Early Menopause

Early menopause refers to a stage in a woman's life between the ages of 35 to 45 years when the estrogen levels in the body begin to decline. The ovaries are not longer able to produce the required amount of this important hormone and hence early menopause begins to slowly take its slow. Early menopause is said to be that period when the estrogen levels begin to decline unlike menopause where the body completely fails to produce any estrogen at all. Early menopause is also known as premature menopause or perimenopause. In other words early menopause is menopause that happens well within the average age of menopause when you are still in your 20s, 30s or 40s. Early menopause refers to total cessation of periods of 12 months before the age of 45. The frequencies of periods begin to lengthen as the level of estrogen in the body goes down. However in some women the frequency of periods might in fact shorten as normal ovulation is affected. Hence once you experience the above symptoms for a relatively longer time it is necessary to consult your doctor immediately. Generally if you have not got any periods in the last 12 months consecutively, if you still have ovaries and if your hormone levels test at post menopausal levels, you are likely to suffer from early menopause. Premature ovarian failure is also one of the root causes of early menopause. You will soon begin to experience menopausal symptoms like irritation in the vagina, hot flashes and sleeplessness at night, depression, anxiety and mood related disorders. You might have increased sugar levels in the body and also suffer from obesity. Sometimes you stop having normal periods not because your body does not have eggs but your body is not responding to signals to ovulate. Also the main difference between early menopause and normal menopause is that in early menopause the body's ability to produce estrogen begins to decline while in menopause the body's ability to produce estrogen stops completely. You may not get normal periods but you may still ovulate. Up to 25% of the women roughly do still get periods but they may still ovulate from time to time. Studies also show that 8%-10% of the women also become pregnant during early menopause. Early menopause may also be caused by surgery and cancer treatment. In case of oopphorectomy, the ovaries are surgically removed and so you no longer produce ovarian hormones. In the case of pelvic surgery, the blood flow to the ovaries might have been interfered and after a certain time may have caused ovarian failure.