Unfortunately there are many women who experience menopause at an age which is younger than the average age of 51. Do you know the early menopause causes? As far as symptoms are concerned, the basic symptoms, i.e. hot flashes, headaches, joint pain, diminished sexual drive, mood swings, etc. are the same and can be attributed to fluctuating levels of estrogen and testosterone in women. Learn more about what exactly bring about early menopause…

2. Early Menopause Test Can Help Learn How
Before looking at the early menopause causes; let’s first
address the question: what exactly is early menopause?
Early menopause is natural menopause; except it occurs
at an early menopause age that is younger than 45. You
are in early menopause when you have not experienced
menstrual periods for 12 months. At what age does
menopause normally occur then? The age for menopause
symptoms to start appearing is between 45 and 55, with
51 being the average age in the United States. Premature
menopause means women also stop having their periods,
but it occurs before the age of 40, and only in about 1%
of women.
Picture credited to www.emaxhealth.com

3. Premature menopause is not to be confused with early
menopause though. For clarity sake however, I’ll just
touch on the topic. Natural premature menopause is
caused by POF (premature ovarian failure), also known
as primary ovarian failure or primary ovarian insufficiency
(POI). This basically means you have not had surgery,
chemotherapy, or any other traumatic experience.
As mentioned earlier, probably one of the most
significant early menopause signs is being of an age
younger than 45 with no menstrual cycle for at least 12
months while experiencing early menopause symptoms
such as sleeping problems, mood swings, vaginal
dryness, loss of energy, dry eyes, low sex drive, painful
sex, and bladder control. The symptoms of early
menopause are actually the same as those for
menopause; read more on these early menopause signs
and symptoms before we get into what causes early
menopause.
Picture courtesy janderson99.hubpages.com

4. My research has shown that early menopause causes
are as follows:
Autoimmune disorder: the body perceives substances
and tissues normally present in your body as a threat. It
then attacks itself by sending antibodies to destroy the
“invaders”. Your ovaries are attacked; in the process
destroying the reproduction function. Diseases falling in
this category are hypothyroid and hyperthyroid. These
thyroid diseases cause hormone levels to drop, which
could result in the cessation of menstrual cycles which in
turn leads to early menopause. Many of the hormone
imbalance symptoms experienced are hair loss, weight
gain, stopping of menstrual periods, palpitations and
sweats that may seem like either hot flushes or night
sweats, but are symptomatic of thyroid disease as well. It
is therefore imperative that tests are conducted for a
proper diagnosis.
Picture credited to www.examiner.com

5. Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy: damage to
the ovaries occurs when they’re subjected to the frequent
and high doses of treatment used to kill cancer cells.
Even low dose/short term treatments could lead to
infertility.
Chromosomal Irregularity: Women are normally born
with 2 x-chromosomes. When only 1 of the 2 x-
chromosomes functions normally and the other has a
defect sometimes caused by a hereditary disorder called
fragile x syndrome (caused by a change in the DNA
structure of the x-chromosome), normal ovarian
development is affected. Another disorder known as
Turners’s Syndrome, also affects the development of
women in the sense that they either have only 1 x-
chromosome; or they have both, but one of the x-
chromosomes is abnormal. Both conditions interfere with
the development of the ovaries which are needed to
produce sufficient levels of estrogen to bring relief from
the symptoms of early menopause.
Picture credited to www.medscape.org

6. Family History: Is early menopause hereditary? Any
female relative who experienced early menopause could
be an indication that the condition is hereditary. Studies
indicate however that only about 5% of those who
experience early menopause have a family history of this
condition.
Hyperprolactinemia: is the condition caused by the
human body when it produces too much of the hormone
prolactin in the blood of women who are not pregnant.
The higher production is caused by stress, certain foods,
exercise, herbs such as red clover, nipple stimulation,
underactive thyroid, etc. Prolactin is responsible for the
production of breast milk in pregnant women.
Progesterone is the hormone which is produced after
ovulation and high levels of prolactin in the blood causes
a decline in this production. The lower levels of the
hormones can cause irregular patterns in ovulation and
menstrual cycles, or even result in breasts not producing
milk when pregnant. Hyperprolactinemia could therefore
cause women’s menstrual cycle to stop altogether, which
is one of the causes of early menopause.
Picture courtesy www.imperialendo.com

7. Hysterectomy: is the surgical removal of the uterus,
which means both ovaries are still intact and will continue
to produce hormones? Falling pregnant is however not
possible as the uterus is required for this. Blood supply to
the ovaries may be affected due to the surgery, causing
hot flushes.
Picture credit www.ladycarehealth.com
Oophorectomy: surgery whereby both ovaries are
removed; brings about menopause straightaway. The
woman’s menstrual periods stop and hormones drop at a
rapid rate since the ovaries are no longer there to
produce hormones. The signs and symptoms typically
associated with menopause (hot flushes and diminished
sexual drive) are immediate, and probably more intense
than when menopause is experienced gradually.

8. In Conclusion: Early menopause risks include, but are
not limited to heart disease, osteoporosis, glaucoma and
thyroid disease. It is strongly recommended that all
menopause matters are discussed with your doctor so an
early menopause test can be performed. The most
important, as mentioned earlier, is the FSH test which
will determine FSH levels which cause the ovaries to
produce estrogen. FSH levels above 30 or 40 mIU
indicates menopause. Many women prefer natural
supplements as early menopause treatment; hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective way to
treat menopause however.
My name is Sonia Preiss and I do a lot of research on different
illnesses and diseases. Read the full article on other surgical
procedures, Tamoxifen, Cushing’s Disease, etc. Go to this link here.
Read about other conditions and diseases which were extensively
researched by visiting http://sicknessnhealth.com.