The Stages Of Menopause
Menopause is the process when there is a change in sex hormones of a female and she stops her menstruation cycle. Menopause mostly starts at the age of 40 to 55 the age can varies from woman to woman. There are the different menopausal stages and phases of menopause dependent on the age and occurrence of menopause. There are about 3 different stages of menopause:
1. Pre-Menopause
2. Menopause
3. Post Menopause
Premenopause:
There is confusion between the pre-menopause and primenopause. Some people think that both terms are the same. According to some people premenopause is the stage when menses start irregularly but no other symptoms of menopause shown. But this is a misconception about the menopause. Premenopause is the reproductive & it is the new phase of menopause or fertile part of woman’s life.
Perimenopause:
Different people define this term in different ways. Some people define the perimenopause stage just before the menopause at the age of 40 to 55.Perimenopause stage considered just after the stoppage of menstruation cycle. Some people think this menopausal condition last for 2 years but some prolong this period about four to ten years. During perimenopause stage the estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other sexual hormone level decline day by day and ovaries gradually stop their function of egg production. Before the complete menopause starts irregularity of periods, fluctuation of hormone level especially estrogen level decreased during perimenopause stage. Some time estrogen level becomes high this is called as premensturation syndrome. During this stage some symptoms of the menopause can be seen like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, concentration problems, depression, decreased sexual interest etc.
Menopause:
This is the stage when a woman has her last periods. No more production of eggs by ovaries and ability to conceive a child. This stage is confirmed if in 12 months no sign of periods will be seen in a woman. Menopause is a natural process that can also occur by some artificial ways. During menopause there is no risk of having baby or menstruation cycle.
Post Menopause:
Post menopause is the stage after the menopause, which will last for the whole life of a woman. Post menopause is a natural condition but it can cause different types of health problems in a woman. In the early stages of menopause the hormone level decreased day by day and in the postmenopausal stage the complete cession of the hormone production. No other sex hormone will be produced after the post menopause. A female has estrogen; progesterone hormones, which are, not only control the menstruation cycle but also perform some other functions. These functions are disturbed by reduction or ending of hormones activities.
Estrogen level also controls the mood and feelings so a female can be depressed by the change or low level of estrogen in the body. Weight gain is the other problem, which can be caused by the reduced activity of the estrogen level during the postmenopausal stage. Decreased hormone level accumulate the fats in the body that’s why the chances of other diseases like heart attack, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level and breast cancer increase.
Luteal stage last about the 14 days in case fertilization not occurs and ends at the menstruation cycle startation. In leuteal phase the eggs release and form the structure known as corpus leuteum. Function of the corpus luteum is to prepare the uterus if the fertilization occurs. It thickens the wall of uterus for the protection of fetus. In the second phase of the luteal stage the estrogen level increase, this thing causes to harden the breasts and mil production in the breast.
If fertilization does not take place, the functions of the corpus luteum stops and a new menstruation cycle starts after the 14 days. Gonadotropine is a hormone, which maintain the corpus leutum and continue the progesterone in the fetus until it is not able to produce its own hormones.
