Everyone who has a period will go through menopause. As we age, our ovarian follicle (egg) production declines.
We refer to menopause as the absence of periods for one year.
The time prior to this is the perimenopause. You may notice your period become irregular, and lighter or heavier than usual.
Most women will go through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55 however, one in 10 women will have early menopause before the age of 45.
One in 100 women will go through menopause before the age of 40 and this is known as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).
Some medical treatments (such as some cancer treatments) or surgeries (such as removal of the ovaries) may also induce menopause.
What causes menopause?
Hormonal fluctuations begin in perimenopause (before periods stop) and our cyclic production of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone hormones decline.
We have receptors for these hormones throughout our body – not just in our reproductive organs. So this can cause a myriad of symptoms, both in the perimenopause and menopause. These symptoms may start before any changes in the menstrual cycle are noted.
Choosing a menopause treatment
Most of the information we need when considering treatment suitability comes from talking to you about your symptoms and discussing your medical history. Blood tests are mostly unhelpful and are seldom used.
Symptoms of menopause
Individual people’s experiences are different – both in terms of the type and severity of symptoms they may experience.
Some don’t have any symptoms at all and others may have symptoms that have a marked impact on their ability to function normally and do everything they want and need to do in their lives.
There is no way of knowing when these symptoms may start or end as everyone’s experience is as unique as they are!
Menopausal symptoms can include any of the following:
- hot flushes or sweats
- sleep disurbance
- joint aches and pains
- fatigue
- mood disturbance
- irritability
- anxiety
- dry eyes
- fatigue
- poor concentration and memory
- vulval irritation (irritated genitals)
- vaginal dryness (dry vagina)
- bladder symptoms (frequent peeing or leaking)
- painful sex
- low libido
- lower sense of wellbeing
The health impact of menopause
Oestrogen seems to have a protective factor for many aspects of health.
After Menopause, there is an increased risk of some health conditions due the
loss of oestrogen production.
Following menopause, some of the associated health risks include:
- increased risk of cardiovascular disease (heart disease)
- increased risk of diabetes (central weight gain and insulin resistance)
- increased risk of osteoporosis
- increased risk of dementia
We usually start this treatment to relieve menopausal symptoms, but we know that it may also reduce your chance of developing these chronic conditions. Because there are both risks and benefits of this treatment, we are not yet using MHT for the sole purpose of prevention.
If you are concerned about your health during or after perimenopause and menopause, get in touch to book an initial consultation to talk about your symptoms and treatments that may suit you.
