PREMENOPAUSE

Summary: Unveiling the things that you need to know, which your doctor failed to inform you, about premenopause.

Menopause elicits different reactions from women, younger ones included. Some would flinch, some will probably just shrug, and others might stick their tongues out at you and say, “not in another 10 years”. But can we really control when menopause should come? While most women have their menopause between 45 to 55 years old, about 1% will experience it before they turn 40. This type of menopause is called premature menopause or premenopause.

Premenopause is mostly due to surgical procedures done when there is evidence of ovarian failure. However, there are other causes such as genetics, and cancer treatments like chemotherapy. Premenopause can happen to women as young as 15 years old. This means that those who experience menopause early on in their lives will find menopause very depressing and life-changing. Some would have to seek help in order to deal with the infertility issues. Aside from its possible psychological effects, premenopause also causes women to have a long period of postmenopause. This means that you may be required by your doctor to have hormonal replacement therapy (HRT).

Experts have not really made any firm comparison on perimenopause and premenopause. Some say that both mean the same thing. A few made some very vague descriptions on these two terms. They say that premenopause means the few years just before the actual menopause, while perimenopause literally means “around or surrounding menopause”. These descriptions are somewhat unclear especially for the latter term. If we think about its literal meaning, perimenopause would also encompass some parts of premenopause, actual menopause, and postmenopause. To shed more light on this, some experts stated that perimenopause may let us focus our attention to the changes that are happening on around the time of the actual menopause or the end of the menstrual cycle.

Women who are not fully educated about menopause may think that it comes naturally to all females around the time when their hairs turn gray, or when making quilts seem like a better idea than shopping. Unfortunately, the truth is lifestyle choices made years before menopause can actually hasten it and influence menopausal problems. Healthy eating patterns and recreations can make your premenopause much more tolerable than you think. Getting rid of vices, exercising, adequate sleep and relaxation should all be part of the lifestyle for a “better” menopause experience.

While most women think that premenopause means saying goodbye to youth and beauty, others believe that it actually is a start of another level of radiance. Menopause in general should not be viewed as an end to something good, but should be accepted as a start of another great phase in life.