Early Menopause – Why Me?

Women tend to think that the menopause is something that happens to us all as we get older, the truth is that quite of number of women actually go into menopause earlier than they would expect. They tend to ignore the symptoms thinking that it cannot be true, that they are not old enough, but that just is not the case, as it happens regularily..

Why have I started menopause at my early age?.

This can begin for a variety of reasons, sometimes it just simply happens naturally, however the most common reason is because of a medical problem or maybe we have gone into surgically induced menopause because we have had ovaries removed. In these cases women who enter early menopause can experience more severe symptoms than if they had gone into it naturally.

When Can It Start

It has been recorded that Menopause has been known to begin in women from the age of 15 years old! Before the age of 40 this is known as premature menopause, and early menopause will start between 40 and 45 years old.

What Is The Cause Of Early Menopause

The cause for this early onset of symptoms is not totally known, women who have been trying to conceive and maybe had infertility issues could be suffering from premature menopause

Premature menopause is also known as POV (premature ovarian failure), This occurs when the ovaries fail to function correctly, not producing eggs, or the hormones associated with ovulation. Around 60% of these cases can be linked to autoimmune disorders.

The removal of the uterus along with the ovaries will send the women into surgically induced menopause by cutting off the oestrogen levels, Doctors will always attempt to retain at least one ovary which will maintain the hormone levels to delay the onset of the symptoms.

Certain treatments for Cancer can also bring on the menopause, the treatment (including radiation and chemotherapy) while aimed at destroying the cancer cells will also harm normal cells as well, including hair, ovarian and digestive cells.

Studies have also shown that early menopause can be brought on by infections. Although quite rare, it has been documented that Tuberculosis and Mumps can possibly infect the ovaries, again affecting the hormone balance.

It was thought that all changes in the body, both emotional and physical began with the ovaries, newer research shows us that symptoms such as anxiety, depression and mood swings do partially begin in the brain, being able to share or talk about your feelings will always help.

What Can I Do If I Think I Have Early Menopause

The first place to go if you experience any of the symptoms associated with the menopause is to your Doctor, they will explain what is happening and also offer various treatments that will help reduce or stop the symptoms. This help can be in the form of prescription medication (Hormone Replacement Therapy or HRT) or natural or herbal supplements which do seem to be the preferred option for women these days given the reported health issues linked to HRT. There are many good tried and tested herbal remedies that are available to buy either online or in the high street.

More about Herbal Remedies For The Menopause

Most importantly, look after your self, keep fit and eat sensibly, another side effect of the menopause can be weight gain, so it is important to be aware of fluctuations in our weight and take action if needed. Taking a supplement high in antioxidents is a good thing to consider, as they will help to keep the bodies system free of the toxins that slow down your digestive system and enable you to digest and process your food intake quickly and easily without allowing the build up of the waste products which can cause bloating and weight gain..

A good proven product high in antioxidants is pureacaiberry

Menopause Relief, What Treatments work

There are just so many products out there its so difficult to choose what is best for you, we hope that this article will maybe assist you with that choice in deciding what will suit YOU!

See Your Doctor

If you start to feel like you may be starting the menopause, the first place to go is to your GP, It is important that they talk to you and will possibly take blood tests to check for the hormonal changes associated with this time of life. They will naturally want to rule out any other issues with your health.

You will talk to them about your symptoms and they will in turn explain what treatment options are available to you.

You Need a Strong Support System

Especially if you are suffering severe symptoms, a support system around you is so important, not all symptoms are the same and every woman experiences different levels of these symptoms. Some will last for what seems like forever, others are fleeting and soon disappear. What women must not do is ignore them, they will most certainly not go away just like that, they may lessen over time, but if women want to live their lives to the full, they need to treat the symptoms as best as they can.

A support system could be your partner, your family or friends, or maybe it is worth joining a menopause forum where you can discuss and compare your symptoms and experiences with women who are going though the same thing that you are.

“Remember – You are not Alone !”

Just talking about it can be a good start. Most importantly, you must remember to be your own support system, you must make sure that you take care of yourself, eat well, and feel good about yourself.

What Treatments are available

Most Doctors will suggest HRT (Hormone replacement therapy) among other things this replaces the naturally depleting oestrogen in your body that is causing the symptoms, now HRT has come under the scrutiny of the press and other institutions recently about whether it is actually safe, and its suggested links with cancers and heart problems.

See Our HRT ARTICLE

Obviously your doctor will explain this and any risks. There are other natural or plant based remedies that claim to help relieve these nasty symptoms and this site does provide details on some of the more popular types.

Natural Products

Menozac is one such natural product that will (it is claimed) help and relieve those nasty night sweats and hot flushes. It is regarded as a safe and effective alternative to HRT. Originating in the USA, and is the number 1 selling menopause product over there, it is now available to buy in the UK direct from the manufacturers website

It contains natural plant extracts that have been used for years to treat the menopause, Soy and Black Cohosh are two ingredients that are well known for their ability to help cure these symptoms, and promote calm and less anxiety

Ingredients:

Vitamin E (as d-alpha-tocopherol acetate)
Soy (Glycine max) (seed)
Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) (root)
Damaiana (Turnerna diffusa) (leaf)

Each bottle contains 30 capsules – Taking one (1) caplet daily before bedtime with food, will ease most of the menopausal symptoms.

