The reality is that hormone imbalance can occur at any age, whether it is at 23 or 63 years old. This can make it difficult to assess whether a woman is in early menopause or whether things are just “off.”
The average age for women in industrialized countries to go through menopause is 51 years old, however, some may start as young as 39 years of age. Early menopause, on the other hand, typically begins before the age of 39 years.
Keep in mind that “going through” menopause and being fully menopausal (commonly referred to as postmenopausal) are different categories.
A woman is generally considered postmenopausal once she has gone without a menstrual period for 12 straight months. Even if she starts her period at the ninth month mark, she has to start the counting over.
This does not necessarily mean her symptoms disappear, just that she is officially no longer able to reproduce and has transitioned to the next phase of being female. She can stop buying feminine products!
The phase before postmenopause is considered perimenopause, where a woman is transitioning out of her fertile years.
This is often marked by symptoms such as insomnia, hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, skin changes, joint aches, irregular/skipped, periods, heavy periods and more.
These symptoms are a direct result of the hormone changes caused by the ovaries and their effect on the adrenals, thyroid and brain.
Many women in their mid-to-late thirties have been dismissed by their health care providers as being too young to be in menopause, with their symptoms blamed on other issues such as stress, depression or lifestyle factors.
While this may be true and is worth checking out, it is also important for a proper hormone evaluation including the follicle stimulating hormone test (FSH) done on day 2 or 3 of a menstrual cycle.
Once this number gets into the double digits, and especially once a woman is consistently above 30mIU/ml, menopause is pretty evident.
It can be challenging to test women who have irregular or skipped periods or for women whose cycle changes from month to month because the symptoms can be episodic.
Keep in mind, though, that low progesterone and high estrogen levels (or vice versa) can cause a lot of symptoms similar to perimenopause. She may just need hormone help overall, and is not yet transitioning. This means it is important to find a health care provider who is well-versed in hormone care.
There are a few reasons why a woman may go through menopause at an early age. The most common is genetic – if the females in your family started young, especially your mom, then most likely you will too.
Another common reason occurs after a complete hysterectomy where a woman has her ovaries removed prior to menopausal age. This forces the body to go into menopause before it's ready, due to the sudden loss of hormones produced by those ovaries.
Other reasons include smoking (it is suspected that this causes damage to the ovaries and reduces their blood supply), chemotherapy, radiation to the abdomen/pelvic area, and autoimmune conditions such as premature ovarian insufficiency.
Early menopause does put a woman at higher risk for health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, cognitive issues, and obesity.
If you feel that you are out of balance or suspect early menopause, see your health care provider today and get educated about the changes that are occurring.
Sources:
Pullen, L. (2014). Early Menopause May Increase Heart Failure Risk. Retrieved from
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/825334
Sapre, S. and Thakur, R. (2014). Lifestyle and Dietary Factors determine age at natural menopause. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955043
Tucker, M. (2014). Early Menopause Linked With Type 2 Diabetes Risk. Retrieved from
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/776306
Reviewed December 9, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith