Early Menopause

The average age for a woman is in which she is expected to face menopause is 51, which means that most women go through this alteration between the ages of 47 and 53. So if a female have menopause before this time, for whatever reason – generally she is expected to have

she is generally said to have experienced premature or early menopause. Early menopause means the menopause which occurs before expected time i.e. total termination of your periods for 12 months before the age of 45. Early menopause is menopause that takes place before age 40. Causes of early menopause are that if a female had radiation treatment, surgical procedure, or chemotherapy then these things lead to early menopause. It is normally called as the premature ovarian failure (POF). Mainly, all it means is that female’s ovaries aren't functioning, as they should. There are some common symptoms of early menopause.

Irregular periods maybe the first sign of early menopause which can occur more repeatedly i.e. every 24 days instead of every 28, or they may appear later than normal interval of time. You may have a light period that remains only a few days, and then the next month you may have very heavy bleeding. Your period may be shorter in time or have longer duration as compared to normal menstruation cycle. You may skip a month, then go reverse to normal for several months, and then miss two periods. This occurs because, in the initial phases of premature menopause, your hormones are irregular and your periods are reacting to this volatility.

Shorter cycles (your period comes more regularly) are usually indicators that you are producing lesser levels of estrogen during your pre ovulate stage and that your FSH levels are elevated than normal. With more FSH to excite them, your follicles are rising more rapidly, which shorten your cycle.

Extremely light periods usually mean that you aren't producing sufficient estrogen to make up your uterine lining. It can also be a symptom of an ovulatory period.

Extremely heavy bleeding is also a sign of an ovulatory period, but in this case, estrogen make up the uterine lining at the same time that you aren't producing adequate progesterone (since you haven't ovulated and so it means you have created a corpus luteum). Without progesterone to stop it, the uterine lining keeps structure up, until the estrogen assembly finally goes down and the lining is shed.

Skipped less frequent periods generally occur as your ovaries continue declining and your menstrual cycle begin cycling down. With the passage of time even tremendously high levels of FSH when your ovaries don't make enough estrogen for eggs to mature and for your uterine lining to condense. As you get earlier menopause, your menstrual cycle generally lengthens. Periods come irregularly, there's more time between them. Then you may start skipping periods. Finally the major change in your menstrual cycle, you will end having periods at all.

There may be different causes of early onset menopause. Some people have a great physical and psychological loss due to early menopause. Adverse effects of early menopause can be seen by the usage of depression-medication. It means depression medication can cause early menopause.

Some Signs And Symptoms Of Early Menopause:

• Vaginal Dryness
  
• Hair Loss Due To Early Menopause
  
• Hot Flashes And Night Sweats
  
• Infertility
  
• Insomnia/Disrupted Sleep
  
• Bladder Control Problems
  
• Weight Gain (Especially Around Your Waist And Abdomen)
  
• Palpitations
  
• Headaches
  
• Skin Changes
  
• Gastrointestinal Distress And Nausea.
  
• Breast Cancer

Sometimes, early menopause is a result of surgery or cancer treatments. In this case, there is a clear external reason for the alteration in your body. In the case of surgery: If you are suffering from an oophorectomy, your ovaries have been removed, so you are not able to producing ovarian hormones. Or you may have had another type of pelvic surgery (such as a hysterectomy) that hinders in blood flow to the ovaries and it is a cause of ovarian failure. In the case of cancer treatments, whatever chemo or radiation treatment you’ve taken, these treatments have caused your ovaries to fail and they are not producing the hormones they produce earlier. Quiz on early menopause and broadcasting about the early menopause signs can be helpful to enhance the awareness about the early menopause.