Early Menopause Test Can Help Learn How

Before looking at the early menopause causes; let’s first

address the question: what exactly is early menopause?

Early menopause is natural menopause; except it occurs

at an early menopause age that is younger than 45. You

are in early menopause when you have not experienced

menstrual periods for 12 months. At what age does

menopause normally occur then? The age for menopause

symptoms to start appearing is between 45 and 55, with

51 being the average age in the United States. Premature

menopause means women also stop having their periods,

but it occurs before the age of 40, and only in about 1%

of women.

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Premature menopause is not to be confused with early

menopause though. For clarity sake however, I’ll just

touch on the topic. Natural premature menopause is

caused by POF (premature ovarian failure), also known

as primary ovarian failure or primary ovarian insufficiency

(POI). This basically means you have not had surgery,

chemotherapy, or any other traumatic experience.

As mentioned earlier, probably one of the most

significant early menopause signs is being of an age

younger than 45 with no menstrual cycle for at least 12

months while experiencing early menopause symptoms

such as sleeping problems, mood swings, vaginal

dryness, loss of energy, dry eyes, low sex drive, painful

sex, and bladder control. The symptoms of early

menopause are actually the same as those for

menopause; read more on these early menopause signs

and symptoms before we get into what causes early

menopause.

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My research has shown that early menopause causes

are as follows:

Autoimmune disorder: the body perceives substances

and tissues normally present in your body as a threat. It

then attacks itself by sending antibodies to destroy the

“invaders”. Your ovaries are attacked; in the process

destroying the reproduction function. Diseases falling in

this category are hypothyroid and hyperthyroid. These

thyroid diseases cause hormone levels to drop, which

could result in the cessation of menstrual cycles which in

turn leads to early menopause. Many of the hormone

imbalance symptoms experienced are hair loss, weight

gain, stopping of menstrual periods, palpitations and

sweats that may seem like either hot flushes or night

sweats, but are symptomatic of thyroid disease as well. It

is therefore imperative that tests are conducted for a proper diagnosis.

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Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy: damage to

the ovaries occurs when they’re subjected to the frequent

and high doses of treatment used to kill cancer cells.

Even low dose/short term treatments could lead to infertility.

Chromosomal Irregularity: Women are normally born

with 2 x-chromosomes. When only 1 of the 2 x-

chromosomes functions normally and the other has a

defect sometimes caused by a hereditary disorder called

fragile x syndrome (caused by a change in the DNA

structure of the x-chromosome), normal ovarian

development is affected. Another disorder known as

Turners’s Syndrome, also affects the development of

women in the sense that they either have only 1 x-

chromosome; or they have both, but one of the x-

chromosomes is abnormal. Both conditions interfere with

the development of the ovaries which are needed to

produce sufficient levels of estrogen to bring relief from the symptoms of early menopause.

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Family History: Is early menopause hereditary? Any

female relative who experienced early menopause could

be an indication that the condition is hereditary. Studies

indicate however that only about 5% of those who

experience early menopause have a family history of this condition.

Hyperprolactinemia: is the condition caused by the

human body when it produces too much of the hormone

prolactin in the blood of women who are not pregnant.

The higher production is caused by stress, certain foods,

exercise, herbs such as red clover, nipple stimulation,

underactive thyroid, etc. Prolactin is responsible for the

production of breast milk in pregnant women.

Progesterone is the hormone which is produced after

ovulation and high levels of prolactin in the blood causes

a decline in this production. The lower levels of the

hormones can cause irregular patterns in ovulation and

menstrual cycles, or even result in breasts not producing

milk when pregnant. Hyperprolactinemia could therefore

cause women’s menstrual cycle to stop altogether, which

is one of the causes of early menopause.

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Hysterectomy: is the surgical removal of the uterus,

which means both ovaries are still intact and will continue

to produce hormones? Falling pregnant is however not

possible as the uterus is required for this. Blood supply to

the ovaries may be affected due to the surgery, causing hot flushes.

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Oophorectomy: surgery whereby both ovaries are

removed; brings about menopause straightaway. The

woman’s menstrual periods stop and hormones drop at a

rapid rate since the ovaries are no longer there to

produce hormones. The signs and symptoms typically

associated with menopause (hot flushes and diminished

sexual drive) are immediate, and probably more intense than when menopause is experienced gradually.

In Conclusion: Early menopause risks include, but are

not limited to heart disease, osteoporosis, glaucoma and

thyroid disease. It is strongly recommended that all

menopause matters are discussed with your doctor so an

early menopause test can be performed. The most

important, as mentioned earlier, is the FSH test which

will determine FSH levels which cause the ovaries to

produce estrogen. FSH levels above 30 or 40 mIU

indicates menopause. Many women prefer natural

supplements as early menopause treatment; hormone

replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective way to treat menopause however.

My name is Sonia Preiss and I do a lot of research on different

illnesses and diseases. Read the full article on other surgical procedures, Tamoxifen, Cushing’s Disease, etc. Go to this link here.

Read about other conditions and diseases which were extensively researched by visiting http://sicknessnhealth.com.