Some women begin to get early signs of menopause. It may happen in their 30s and early 40s. This is unusual but it does happen to some women. It is important to understand that it is early onset of menopause or any other medical condition is causing menopause type symptoms.
Understand Perimenopause
Perimenopause is the period when a woman’s ovaries start producing less estrogen every month. The symptoms of perimenopause begin to appear in most women during their 40s and for some women in their late thirties. This is the transition period between the normal productive life cycle of a woman and the menopause.
Reduction in estrogen production accelerates as the menopause comes closer. This acceleration (2-3 years before menopause) begins to show the symptoms of menopause. Perimenopause period may last from a few months to a decade. For some women it is just a year or two and for others it may last up to 10 years.
The menstrual period becomes erratic in both its duration and in the amount of bleeding. The periods may become shorter or longer. One period may be of shorter duration but the next may be longer or many longer duration periods followed by a short one or any other random combination of subsequent periods.
The amount of flow also fluctuates widely from one period to another during perimenopause.
Some women begin to feel a rush of heat from the chest to the head. This phenomenon is called hot flashes. It continues in the menopause period also.
Most of the other symptoms of menopause are also experienced by many women.
The perimenopause period is considered to be over when a woman misses 12 consecutive menstrual periods. That is when menopause begins.
Ways to Manage Premature Menopause
If menopause occurs before the age of 40 years then it is considered premature menopause. Symptoms of premature menopause are more or less same as normal menopause but the psychological impact of the premature menopause are significantly different. Normal average age of menopause is 51 years.
The common premature menopause symptoms include irregular periods, heavier or lighter bleeding than usual, hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings etc. Some women may experience menopause between the age of 40 and 45. This is considered early menopause, but any menopause that occurs before the age of 40 is not normal and is considered premature.
The main cause of premature menopause is the premature ovarian failure (POF). Here ovaries either stop producing eggs or stop producing the hormone that helps in ovulating.
Symptoms of premature menopause are more severe. In addition to all the symptoms of normal menopause the psychological symptoms of premature menopause affects women the most.
Career or other woman who marry late in their thirties and want to plan for children may feel devastated if they experience premature menopause. The psychological impact takes some time to subside. Coming to terms with this reality may not be easy for some women.
Decreased sex drive is one of the other symptoms of premature menopause that may have a psychological impact on the married couple that has to be dealt with.
If your menstrual cycles are irregular then you should contact your gynecologist who normally will suggest blood tests to rule out any possibilities of being pregnant or thyroid malfunctioning.
Gynecologists may also check the hormone levels to confirm if this is the onset of menopause. During menopause estrogen levels fall. After ruling out all other possibilities the hormone test will confirm or rule out menopause.
How to Deal with the Severity of Surgical Menopause?
Surgical Menopause is different than natural menopause in the way it occurs although the symptoms may be the same. Menopause refers to the end of a woman's regular monthly periods. This happens usually as a natural consequence of aging.
However, sometimes the ovaries have to be surgically removed for some medical reasons. Irrespective of the reasons why ovaries were removed the impact of removal is that no more production of estrogen by ovaries. This leads to menopause. It is called surgical menopause.
Before we dwell on the symptoms of Surgical Menopause, it is important to note that some women undergo hysterectomy (removal of uterus), the menstrual periods stop but since ovaries are still there, the estrogen production continues. Therefore the menopause symptoms in this type of surgery do not appear and the woman will get menopause symptoms at normal age when ovaries stop producing estrogen.
Surgical Menopause will generally cause more problems than the natural menopause. This is because the women who undergo normal menopause go through the process slowly and through a pre-menopause period of 2-8 years. The surgical menopause happens suddenly.
Younger women’s surgical menopause symptoms will be more severe. Hormonal treatment may be required in most cases. A good understanding of the surgical menopause symptoms should be acquired before going in for hysterectomy. This will help to deal with it.
Since menopause affects bone density and causes heart problems, extra post surgery care should be taken by the women.
Most women will have one or more of the following surgical menopause symptoms which are more or less similar to the normal menopause symptoms.
Hot Flashes , Painful intercourse, Suicidal thoughts, Decreased sexual desire, Thyroid dysfunction, Night sweats, Bladder infections, Insomnia, Incontinence, Increased appetite, Weight gain, Hair Loss, Irritability, Vaginal dryness, Anger/Rage, and Depression.