptoms, and what help is available, so no woman suffers in silence. Add your support to our poll below.
Nationwide survey lays bare shock reality
In December, news.com.au’s Fire Up! reader survey of more than 2200 respondents highlighted what is fast becoming a national crisis.
On average, 37 per cent of respondents claimed to have “little or no knowledge” about perimenopause or menopause, with this knowledge gap more pronounced in the younger cohort – with 62 per cent of respondents under the age of 40 reporting little to no knowledge. The gap widens again when it comes to gender – while eight out of 10 female respondents said they could identify at least three perimenopause symptoms, that number dropped to only half when it came to male respondents.
Survey participants described being dismissed or “gaslit” by doctors, with some women taking up to five years to receive medical assistance, while nearly three in 10 (28.7 per cent) women say limited GP training is their biggest challenge in seeking treatment.
2025 Priceline data found 51 per cent of women currently experiencing the transition have kept it private, avoiding discussions with family or healthcare professionals.
Undereducated doctors and logistical red tape
“A lot of women are going to their GP and being told, ‘You’re too young to be in perimenopause,’ or ‘It’s just stress,’” says Dr Sarah Cavanagh, Chief Medical Officer at online medical clinic Instant Scripts.
“And that comes back to the fact that menopause education in medical school historically has been almost non-existent.”
YouGov research commissioned by Priceline found 24 per cent of women aged 40-49 were told their symptoms were just ‘anxiety’, while experts say women are still being sent for meaningless blood tests rather than being given appropriate symptom assessment in line with best practice.
And while most Fire Up survey respondents (79 per cent) have never been prescribed hormonal therapy to address their perimenopause or menopause symptoms, for those who are, a new battle often emerges.
Right now, if a woman walks into a pharmacy and her prescribed MHT patch is out of stock, the pharmacist’s hands are often tied, even though they don’t need to be.
In most states, a pharmacist cannot simply substitute an out-of-stock patch for an available alternative (like a gel or a different brand) without a brand-new prescription from a GP.
“Instead of being able to offer alternatives which are available, pharmacists are having to send women straight back to their GP for a new script, at a time where getting a GP appointment is harder than ever,” explains Melissa Gannon, National Pharmacy Support Manager at Priceline.
This sends women back into a crowded medical system, oftentimes to wait weeks for an appointment they’ve already had, just to get a different piece of paper for the same medication.
Gannon notes that for a woman to find a treatment that works, only to discover it’s unavailable, creates a significant “emotional burden”.
“To discover the pharmacy doesn’t have the medication she was prescribed or had been taking successfully to manage her symptoms, can be so distressing.”
And the burden isn’t just emotional either.
The 2024 Senate Inquiry into Menopause and Perimenopause essentially confirmed that we are seeing a “Menopause Poverty Gap”.
The inquiry found that menopause is costing Australian women a collective $15.2 billion in lost income and superannuation for every year of early retirement.
And this gap begins in the GP waiting room.
For a woman already struggling with cost of living pressures, the requirement to pay $80+ for a repeat GP visit, simply because the law won’t let a pharmacist do their job, is often the breaking point that leads them to abandon treatment entirely.
A silent epidemic
Despite the massive impact perimenopause and menopause have on Australians, a culture of silence persists.
YouGov research found over half of women currently experiencing menopause or perimenopause (51 per cent) have kept their transition private from family, friends, and peers.
The time for silence is surely over. The time for a national conversation has come.