If you are like most women, the thought of never getting your period again is a welcomed though! However, when it comes to menopause, it is much more serious than simply not having a period. For some people, menopause does come early. When this happens, it is usually due to one of the three following reasons. Regardless of the reason, early menopause symptoms will mirror normal menopause symptoms.
Premature Ovarian Failure
This is one of the most common reasons for early menopause. This is usually caused by an autoimmune disorder where your immune system accidently attacks itself. Your body believes that the immune system is a disease and sends out antibodies to fight this thread. In some cases, your body may direct these antibodies to the reproductive system.
When this happens, early menopause can happen because the ovaries are severely damaged. When the ovaries are damaged that means that ovarian function will not occur, and that is the basic definition of menopause, even early menopause. Though there is no real way to reverse this, you can take charge of your health by knowing what to expect and looking into your family history to see if there are autoimmune disorders present.
Surgery
Surgery on your reproductive system can put you into early menopause. For example, if you have to have your ovaries removed, then you will obviously be instantly thrust into early menopause. If you have a full hysterectomy, i.e. having your ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes removed, you will of course experience early menopause as well.
The major drawback to surgically induced early menopause is that it can often be much more intense than traditional menopause. This is because there is no gradual reduction of hormones in your system and everything happens instantaneously.
Even if you are able to keep your ovaries during your hysterectomy, you may still be thrust into early menopause. Why? This is because it is common for ovaries to be damaged during surgeries on the reproductive system. So even if the ovaries remain, it is possible for them to stop functioning after surgery. This is also true with tubal ligation as that surgery can also send a woman into early menopause.
Chemically Induced Early Menopause
The final category for early menopause is chemically induced menopause. This occurs after radiation therapy and chemotherapy because both can severely damage the ovaries. Sometimes women only experience this stop of menstruation during the actual chemical treatment, but even if menstruation returns often times the ovaries are too damaged to allow fertility to return.
Many cancer treatment drugs, especially for breast cancer, block the production of estrogen which will also send a woman into early menopause. Unfortunately, often times this is the only way for many people to have a shot at becoming cancer free.
What You Need To Know About Menopause
As a woman, there are many life changing moments in our lives. From when we get our first period to pregnancy and child birth to eventually menopause we are always experiencing changes in our bodies and reproductive system.
Many people fear the end of our reproductive system: menopause. Understanding this change of life can help you better cope with it and live with the changes your body will experience because of it.
What It Is
Quite simply, menopause is the end of your body’s ability to produce children. There comes a point in time when your body is unable to grow a child, and this change of life is nature’s way of putting a halt to the child bearing years. While some people believe that nature can be averted by in vitro fertilization and other fertility methods so that a post menopausal woman can get pregnant and reproduce, it is an extremely controversial topic.
Many doctors will only consider in vitro fertilization on a post menopausal woman if she experienced early menopause due to something like cancer, hormonal changes, or other non-natural occurring reasons for losing the ability to produce eggs at an earlier than normal age.
What You Can Do
Many woman fear menopause because of the horror stories related to it. Most women will, in fact, experience some of the most common symptoms related to menopause. The change of life drastically changes the hormones in your body, so it is true that symptoms like hot flashes and moodiness are common when you cease getting your menstrual cycle.
The hormones in our bodies regulate everything, so when they start fluctuating and changing, it only makes sense that our bodies would react differently. In addition, symptoms like vaginal dryness, sweating profusely, and even hair loss are also common. If you feel that you cannot handle any of these symptoms, please talk to your doctor about what you can do to help.
Do Your Research
However, before you talk to your doctor about what to do to stop or alleviate your menopause symptoms, make sure that you do your own research. Whereas hormone replacement therapy was the norm up until just a few years ago, more and more doctors are speaking up as research comes out connecting these hormone therapies with even more adverse affects such as cancer.
Make sure you know what you are talking about when you go into your doctor’s office so that you can be an advocate for yourself. While you do not need to go through menopause without any help, sometimes it might just be better to let nature take its course!
Many people fear the end of our reproductive system: menopause. Understanding this change of life can help you better cope with it and live with the changes your body will experience because of it.
What It Is
Quite simply, menopause is the end of your body’s ability to produce children. There comes a point in time when your body is unable to grow a child, and this change of life is nature’s way of putting a halt to the child bearing years. While some people believe that nature can be averted by in vitro fertilization and other fertility methods so that a post menopausal woman can get pregnant and reproduce, it is an extremely controversial topic.
Many doctors will only consider in vitro fertilization on a post menopausal woman if she experienced early menopause due to something like cancer, hormonal changes, or other non-natural occurring reasons for losing the ability to produce eggs at an earlier than normal age.
What You Can Do
Many woman fear menopause because of the horror stories related to it. Most women will, in fact, experience some of the most common symptoms related to menopause. The change of life drastically changes the hormones in your body, so it is true that symptoms like hot flashes and moodiness are common when you cease getting your menstrual cycle.
The hormones in our bodies regulate everything, so when they start fluctuating and changing, it only makes sense that our bodies would react differently. In addition, symptoms like vaginal dryness, sweating profusely, and even hair loss are also common. If you feel that you cannot handle any of these symptoms, please talk to your doctor about what you can do to help.
Do Your Research
However, before you talk to your doctor about what to do to stop or alleviate your menopause symptoms, make sure that you do your own research. Whereas hormone replacement therapy was the norm up until just a few years ago, more and more doctors are speaking up as research comes out connecting these hormone therapies with even more adverse affects such as cancer.
Make sure you know what you are talking about when you go into your doctor’s office so that you can be an advocate for yourself. While you do not need to go through menopause without any help, sometimes it might just be better to let nature take its course!
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