What to Expect, Early Symptoms, and More

Overview

Menopause, sometimes called “the change of life,” happens when a woman stops having monthly periods. It’s usually diagnosed when you’ve gone a year without a menstrual cycle. After menopause, you’ll no longer be able to get pregnant.

The average age for menopause in the United States is 51, according to the Mayo Clinic. But menopause can happen to women throughout their 40s and 50s, too.

Read on to learn more about how your menopause age affects your health.

There’s no simple test that can tell you when you’ll reach menopause, but researchers are working on creating one.

Examining your family history may be the most accurate way to help you predict when you might experience the change. You’ll likely reach menopause around the same age as your mother and, if you have any, sisters.

Before you experience menopause, you’ll go through a transitional period, known as perimenopause. This phase can last for months or years, and usually starts when you’re in your mid-to-late 40s. On average, most women experience perimenopause for about four years before their periods stop completely.

Your hormone levels change during perimenopause. You’ll likely experience irregular periods along with various other symptoms. Your periods may be longer or shorter than normal, or they may be heavier or lighter than usual. Additionally, you might skip a month or two between cycles.

Perimenopause can also cause the following symptoms:

• hot flashes
• night sweats
• problems sleeping
• vaginal dryness
• mood changes
• weight gain
• thinning hair
• dry skin
• loss of fullness in your breasts

Symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some don’t need any treatment to relieve or manage their symptoms, while others who have more severe symptoms do need treatment.

Menopause that occurs before age 40 is called premature menopause. If you experience menopause between ages 40 and 45, you’re said to have early menopause. About 5 percent of women go through early menopause naturally.

The following can increase the likelihood you’ll experience early menopause:

• Never had children. A history of pregnancy may delay menopause age.
• Smoking. Smoking can cause menopause to begin up to two years earlier.
• A family history of early menopause. If women in your family started menopause earlier, you’re more likely to as well.
• Chemotherapy or pelvic radiation. These cancer treatments can damage your ovaries and cause menopause to start sooner.
• Surgery to remove your ovaries (oophorectomy) or uterus (hysterectomy). Procedures to remove your ovaries may send you into menopause right away. If you have your uterus removed but not your ovaries, you might experience menopause a year or two earlier than you would have otherwise.
• Certain health conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, HIV, chronic fatigue syndrome, and some chromosomal disorders can cause menopause to happen sooner than expected.

If you think you might be experiencing symptoms of early menopause, talk to your doctor. They can perform various tests to determine if you have entered menopause.

A newly approved test called the PicoAMH Elisa test measures the amount of Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) in the blood. This test helps determine whether you will soon be entering menopause or if you already have.

Experiencing early menopause has been linked to a shorter life expectancy.

Studies have also found that going through early menopause may increase your risk of developing certain medical issues, such as:

• heart disease, heart attack, or stroke
• osteoporosis or bone fracture
• depression

But starting menopause earlier may have some benefits, too. Early menopause may lower your risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers.

Studies have shown women who go through menopause after age 55 have about a 30 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who experience the change before age 45. Experts believe this increased risk happens because women who undergo menopause later are exposed to more estrogen throughout their lifetimes.

There’s no sure way to delay menopause, but some lifestyle changes may play a role.

Quitting smoking may help postpone the onset of early menopause. Here are 15 tips for quitting smoking.

Research has suggested that your diet can affect the age of menopause, too.

A 2018 study found consuming a high amount of oily fish, fresh legumes, vitamin B-6, and zinc delayed natural menopause. However, eating a lot of refined pasta and rice was linked to earlier menopause.

Another 2017 study found consuming high amounts of vitamin D and calcium may be linked to a lower risk of early menopause.

Continue seeing your doctor regularly during perimenopause and menopause. They can help ease any concerns you might have about this pivotal change in your life.

