What is menopause?

There’s a simple way to understand the menopause…

…It’s like puberty in reverse.

Both are a result of significant hormonal changes, affecting physical, emotional and social aspects of your life.  

 A confused you, and confused family and friends… who don’t know what’s going on.

Hormones affect just about everything that goes on in a woman's body, from reproductive function and sexual libido to weight gain and overall mood. This means mood swings.  Irritability.  Bodily changes.  New behaviours, and new sexual issues. 

Menopause is your transition from the reproductive to non-reproductive phase of life.

And there are three phases – 

  • Pre-menopause where you still have periods (whether they’re regular or irregular) and are considered to be in your reproductive years. Some hormonal changes may be occurring, but there are no noticeable changes in your body.

  • Peri-menopause is the actual time of transition, when hormone levels begin to fluctuate and occurs well before you officially hit menopause. In fact, women enter this stage some 8 to 10 years ahead of menopause. Most women will notice peri-menopause symptoms in their 40’s. During this time oestrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate and this can result in many troublesome symptoms, particularly flushes and sweats. Most hormone blood tests done at this stage will report as ‘normal’ and they are unhelpful with diagnosis. The sex hormone levels can also go up and down more sporadically than a normal 28-day cycle, which can cause irregular periods and other symptoms. During the final stages of peri-menopause, your body will produce less and less oestrogen. Despite the sharp drop in oestrogen, it’s still possible to get pregnant.

  • Post-menopause, officially kicks in when the ovaries produce so little oestrogen that eggs are no longer released. This also causes your period to stop.

The above type of menopause refer to ‘natural’ menopause. However there are other type of menopause that can occur, namely; Early menopause, Premature menopause (also known as POI - Premature Ovarian Insufficiency), Surgical menopause and Medically induced menopause.

  • Early menopause occurs when a woman's periods stop before the age of 45 and can happen if your ovaries stop making enough hormones, particularly oestrogen. Early menopause typically affect 5% of the female population

  • Premature menopause occurs when a woman’s periods stop before the age of 40 . It occurs because the ovaries no longer release eggs (ovulation) regularly and stop producing the usual premenopausal levels of reproductive hormones. Premature menopause can happen at any time from teenage years onwards and affect 1% of the female population.

  • Surgically induced menopause occurs when a woman’s ovaries have been removed by surgery. Removing both ovaries leads to permanent and immediate menopause If you have surgery to remove your ovaries, in a procedure called a bilateral oophorectomy, these hormonal changes will happen very quickly and often straight away. Surgical menopause can be overwhelming.

  • Medically induced menopause is an umbrella term that includes surgical menopause as well as menopause due to medication, such as chemotherapy or radiation damage to the ovaries, or from the use of other medications to intentionally induce menopause as part of the treatment of certain diseases. stopping your ovaries from functioning. Sometimes it is permanent, and sometimes it is not.

Visuable Team