Menopause: What Is It? Age, Duration, Signs, Treatment, And More

A woman is holding a cup in her hand

What Is Menopause?

When the menstrual cycle is stopped in women for 12 months, this situation is known as menopause. And it is a normal part of women aging life.

Menopause is not a disease or disorder. In this women experience low energy, and other uncomfortable symptoms such as weight gain, hot flashes, etc.

This process does not occur overnight or in one day, it is a gradual process. this process is called “perimenopausal transition”.

Learn More – Periods General knowledge.

When Does It Start And How Long Does It Last?

Its timing is different for every woman, It can happen anytime between 45 to 55 years of age. The general median age of menopause is 51.

In many Indian women generally, it starts from the age of 48 years to 52 years.

In Latina and black women, it may be seen before the age of 51. just like in Indian women. More studies are needed in color.

However, it can also happen before a recommended age or at a young age, this condition is called premature menopause.

A survey conducted by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), has seen that nearly 4% of Indian women experience signs of menopause between 29 and 34 years of age.

It lasts for about 7 years but can be up to 14 years in many women. but this duration is also affected by many lifestyles habits such as:

  • Smoking
  • Thyroid issue
  • Any auto-immune diseases
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Exposure to radiation like chemotherapy or radiotherapy,
  • Poor nutrition
  • Genital tuberculosis can also lead ovaries to fail,” Dr. Singh added.

What Are Menopause, Perimenopause, and Postmenopause?

Menopause – This is a stage where women stop having a normal menstrual cycle, if it happens before the age of 45 or after the age of 40 then is called early menopause.

If it is happening before 40 years, then it is called premature menopause.

Perimenopause – It may start as early as 40 years, and may continue for 8 to 10 years, before menopause.

In this, the level of estrogen is gradually decreased, then the women experience perimenopause.

But during this women still face irregular periods. She can still get pregnant.

The average duration of perimenopause is around 4 to 5 years, In some women, it may be a few months.

Postmenopause – This occurs after the end of the menstrual cycle when the estradiol levels are completely reduced and there is no more released egg.

Symptoms and Signs

Every women’s experience can be different. When menopause occurs early or in the short term, its symptoms can usually be severe.

Common signs and symptoms of menopause are:

  • Usually, fewer period
  • Hot flashes, this is related to a sudden change in estrogen level, which may last for years.
  • Loss of bladder control, in this you may feel urgent pee, or urine may leak during exercise, laughing, and sneezing.
  • Trouble in sleeping
  • Feeling irritable
  • Sexual intercourse discomfort, due to dryness in the vagina
  • Depression, talk to your doctor about your signs
  • Chills
  • You could lose muscle and gain fat
  • Headache, pain, and heart palpitations, which causes by hormonal changes in body.
  • Night sweat
  • Difficulty in focus
  • Joints and muscles could feel stiff and achy
  • Less full breast
  • Dry, thin, and loss of hair
  • Low libido
  • Weak pelvic floor

If during menopause, bleeding continues for a long time, so it is not a sign of menopause, so in this case, talk to your doctor.

NOTE: Some lifestyle habits can make your sign and symptoms more severe like smoking, bad habits that can cause cancer, and other diseases.

A study stated that all the ladies were suffering from one or more menopausal symptoms. Ladies should aware of these symptoms, their causes, and treatment

What Happen To Your Body During Menopause?

During menopause, many hormonal changes occur, and due to hormonal changes, you may see these symptoms.

As we get young to older process is – just like the ovaries are also aging at this time, they stop producing the estrogen, and progesterone hormones, this leads to lower this hormone production, and causes menopause.

There are certain other hormones, which counteract the effect of this deficiency called LH and FSH that rise in the body.

Simple – There are various hormonal changes in your body during menopause.

Causes of Menopause

The major cause of menopause is the decline in a woman’s reproductive hormones.

One of the most notable changes is the loss of active ovarian follicles that allows menstruation and fertility.

Some other causes of menopause due to the body starts going through many changes. which include:

Naturally Decreasing Reproductive Hormones

It is a natural process, which every woman has to face – low estrogen, and Progesterone, the hormones that regulate menstruation.

Chemotherapy and Radiation

This cancer therapy induces menopause. Radiation therapy only affects ovarian function if radiation is directed at the ovaries.

Surgery

Removing the ovaries due to any injury causes immediate menopause.

Surgery that removes your uterus, but not your ovaries usually doesn’t affect menopause.

Although now you no longer have periods, your ovaries still release eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone.

Premature Ovarian Condition

It happens before th age of 40, this may be related to some autoimmune diseases or genes. And about 1% of women experience menopause before age 40. 

These women are usually prescribed hormone therapy until the natural age of menopause to protect the brain, bones, and heart.

At this time, the women’s ovaries stop, and no chance of pregnancy.

A doctor talking to the patient

Diagnose

There is no single test to diagnose menopause. But If you have concerns about irregular periods or hot flashes, then talk with your doctor.

The doctor may refer you to some tests that will measure the level of hormones in your blood. Blood tests include:

  • LH (Newtonizing hormone)
  • FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) tests.
  • Anti-Mullerian hormone: (Your body makes this in its reproductive tissues) it tells about the reserve of eggs in your ovaries.
  • Estradiol: This tells how much estrogen your ovaries are making.

Treatment

For menopause, you don’t need specific treatment, but if your symptoms are severe that affect your life quality, then treatment may be needed.

Treatments focus on preventing or managing chronic conditions that may occur with aging, and relieving your signs and symptoms include:

  • Hot flashes
  • Difficulty in sleeping
  • Stress
  • Dry vagina

Estrogen therapy

Estrogen therapy is the most common therapeutic option for relieving menopausal hot flashes, which also helps in preventing bone loss.

But not recommended in the long term, because it may cause cancer and cardiovascular disease. Make sure to talk to your doctor before taking it.

Topical estrogen therapy

Many women are concerned about their sex life, in this case, the doctor gives you estrogen cream or gel that you put in your vagina to prevent dryness. and enjoy sex.

Supportive therapy.

In menopause situations, many women experience stress, depression, difficulty in sleeping, night sweat, etc. So supportive therapy help in this.

In such a situation, it is necessary for these women to take vitamins, and calcium supplements, drink milk, also eat food that has high calcium content.

Talk to your doctor about it, they will help you with everything like medicines, therapy benefits, risks, what to do, and what do not.

9. Complications

After menopause, women are more prone to the risk of certain diseases. which include:

  • Bone loss, increase the risk of fracture.
  • More chance of sexually transmitted diseases. so make sure to use safer sex practices
  • loss of sex drive
  • Heart disease, when estrogen levels decrease, the risk of cardiovascular disease increases.
  • More wrinkles
  • Weaker vision
  • Vaginal dryness due to decreased moisture production and loss of elasticity can cause discomfort.
  • Weight gain, because of slow metabolism

BOTTOM LINE

In Indian women generally, it starts from the age of 48 years to 52 years.

During menopause, many hormonal changes occur, and due to hormonal changes, you may see these symptoms like hot flashes, irritability, etc

This process does not occur overnight or in one day, it is a gradual process. this process is called “perimenopausal transition”.

Healthytalk8

Hello, I'm Sahil bisht, I am a Mechanical engineer, As well as, aspiring blogger with an obsession for health. This blog delicate to people who want to learn in health.

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