Questions to ask your doctor might include:

• What treatments are available to help my symptoms?
• Are there any natural ways to relieve my symptoms?
• What kinds of periods are normal to expect during perimenopause?
• How long should I continue to use birth control?
• What should I be doing to maintain my health?
• Will I need any tests?
• Where can I find more information about menopause?

It’s important to see your doctor right away if you have any vaginal bleeding after menopause. This may be a sign of a serious health problem.

Menopause is a natural part of aging. You can expect to experience this change around the same time your mother did.

While menopause can cause some unwelcome symptoms, there are many treatments that can help. The best approach you can take is to embrace your body’s changes and welcome this new chapter of life.

What to Expect, Early Symptoms, and More

Overview

Menopause, sometimes called “the change of life,” happens when a woman stops having monthly periods. It’s usually diagnosed when you’ve gone a year without a menstrual cycle. After menopause, you’ll no longer be able to get pregnant.

The average age for menopause in the United States is 51, according to the Mayo Clinic. But menopause can happen to women throughout their 40s and 50s, too.

Read on to learn more about how your menopause age affects your health.

There’s no simple test that can tell you when you’ll reach menopause, but researchers are working on creating one.

Examining your family history may be the most accurate way to help you predict when you might experience the change. You’ll likely reach menopause around the same age as your mother and, if you have any, sisters.

Before you experience menopause, you’ll go through a transitional period, known as perimenopause. This phase can last for months or years, and usually starts when you’re in your mid-to-late 40s. On average, most women experience perimenopause for about four years before their periods stop completely.

Your hormone levels change during perimenopause. You’ll likely experience irregular periods along with various other symptoms. Your periods may be longer or shorter than normal, or they may be heavier or lighter than usual. Additionally, you might skip a month or two between cycles.

Perimenopause can also cause the following symptoms:

• hot flashes
• night sweats
• problems sleeping
• vaginal dryness
• mood changes
• weight gain
• thinning hair
• dry skin
• loss of fullness in your breasts

Symptoms vary from woman to woman. Some don’t need any treatment to relieve or manage their symptoms, while others who have more severe symptoms do need treatment.

Menopause that occurs before age 40 is called premature menopause. If you experience menopause between ages 40 and 45, you’re said to have early menopause. About 5 percent of women go through early menopause naturally.

The following can increase the likelihood you’ll experience early menopause:

• Never had children. A history of pregnancy may delay menopause age.
• Smoking. Smoking can cause menopause to begin up to two years earlier.
• A family history of early menopause. If women in your family started menopause earlier, you’re more likely to as well.
• Chemotherapy or pelvic radiation. These cancer treatments can damage your ovaries and cause menopause to start sooner.
• Surgery to remove your ovaries (oophorectomy) or uterus (hysterectomy). Procedures to remove your ovaries may send you into menopause right away. If you have your uterus removed but not your ovaries, you might experience menopause a year or two earlier than you would have otherwise.
• Certain health conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, HIV, chronic fatigue syndrome, and some chromosomal disorders can cause menopause to happen sooner than expected.

If you think you might be experiencing symptoms of early menopause, talk to your doctor. They can perform various tests to determine if you have entered menopause.

A newly approved test called the PicoAMH Elisa test measures the amount of Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) in the blood. This test helps determine whether you will soon be entering menopause or if you already have.

Experiencing early menopause has been linked to a shorter life expectancy.

Studies have also found that going through early menopause may increase your risk of developing certain medical issues, such as:

• heart disease, heart attack, or stroke
• osteoporosis or bone fracture
• depression

But starting menopause earlier may have some benefits, too. Early menopause may lower your risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers.

Studies have shown women who go through menopause after age 55 have about a 30 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who experience the change before age 45. Experts believe this increased risk happens because women who undergo menopause later are exposed to more estrogen throughout their lifetimes.

There’s no sure way to delay menopause, but some lifestyle changes may play a role.

Quitting smoking may help postpone the onset of early menopause. Here are 15 tips for quitting smoking.

Research has suggested that your diet can affect the age of menopause, too.

A 2018 study found consuming a high amount of oily fish, fresh legumes, vitamin B-6, and zinc delayed natural menopause. However, eating a lot of refined pasta and rice was linked to earlier menopause.

Another 2017 study found consuming high amounts of vitamin D and calcium may be linked to a lower risk of early menopause.

Continue seeing your doctor regularly during perimenopause and menopause. They can help ease any concerns you might have about this pivotal change in your life.

Questions to ask your doctor might include:

• What treatments are available to help my symptoms?
• Are there any natural ways to relieve my symptoms?
• What kinds of periods are normal to expect during perimenopause?
• How long should I continue to use birth control?
• What should I be doing to maintain my health?
• Will I need any tests?
• Where can I find more information about menopause?

It’s important to see your doctor right away if you have any vaginal bleeding after menopause. This may be a sign of a serious health problem.

Menopause is a natural part of aging. You can expect to experience this change around the same time your mother did.

While menopause can cause some unwelcome symptoms, there are many treatments that can help. The best approach you can take is to embrace your body’s changes and welcome this new chapter of life.

Fomina Clinic – a network of multidisciplinary clinics

Menopause is a period of
of a woman’s life, usually between the ages of 45 and 55, when the ovaries stop
produce eggs (ovulation) and menstruation ends.

Several different terms
are used to describe the time before and after the cessation of menstruation.

●Menopausal transition
(also called “perimenopause”) is the time your periods begin
change (usually become less frequent). This phase lasts an average of four
year and ends when you have your last period.

●Menopause is considered
completed when 12 months have passed since the last menstruation.

● “Postmenopause” is
time after menopause (a woman who has gone through menopause can be called
“postmenopausal”).

Average age
menopause is 51 years, although the age range may
vary from about 45 to 55 years.

It happens that menopause
begins in women before 40 years of age. This is considered premature failure
ovaries and requires therapy.

Menopause does not occur
suddenly. Most women experience changes in their
menstrual cycles before they stop completely. At this time at
many women also begin to show menopausal symptoms.

If you don’t have a uterus
(for example, if you had a hysterectomy) but still have ovaries, you
anyway, menopause will come only when your ovaries stop producing
eggs. However, it can be difficult to know when this happens because you
no menses. You may develop menopausal symptoms when your ovaries
stop working, and the level of estrogen in the blood begins to fall. If you have
have unpleasant menopausal symptoms after a hysterectomy, talk to
your doctor or nurse.

When the ovaries stop
work, the level of the hormone estrogen drops. This is what leads to the typical
symptoms of menopause. Some women have no symptoms of menopause or
little, while others have unpleasant symptoms that prevent them from
life. These symptoms often appear during the menopausal transition, before
until menstruation stops completely. However, there are treatments
who can help.

●Tides . tides
are the most common symptom of menopause, affecting 60 to 80
percent of women. They usually begin with a sudden sensation of heat in the upper
parts of the chest and face; then a feeling of heat spreads throughout the body and lasts
two to four minutes. Some women sweat during the tide and then
feel chills and shiver when the flush ends. Some women in
during hot flashes, there is a feeling of anxiety or a rapid heartbeat. At
some of the women they can be 1-2 times a day, some of them several times a day
hour. Everything is individual.

●Night sweats .
Hot flashes occur more often at night than during the day. When they occur during sleep, they
called “night sweats”. Night sweats can make you sweat through
clothes and wake you up from sleep because you are hot or cold. It may
occur one or more times a night. Frequent awakenings can make it difficult
good night sleep. As a result of interrupted sleep, many women develop
other problems such as fatigue, irritability, problems with
concentration and mood swings.

●Sleep problems. In
during the transition to menopause some women have trouble falling asleep
or sleep, even if they don’t have night sweats. Sleep problems can cause
fatigue and irritability the next day.

