PERIMENOPAUSE & MENOPAUSE CARE ยท Singapore
Get the Perimenopause Field Guide. Consultations open October 2026.
The ten years before menopause are the ones nobody prepares you for.
Perimenopause and menopause care from a Singapore family physician with an evidence-based and whole-person approach.
I look at your symptoms, menstrual history, medical risks, medications and lifestyle to understand what is most likely contributing โ and then build a treatment plan around your priorities.
Care may include menopause hormone therapy (MHT) where clinically appropriate, non-hormonal treatment, and practical support for sleep, nutrition, strength, mood and long-term health.
Singapore-registered Family Physician ยท 10+ years in clinical practice ยท MBBS, University of Melbourne ยท Graduate Diplomas in Family Medicine and Mental Health, NUS ยท MOH-licensed clinic
Perimenopause can affect far more than periods and hot flushes
Changes in sleep, mood, energy, concentration, joints, sexual health, and body composition are common during the menopause transition. But not every symptom should automatically be attributed to hormones โ and that cuts both ways.
It doesn't show up neatly on a blood test
Hormones fluctuate day to day in this phase, so one normal reading tells you very little. Diagnosis is mostly clinical.
Not every symptom looks hormonal
Joint aches, palpitations, anxiety, itchy skin, frozen shoulder, recurrent UTIs. These are commonly reported during the transition, but are often not recognised as such.
And the timing is easy to miss
This can begin in the late 30s, years before periods change in any obvious way. Most women think it's stress, or work, or simply where they are in life.
Why “normal” isn’t the end of it
Normal is not the same as well
A normal result means your numbers sit inside a range built from a general population — one where many people may already be unwell. It tells you that nothing dangerous was found. It doesn’t tell you that your body is working the way it should.
In perimenopause, the gap is wider still, because hormones swing day to day. One reading can look reassuring while your symptoms say otherwise. That’s why I diagnose from the whole picture, and use tests to rule things in and out — not to settle the question on its own.
Not sick enough to treat. Not well enough to thrive.
The ten-year window
Menopause is a single point in time: twelve months after the last menstrual period. Most symptoms begin in the years before it, while periods are still happening.
Perimenopause
Cycles shift subtly. Sleep becomes fragmented. Mood, memory, and metabolism start behaving differently.
This phase often lasts four to eight years, and it's usually when symptoms are most disruptive.
Menopause
Twelve months since your last period. A single point in time, only known retrospectively.
Postmenopause
Protecting bone, muscle, heart, and brain health become the priority.
Three ways I can help
Perimenopause & menopause assessment
Understand whether your symptoms are likely related to the menopause transition, and whether other causes need to be considered.
Menopause hormone therapy
A straight discussion about the benefits, risks, and alternatives as they apply to you โ with prescribing and follow-up where clinically appropriate.
Whole-person midlife health
Support for the areas that often interact with menopause symptoms:
- Sleep and recovery
- Nutrition and metabolic health
- Strength, muscle, and bone health
- Mood and stress
- Sexual and genitourinary health
- Long-term preventive health
Common perimenopausal symptoms
Not all of these are hormonal.
- Waking at 3am, wired and exhausted
- Brain fog and losing words mid-sentence
- Weight accumulating around the middle despite having the same diet
- A shorter fuse, more anxiety, and less resilience than you're used to
- Heavy, unpredictable, or closer-together periods
- Hot flushes and night sweats
- Joint aches or a body that feels older than you are
- Low libido, dryness, discomfort with sex
- Skin that's drier, duller, or flaring again
- Bloating, reflux, digestion that has changed
- Hair thinning
- More frequent urinary tract infections
Recognise more than three of these?
That's usually the point where a proper assessment is more useful than another round of wait-and-see.
Join the waitlistIs this right for you?
Likely a good fit if you
- Are somewhere between 38 and 55 and something has shifted
- Have been told your results are normal and don't believe that's the end of it
- Want a doctor who looks at the whole picture, not one symptom
- Are open to MHT, unsure about it, or clear it's not for you โ all three are welcome
- Are ready to work on sleep, food, stress, and movement, not only take a prescription
Probably not the right fit if you
- Want hormone therapy prescribed without assessment or follow-up
- Need an examination, scan or procedure as a first step
- Need urgent or emergency care โ please see a doctor in person
More than hormones. More than lifestyle alone.
We combine evidence-based medical care with the foundations that support health through midlife.
Assess
Understand your symptoms, menopause stage, menstrual history, medical history, lifestyle, and individual risks.
