Early menopause

The usual age of menopause is between 45 and 55 years, more specifically between 49-50 years on average in our environment. But sometimes menopause occurs earlier than expected and if it occurs before age 40 is when we talk about a early menopause.

• It is called early menopause when the disappearance of the rule for a year occurs before the age of 40.
• From heredity, to smoking, through some medical treatments ... they can produce this advance.
• Obviously infertility, but also an increase in bone decalcification and cardiovascular risk are the consequences of early menopause.
• If you have any questions, they put at your disposal a wide range of Specialists in women.

Causes

-Genetics: in many women with early menopause we find a family member with the same pathology, which suggests a genetic cause, although it has not been possible to differentiate the gene that produces it.

-Autoimmune diseases: women with autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune hypothyroidism, etc ... are more likely to have early menopause. This is due to an affectation of the ovaries by antibodies produced by the same patient.

-smoking: women who smoke tend to have menopause slightly earlier than non-smokers and if their genetics do not predispose to late menopause it can occur before the age of 40.

-Secondary to treatments: some medical treatments can cause early menopause. Those of some oncological pathologies can cause menopause. For this reason, in women who still do not have children, and if their health allows it, the preservation of eggs can be carried out prior to the treatments that will produce menopause and thus preserve their fertility. On the other hand, surgical interventions that require the removal of the ovaries also produce a early menopause if they are carried out before the age of 40.

Precocious menopause should be well differentiated from women who do not have periods as a result of a surgical procedure in which the uterus has been removed but not the ovaries. In these cases, the ovaries continue to function but the period does not occur due to the lack of a uterus and, therefore, they are not menopausal.

Symptoms

-Amenorrhea: the disappearance of the rule for a year is the key symptom of early menopause.

-Hot flashes: a feeling of hot flashes, that is, a sensation of inner heat, which is usually accompanied by redness of the face and neck and finally sweating that can be limited to the face and neck or can be of the whole body.

-Insomnia: Menopause is usually accompanied by difficulty falling asleep and can be accompanied by frequent awakenings, especially due to nocturnal hot flashes.

-Mood changes: the hormonal changes of menopause usually have associated mood changes with a greater tendency to irritability and a certain low mood.

-Vaginal dryness: the decrease in the production of estrogens by the ovaries produces a decrease in the lubrication of the vaginal and therefore dryness that can be bothersome both in day to day and especially in sexual intercourse.

-Lower libido: the decrease in estrogens also tends to decrease sexual desire.

Consequences

-Infertility: when ovarian activity and ovulation cease, the possibility of having children spontaneously is nil.

-Increased decalcification of bones: the lack of estrogens produces a greater ease in bone decalcification, thus increasing the risk of osteoporosis.

-Increased cardiovascular risk: estrogens are a cardiovascular protective factor, responsible for the lower incidence of diseases of this type in young women. By reducing its production, this protective factor is lost.

Treatment

The treatment of early menopause is aimed at preventing the consequences of it since we do not have any treatment to make the ovaries work again. These treatments are based on:

-Hormone replacement treatment: consists of administering the hormones that the ovaries have stopped producing in pill form or with patches.

-Vaginal lubricants and gels: to improve vaginal lubrication and avoid the consequences of vaginal dryness.

-Prevention of osteoporosis: with calcium and vitamin D supplement treatments. If necessary, you can add some medication that prevents the passage of calcium from the bones into the bloodstream.