●Vaginal dryness.
Because estrogen levels in the body decline before and during menopause,
the tissues inside the vagina and urethra may become thin and dry. This may cause
discomfort, itching, or pain during sex.

●Depression. During
menopausal transition, many women have new problems with
mood, such as sadness, difficulty concentrating, lack of
interest in daily activities, too much sleep, or trouble falling asleep.
If you have any symptoms of depression that don’t go away, talk to
with your doctor or nurse.

Menopause is
a normal part of a woman’s life and does not always need treatment. However
the changes that occur before and after menopause can be devastating.
If you have troublesome symptoms, there are effective ways to deal with them.
them.

If you don’t have a uterus
(for example, if you had a hysterectomy) but still have ovaries, you
anyway, menopause will come only when your ovaries stop producing
eggs. However, it can be difficult to know when this happens because you
no menses. You may develop menopausal symptoms when your ovaries
stop working, and the level of estrogen in the blood begins to fall. If you have
have unpleasant menopausal symptoms after a hysterectomy, talk to your
doctor or nurse.

Not always symptoms
Menopause means that a woman is going through menopause. Sometimes required
laboratory tests to rule out another pathology: hypothyroidism,
hyperprolactinemia, etc.

In addition, a woman in
transition period, as well as in postmenopause, additional
blood tests, smears, instrumental research methods to evaluate
her health status, as well as screening for breast cancer, cancer
cervix, bowel cancer, osteoporosis.

Not all women need
in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. If you have mild symptoms, you may
try to help yourself. How to do it?

But for heavier or
unpleasant symptoms, there are effective treatment options.

Menopausal
hormone therapy. Estrogen is
the most effective treatment for hot flashes. Although in the past there were
concerns about the safety of hormone therapy, for most healthy
women who seek help with menopausal symptoms, it is safe and
effective. It should start before the age of 60. Not recommended for
women with a history of (or at high risk of) certain medical problems,
including breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Hormone therapy
usually includes a combination of estrogen and progestin, although women without a uterus
(for example, after a hysterectomy) only estrogen is needed. hormone therapy
available in tablets you take by mouth, skin patches, gel for
skin, cream In addition to relieving hot flashes, hormone therapy can also help
for other menopausal symptoms, including vaginal dryness, depression, and others
mood problems. However, for some women struggling with depression,
treatment with antidepressants may also be required.

If you don’t need
hormone therapy for hot flashes, but you have problems with vaginal dryness,
vaginal estrogen may help. This is different from estrogen preparations,
used to treat hot flashes; it comes in a much lower dose,
and it does not need to be taken with a progestin. It is available in the form of cream, tablets.

Non-hormonal options
treatment. If you are worried about hot flashes, but
you cannot or prefer to avoid hormone therapy, have
alternatives. Although hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for
hot flashes, non-hormonal alternatives are a good option for many
women.

Our clinic has everything
opportunities to get through this period as comfortably as possible.

Menopause

Climax, menopause (from the Greek Climacter – step, ladder) – the physiological period of a woman’s life, during which involutive processes predominate, characterized by the cessation of first childbearing, and then menstrual function.

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A woman in menopause has so many social roles: mother woman, career woman, grandmother woman, lover woman. She has so much to do, so many things to do, work, home, adult children, grandchildren, a man, friends, while she wants to be beautiful, desirable, and then dryness, then hot flashes, then urinary incontinence, then prolapse, irritability and much more. What is a climax and can it be dealt with?

It is known that the aging of the human body is a programmed process, but over the past century and a half, there has been a significant change in human life expectancy. Preliminary WHO calculations have shown that by the beginning of the 21st century, a woman in a state of estrogen deficiency or menopause will be a third of her life (WHO, 1996).

