Early Menopause

Early menopause is a term used to define menopause which occurs in women before 45 years. It is a broad term used to define various situations and conditions in women from Premature Ovarian Failure (POV), due to surgical menopause, to menopause caused by radiation or chemotherapy. Statistics shows that about one in a hundred women experience early menopause, of which, some may be teenagers, while some in their 20s.



What is Menopause?

Early menopause, the term, is often mistaken for premature menopause. However, these are not the same, the difference lies in the age of the women involved. That is, if menopause occurs before 45 years of age then it is called early menopause. On the other hand, if menopause occurs before the age of 40, then it is called premature menopause.

The symptoms of early menopause or premature menopause seem to be quite similar to those of normal menopause. It is seen that majority of the women who experience early menopause symptoms suffer from hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, insomnia, and muscle or joint pain. Some women suffering from early menopause experience menopause weight gain as well.

Three Types of Menopause
Emotional highs and lows are typical of early menopausal women, which include depression, forgetfulness, anxiety, mood swings, and cravings. All these early menopause symptoms are trigged by the change of hormones in the woman’s body as a result of menopause. During the beginning stages of menopause, the estrogen levels in the body is seen reduced dramatically, which results in lots of transformations in the body functions of the menopausal women.
It is also seen that early menopause has various other symptoms when compared with a normal menopause which occurs after 45 years. Early menopause can also be the result of genetic issues, surgery or even illness, which leads to a sudden decrease in the quantity of estrogen, which is often referred as ‘estrogen crash’, in the women’s body. The sudden decrease in the estrogen level results in the person to experience menopause much faster than other women. This estrogen crash is the main reason for severe hot flashes, depression, mood swings, forgetfulness, and fatigue in some women. According to a survey conducted on menopausal women, it has been found that majority of the women who undergone surgical menopause had suffered from several menopause signs in a quick sequence. And most of the women reported that the menopause symptoms they had experienced were rigorous and it lasted for over eight years.

Early menopause can be very distressing, especially for younger women who may not yet have married or have had any children yet. In such cases, counseling by experts could help one to get over her emotional issues. Support from family members is also crucial in this phase.