Early Menopause - Premature Menopause

Premature Menopause - means that a woman begins to experience menopause before the age of forty without the intervention of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.

Premature Ovarian Failure - means that the ovaries do not function when they should. They may shut down years or decades before they are supposed to.  

When a normal menopause cycle occurs, a woman will stop having her standard monthly cycle. This can happen if the ovaries no longer have eggs to release, the ovaries do not respond to the body's hormone communications, or the ovaries have been removed or damaged due to a medical process. Before the cycle stoppage occurs, most women have a transitional cycle which is called perimenopause. This phase can last from two to six years, but once the menstrual cycle actually stops, the woman is considered to be going through menopause. Most women finish the menopause cycle after age fifty-two. The average age space is between forty-seven and fifty-four. If, for any reason, a woman goes through menopause before this average age range, she is technically declared to be in premature or early menopause. If early menopause is caused by a medical procedure like chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, the changes occur quickly, and it is obvious why the woman is going through those changes. If, though, a woman experiences the full perimenopause cycle before the normal time, it can be difficult to determine why a woman is going through a standard menopause cycle at an early than normal time.  

If you are having menopause symptoms, and you are not quite old enough to be experiencing those symptoms, you need to talk with your gynecologist. They can help you determine if you are actually undergoing menopause with a pap smear, a bone density test, or even a test that works similarly to urine based pregnancy test.

If you are indeed experiencing early menopause, your doctor may suggest that you take a regimen of hormone replacement therapy.