For a woman’s health during this period, it is not so much the immediate symptoms of menopause that are important, but the long-term effects of long-term hormonal deficiency, in particular hypoestrogenism, on various systems of her body. It is known that to a greater extent these disorders manifest themselves in the form of pathology of the cardiovascular and skeletal systems, being the result of hormonal changes and inevitable aging processes.

According to WHO (1996), in the world in 1990 the number of women at the age of menopause is 457 million. Over the next 40 years, the number of this age group will increase significantly and will reach about 1 billion 200 million women by 2030. Moreover, in developing countries, the number of women during menopause is much greater than in developed countries. So if in 1990 40% of menopausal women were in industrialized countries and 60% in developing countries, then by 2030 this ratio will be 24 and 76%.

According to a number of epidemiological studies, there has been a persistent trend in the world to increase the life expectancy of a woman: from 50 years at the beginning of the 20th century. Up to 80 years by the end of the century. For women in Russia, due to changes in socio-economic and environmental conditions, in recent years, the life situation has been extremely unfavorable. So, if in 1990 the average life expectancy of a woman was 74 years, in 1994 it decreased to 71.1 years, and only since 1995 there has been a tendency for a woman’s life expectancy to increase to 73 years. However, with the average age of menopause being 50-51 years in Russia, a significant part of a woman’s life also passes in the postmenopausal period.

For most women, menopause is a completely different stage of life with new problems and life situations both at work and in the family. Many experts believe that a woman can perceive this period and live without difficult life situations if she is provided with medical and psychological support in a timely manner. (Gynecological endocrinology. P. 455, V.N. Serov, V.N., Prilepskaya, T.V. Ovsyannikova, Moscow “MEDpress-inform” 2012)

Many women reach the peak of their professional career by the age of 40-50, so it is extremely important for them to be in good shape, maintain health, femininity, learning ability, and striving for self-improvement.

Symptoms of “menopausal syndrome”

I. Early symptoms:

• emotional lability;
• Fatigue, depression, tearfulness;
• Irritability;
• Anxiety, tension;
• Hypertension, which turns into hypertension, if not given due attention;
• Frequent nocturnal awakenings;
• night sweats;
• Pain in the joints of the lower back;
• Increase in body weight or change in body proportions;
• Sexual disorders;
• Tides. Theories of pathogenesis.

II. Medium-term symptoms:

Urogenital – dryness in the vagina, pain during sexual intercourse, itching, burning, urethral syndrome, cystalgia, urinary incontinence. Urogenital disorders in women occur against the background of hypoestrogenia as a result of atrophic and dystrophic changes in the muscles and mucous membranes of the vagina, bladder and urethra, as well as in the ligamentous apparatus of the small pelvis and the muscles of the pelvic floor. These changes, as a rule, are accompanied by a decrease in blood circulation and thinning of the vaginal mucosa, which acquires a pale pink color, the phenomena of vaginitis, cysturethritis develop.

Pathological changes that occur in the female genital organs are often combined with urological disorders. Symptoms of these disorders are manifested in the form of pollakiuria, nocturia, cystalgia, stress urinary incontinence, hyperreflexia, dysuria.

Dry skin, deterioration of hair, nails. When the level of estrogen in the body decreases, the amount of collagen and elastin in the connective tissue also decreases. The skin ages, becomes drier and thinner, wrinkles form, the condition of the mucous membranes and teeth changes. Lack of hormones can cause atrophic changes in the skin and mucous membranes – “dry” conjunctivitis, “dry” stomatitis and laryngitis. Professional singers complain that with age they are hindered by a dry throat. . (Women’s health L.V. Akker, Moscow TD “EKOMIR” 2010)

III. Late symptoms:

Metabolic disorders include cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis), postmenopausal osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease of a multifactorial nature that occurs in postmenopausal women as a result of a deficiency of sex hormones, primarily estrogen. It is characterized by a progressive decrease in bone mass and a violation of the microarchitectonics of bone tissue, which leads to a decrease in bone strength and an increased risk of fractures.