The Age of Menopause

A person undergoes through many stages and development during his lifetime, but for a woman nothing was more complicated than the menopausal stage. This was a painful and complex part of a woman's life especially during the dark ages when menopause relief was unheard of. Nowadays, due to advance technology the signs and symptoms of this condition have been lessened to some extent.

When the word menopause is mentioned, people would normally think of women beyond the age of child bearing anywhere from 50 to 60 years old. Most people have heard of it and practically all women will experience this by the time their 55 or it can be as late as 60 for some. This stage in a woman's cycle is absolutely normal and is not seen as a sickness. However, contrary to what a lot of people think, there is what health professionals call premature menopause. This condition can affect women between 15 to 45 years of age. It exhibits the same symptoms as the regular menopause except that it happens early to some women.

There are a variety of causes why this happens to younger ladies. One reason is Premature Ovarian Failure. This is a condition wherein some women may have ovaries that do not function well or correctly. Their ovaries may not be able to produce eggs anymore while some fail to generate the hormones required for ovulation. This can be of genetic cause or for some as an auto-immune disorder.

Another cause for premature menopause is because of surgery done to the woman. Operations such as hysterectomy or oopherectomy and women who have endometriosis, polyp or those with ovarian cancer may all have the tendency to experience premature menopausal at such early ages. There are premature menopauses occurring to women who are undergoing chemotherapy or any other cancer treatment. The therapy and radiation not only eliminates the cancer cells but other cells as well like hair and ovarian cells of women.

Symptoms experienced are almost always the same as that of the regular menopause. They may have hot flashes, headaches, some may have joint pains, insomnia and night sweats. Some may experience fluid retention just like those who have regular menopause do. It is said that in some women with premature menopause, the signs and symptoms are more intense. This is due to the quick dwindling of estrogen because of surgery, illness and other causes and can make a lot of women undergoing this premature condition to be depressed.

While there is no known cure for such phenomenon, there are some treatments to experience menopause relief. One such treatment is hormone replacement therapy which is combating the rapid onset of menopause by ingesting estrogen. The support of family and close friends of course is essentially important to help a woman go through this difficult period and to also lend a helping hand after the recovering from the condition. There are naturally younger women who have suffered menopause who go through depression for the simple reason that they are unable to bear any child. And in this case the support that friends and family can give will aid them and let them know that there is still life even after menopause.