What is Early Menopause?

Menopause is a natural process that usually takes place when a woman is in her late forties or early fifties. It is when a woman’s menses stop flowing and marks the end of her reproductive period. Early menopause is defined as menopause occurring before a woman turns forty-five.

Causes of Early Menopause

Sometimes menopause occurs very early, for seemingly no reason. The ovaries simply stop releasing eggs, and menopausal symptoms start. When this occurs before age forty, it is referred to as premature ovarian failure. Some autoimmune disorders have been implicated in the development of the condition, and there seem to be genetic components as well, but many cases can not be attributed to any particular cause.

Early menopause can also occur because of certain surgeries, such as a hysterectomy (the removal of the uterus). Other surgeries that damage the ovaries or uterus can have the same effect. Cancer treatments such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy can also bring about early menopause. Certain viral infections can reduce the number of available eggs, resulting in the woman running out of eggs at an earlier age, and she will once again enter early menopause. However, in many cases, physicians cannot determine why a woman went into early menopause.

Birth Control and Menopause

Taking birth control cannot, unfortunately, prevent early menopause. However, the hormones in birth control pills are much higher than what would have been produced by the ovaries naturally, and so birth control can mask the effects of menopause. Because of this, it is recommended that women over fifty go off birth control for a couple of months every year. Women who are at high risk for early menopause should begin doing this at a younger age.

If Taking Birth Control Helps Control the Symptoms, Why Not Just Stay On It?

Birth control medications contain the hormones estrogen and progesterone in much higher doses than what your body would naturally produce. This is so that they can prevent pregnancy. When a woman has entered menopause, however, she can no longer become pregnant, and so the goal becomes to alleviate symptoms. Sometimes this is done by manipulating a woman’s hormonal balance so as to bring it back to what it was before menopause.

Find a great Herbal Supplement for Menopause here.

Sources:
http://www.earlymenopause.com
http://healthlink.mcw.edu
http://www.menopause-online.com/pmsormenopause.html
http://www.valleyhealth.com