Find out more about Menozac

Women, The Menopause And HRT

From about the age of 50, women will start go through menopause. This starts with the slowing down and subsequent stopping of ovulation and subsequent menstrual cycling, and along with a reduction in oestrogen and progesterone levels.

HRT really came to the publics attention in a book written 40 years ago called Feminine Forever, It was written by a British-born gynecologist called Dr. Robert A. Wilson. It was a national bestseller when it was published. Dr Wilson, who had moved to and practiced in New York, argued that “Many physicians simply refuse to recognize menopause for what it is – a serious, painful and often crippling condition.”

He proposed to give women Hormone replacement therapy from their mid to late forties treat the hot flushes, mood swings, difficulty sleeping and other symptoms that can accompany menopause. Dr Wilson was convinced that HRT was an almost miracle treatment that which would slow a woman’s aging process and apart from quelling the symptoms would also improve or gain back their sex lives.

He basically convinced everybody that this natural process was a disease and in doing so he managed to encourage Doctors and the drug industry to give HRT to healthy women over 50 as a lifelong drug.
This idea was very popular for many years, before proper controlled trials proved that HRT taken over extended periods was very bad, and had directly or indirectly caused many deaths in women, as well as other problems.

“a fair percentage of women will develop unpleasant symptoms”

WHAT IS HRT

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) means replacing the naturally occurring usual hormones that deplete after normal or surgically induced menopause.

During menopause a fair percentage of women will develop unpleasant symptoms, the most common one is hot flushes especially during the peri-menopausal period (whilst they are entering into menopause). Other symptoms include broken sleep patterns (often made worse by the hot flushes) and also irrational thinking or behaviour. The majority of these symptoms are usually successfully treated with HRT. The male hormone testosterone, is sometimes used to improve sex drive in women which does sometimes drop during menopause.

Popular brand types of HRT include provera (progesterone) premarin (estrogen from a horse), and prempro (combination). .

HISTORY AND SIDE EFFECTS OF HRT

HRT is deemed as perfectly acceptable to use on a short term basis to treat the hot flushes and other symptoms of menopause, such as depression or insomnia.

For quite a while (until relatively recently) it had been prescribed to a vast number of woman. From its first prescription it was believed that HRT would reduce the risk of heart disease, strokes, and thinning bones (osteoporosis), and also that it would improve your memory, sexual drive and appetite.

It was not until a Health Study published in 1995 that showed a 32% increase in breast cancer with HRT that started to cause concern, despite this evidence the drug companies effectively ignored the facts and through extensive marketing racked up Billions of dollars worldwide in sales and prescriptions to women who were still convinced that these miracle tablets would make them better looking and keep them younger for longer.

The original argument and assurances that HRT reduced heart attacks was based on what are called observational studies. Women who took HRT were compared to those who didn’t, and were actually found to have fewer heart attacks. This actually turned out that these particular women were more concerned about their health and well being and also took regular exercise and kept to a strict diet . In these cases the HRT didn’t actually do anything.

IS HRT SAFE

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) carried out controlled trials which involved the random prescribing to over 16,000 post-menopausal women of either a sugar coated placebo or the HRT drugs oestrogen and progestin (equine oestrogen and medroxy-progesterone, or Prempro) The trial ran from 1993 to 1998.

The women who were prescribed Prempro recorded a rather shocking 24% increase in risk of heart attack. It was shown that the drugs increased the risk of breast cancer by 24%, and almost doubled the risk of blood clots.
There was about a 50% increase in ovarian cancer but the trial showed no real increase in uterine cancer. The drugs increased the risk of strokes by 31% but did reduce the risk of osteoporotic fracture.

Similar trials of oestrogen replacement have demonstrated increased rates of uterine and ovarian cancer. HRT raises the risk of blood clots that can lead to deadly pulmonary embolism (blood clots that travel to the lung and heart which will kill in approx 50% of cases.

HRT also increases the risk of gall bladder disease and of getting your gall bladder removed by 60%. For every one hundred women treated with HRT in WHI, one woman developed a serious adverse event directly related to the HRT.

OTHER SIDE EFFECTS OF HRT – Does it really work

Medical trials have showed that taking HRT accelerated the progression of thickening of the coronary arteries, and as a result increased the risk of dying of heart disease. A recent analysis showed a 29% increase in risk of stroke. Based on these findings, there is no role for HRT in disease prevention.

Other trials concluded that HRT had no effect either way on sexual appetite or moods, initially improvements in sleep cycles slipped back to their pre trial results. It was proven that Women who were given suger placebo pills recorded the same results as women who were given HRT.

HRT does have benefits, it will reduce the reduction of bone mineral density that occurs with normal aging, and therefore reduces the risk of osteoporotic fracture.Short term use will also reduce the hot flushes experienced by menopausal women. It will also improve the general mood in Women who have had surgically induced menopause (the removal of uterus and/or ovaries.

Natural Alternatives to HRT

More and more women just starting the menopause are now opting for natural treatments and/or supplements to help treat its symptoms, we hope that this site will help inform and guide you in your search for suitable treatments.