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What is Early Menopause?

Early menopause is when the stage of life known as menopause happens before the normal age. If you are not forty years of age yet and you are experiencing signs or symptoms of menopause then you are more than likely having early menopause.

We have all heard about menopause, the hot flashes, the restlessness, and all the other symptoms associated with this time in our life. Menopause is no more than the cycle in our lives when our ovaries stop producing eggs, our menstrual cycle begins to stop, and our hormone levels change. When this begins to happen at any age you are in the beginning of menopause. Menopause does not actually start until you are no longer having periods.

There are recent medical studies that show that around 3.9 million women go through natural menopause before they reach forty years of age. Other reasons for early menopause can include surgery where the uterus or ovaries are removed or from chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer.

Women that are in early menopause not only have to deal with the symptoms and signs of menopause but also must face the stage in their life that they are prepared for yet. Menopause is a stage in your life where your reproductive years cease to exist. This can be very depressing for you if you are still young and your friends are just beginning to have children. The depression along with the other signs associated with menopause can be very emotional and hard to handle. But, you can find help with all of the symptoms and feelings. Talk with your doctor, he can give you advice on where to find medications and even support groups.

You may early menopause referred by the name of premature ovarian failure or POF by medical professionals. But, all this means is that your ovaries are not working properly any more. They are beginning to stop working earlier than the average or normal age of over forty.

During the time before your periods completely stop you will go through a stage called perimenopause. This stage can last from two to six years.

Early menopause can be determined by seeing your doctor. He will be able to perform a hormone test this is a test of your follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, and estradiol, the main circulating estrogen. Even if the test come back and your doctor tells you that you are experience early menopause, that does not necessarily mean that you are no longer producing eggs or that you will never have a period again. If you are in fact going through premature ovarian failure, you can still produce eggs, maybe just not as many as before. And you can still have periods. They may be irregular and yes you can still have a chance of becoming pregnant.

Of course early menopause can be the result of surgery, if you have had surgery and had your uterus or ovaries removed then you will go through early menopause. You will not be producing ovarian hormones any longer and that will cause menopause at this stage. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments can also cause your ovaries to fail.

Many women talk about menopause when in fact it is perimenopause that they are experiencing. This is the time prior to menopause where you will begin experiencing hot flashes, changes in your period, mood swings, and other signs that you have heard of. Many people refer to this as early menopause because these signs or symptoms can occur with some women in their late thirties. During this time you can actually still have regular periods.

No matter what the reason of early menopause it is wise to talk with your physician about ways to ease the transition and to combat the symptoms.