Treat Where MHT fits
Appropriate medical treatment where it's indicated, including menopause hormone therapy or non-hormonal options.
Strengthen
Address sleep, nutrition, movement, muscle, bone, and metabolic health โ built around your real week, not an idealised one.
Maintain
Review treatment over time and adapt your plan as your symptoms and health needs change.
Hi, I'm Dr. Charis Au
I am a Singapore-registered Family Physician with more than ten years in clinical practice. I trained in medicine at the University of Melbourne, and have completed Graduate Diplomas in Family Medicine and Mental Health at NUS.
My approach combines evidence-based medicine with a broader focus on nutrition, lifestyle, metabolic health, and healthy ageing.
Through Glow Health, I provide virtual care for women navigating perimenopause and menopause, with a focus on helping patients understand their options and make informed treatment decisions.
About menopause hormone therapy
Also called MHT, or HRT.
Menopause hormone therapy replaces hormones the body is no longer producing at previous levels. For many women, it helps with hot flushes, night sweats, sleep, mood and genitourinary symptoms, and it has a role in bone health.
It isn't right for everyone, and it isn't the single answer for anyone. Whether it suits you depends on your symptoms, your medical and family history, your risk factors, and your personal preferences.
What I'll give you is a clear conversation about the benefits and the risks as they apply to you, so you can make an informed decision. If MHT is appropriate and you choose it, I prescribe and review it as part of your wider plan. If it isn't, or you'd rather not, there's still a great deal we can do.
Prescription medicines are only discussed and prescribed within a consultation, after thorough assessment.
Menopause care from home
Much of perimenopause and menopause care can be assessed and followed up safely through video consultation โ history, symptom review, risk assessment, prescribing where appropriate, and ongoing follow-up.
Where a physical examination, imaging, or specialist assessment is required, Glow Health will recommend appropriate in-person care.
FREE GUIDE ยท WAITLIST NOW OPEN
The Perimenopause Field Guide
The 30 signs most women don't know to expect, the systems underneath them, and the first things worth changing. Written for women who've been told everything looks fine.
Consultations open October 2026, and waitlist members are offered appointments first.
I'll email you the guide and occasional notes on perimenopause and midlife health. Unsubscribe any time. Glow Health collects your name and email to send you the guide and waitlist updates, and holds them under Singapore's PDPA โ see our Privacy Policy link below.
The things women ask me first
Am I too young for this?
Probably not. Perimenopause commonly begins in the early to mid-40s and can start in the late 30s.
My blood tests were normal. Doesn't that settle it?
Not in perimenopause. Hormones fluctuate significantly, so one snapshot can look reassuring while your symptoms say otherwise. Testing still matters โ largely to check thyroid, nutrients, and blood sugar, which can mimic or worsen these symptoms.
Do you prescribe MHT?
Yes, where it's clinically appropriate and you've decided you want it, after a proper assessment of your history and risks.
What if I can't take MHT, or don't want to?
Then we use everything else โ non-hormonal options where suitable, plus sleep, blood sugar regulation, nutrients, strength training, and stress management.
Is this instead of my GP or gynaecologist?
No, it is alongside. I'll refer you on if something needs specialist input, imaging or an examination.
How long before I feel different?
It varies. Some symptoms respond within weeks; deeper changes take months. I'd rather say that honestly than promise a timeline.
What does it cost?
The initial comprehensive consultation is $280. It runs for 45โ60 minutes, because going thoroughly through your symptoms, menstrual and medical history, medications, lifestyle, and individual risks โ and building a plan from it โ doesn't fit into fifteen minutes.
Follow-up consultations are $80. Medication and any tests you decide to do are charged separately, and I'll tell you what something costs before you agree to it.
Not sure whether what you're experiencing could be perimenopause?
Start with a comprehensive medical consultation to understand your symptoms, your options, and the next steps.
Join the waitlistPlease seek medical attention in person instead of waiting for virtual care if you have: bleeding after menopause, unusually heavy or prolonged bleeding, chest pain, breathlessness, a new breast lump, severe headaches or abdominal pain, or thoughts of harming yourself. Glow Health does not provide emergency care. In an emergency in Singapore, call 995 or go to the nearest A&E.
Perimenopause and menopause care by Dr. Charis Au
Note: Any person who needs any essential life-saving measure should not seek to receive such measure by remote provision or teleconsultation services.
Glow Health is MOH-approved to provide an outpatient medical service by remote provision.
The information on this page is for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for a consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.
ยฉ 2026 Glow Health. All rights reserved.