Premature Menopause '“ What Are The Signs?

Generally, most women experience menopause somewhere between the 48th and 55th year of their life, with the average age of women in the U.S. being 51. Due to factors such as genetics, medical reasons, or autoimmune disorders, some women experience menopause at or before the age of 40 years. This is referred to as premature menopause, a condition that can be devastating to the young woman who is diagnosed with it.

Referring to the time when the ovaries cease to produce eggs for fertilization in a woman's body, menopause signals the cessation of the childbearing years. While older women may find this liberating, this same news may be a crushing blow to a younger woman, particularly if she was looking forward to starting her own family. Premature menopause can also be very hard on the younger woman, because it means that much-needed estrogen is depleted from her system before its time, putting her at a greater health risk than most women who experience menopause at a later age.

But what are the signs of premature menopause? In many cases, the first sign is infertility - a married couple that, upon trying to actively create their own child, find themselves unable to. This will lead them to go in to see their doctor and get tested, checking to find the reason for the infertility, and thereby exposing the condition. Of course, there are many other symptoms and a wide variety of causes for premature menopause. A woman's risk of suffering from premature menopause is greater if her mother or sister has also suffered it. Also, women who have recently been receiving chemotherapy or those with diabetes, lupus, or other autoimmune disorders are at a greater risk and should be on the lookout for it.

Aside from infertility, the symptoms of premature ovarian insufficiency are generally the same as a woman who is experiencing '˜natural' menopause. A woman who is experiencing perimenopause will, at first, often have irregular menstrual cycles or their periods will be abnormally heavy or light, whereas a woman who is in post-menopause will have had no period for at least one year. A woman who goes through premature menopause may or may not experience fluctuations in her menstrual cycle but as in standard post-menopause; she will have stopped having her period for no less than one year.

Another common symptom of both normal and premature menopause is the hot flash. While they vary from woman to woman, hot flashes generally refer to a wave of heat that seems to start at the head or neck region and then pass over the body. Sometimes accompanied by a racing heart, a headache, nausea, sweating or, in the case of those with pale skin, a ruddy hue can tint the skin for the duration of the flash/flush. Following this, women often experience a faint chill or feeling of anxiety, while others complain of lightheadedness. In addition to hot flashes, women in premature menopause may experience the same night sweats, vaginal dryness, bladder irritability or incontinence, dry skin, eyes and mouth, emotional changes or mood swings, insomnia, or a decrease in sex drive, which a woman experiencing standard menopause will experience.

Along with the usual physical symptoms, there is an additional emotional strain upon the woman who enters premature menopause. For many, this can be devastating, as it is the end of their childbearing years. For others, it can be the stigma that follows a woman in menopause; that she has entered her last stage of life or that she has, somehow, lost her value to society. Few women are ready for such a thing to happen to them and, when it does, it can quite often leave them feeling stunned and lost.

Unfortunately, like standard menopause, there is no way of reversing it, nor is there any way of '˜curing' or preventing premature menopause. Some women have found a degree of relief in receiving hormone replacement therapy, though this is not recommended for those who have been receiving chemotherapy or other radiation treatment, or for women who know that cancer runs in her family. When in doubt, discuss it with your doctor and see what s/he suggests, but two of the best methods of chasing away the menopausal blues, and similar symptoms, are to maintain a good, healthy diet and get plenty of exercise.