They say “the early bird catches the worm,” right? But what if something shows up too early that it ends up not being a good thing? That’s the case with premature menopause. It’s like a flower blooming in the wrong season, very unexpected. Women who face this are unprepared for what’s to come, which makes it an even more devastating experience. Premature menopause is a condition that happens when a woman’s menstrual periods stop before the age of 40. The ovaries stop working properly, which reduces the level of estrogen produced and increases the inability to conceive naturally. Let’s look at how it’s diagnosed and if there are any treatments available for this condition.
How Doctors Figure Out Premature Menopause
When a woman starts to experience certain symptoms like irregular periods or hot flashes at a young age, there are a couple of things that the doctor would have to look out for to know whether she has premature menopause.
The first thing doctors do is ask you about your symptoms. They’ll want to know if your periods have been irregular or have stopped at a point in time, and if you’ve felt other symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, or night sweats.
They’ll also ask questions like, “did your mom, aunt, or grandma have menopause early?” Because family history can be a big sign of whether or not you have premature menopause. After that, the doctor will examine you to check for physical signs like changes in your skin or body that could be caused by low estrogen hormones.
Secondly, the doctor would recommend you go for hormone tests. These tests are tools that doctors use to figure out what’s happening with your hormones. The first test is the FSH test, which is short for follicle-stimulating hormone. This hormone tells your ovaries to release eggs. If the test shows a high amount of FSH, it means the ovaries aren’t working like they should. Second is the estradiol test. This particular test checks for estrogen, which is the hormone that keeps your period regular and supports your bones. So a low estrogen level can point to premature menopause.
Lastly, the doctor will also recommend you go for blood tests for other conditions. Sometimes symptoms like irregular periods or mood swings are caused by something else like thyroid problems or polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS. So having a blood test done would help rule out the chances of these other diseases being a cause. After this step, a proper diagnosis would be made and then you’d know whether or not you have premature menopause.
How Can Premature Menopause Be Treated?
After the first official step, which is diagnosing premature menopause, the next focus is on treating the symptoms in order to protect you from health problems in the future.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): HRT replaces the hormones your ovaries no longer make, especially estrogen. It can reduce the symptoms of hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and osteoporosis.
However, HRT isn’t for everyone. In some cases, it can slightly increase the risk of some problems like blood clots or certain cancers. That’s why the doctor has to decide if this particular option is right for you or not. If this isn’t the perfect fit for you, there are other options that you can go for.
Non-Hormonal Treatment: Remember, HRT isn’t for everyone. So, if HRT isn’t a good fit for you, there are other medications such as antidepressants, which can help to manage your mood swings and hot flashes, and gabapentin, which helps with hot flashes, especially at night.
Lifestyle Changes: There are small changes that you can make to your everyday routine that can make a big difference in how you feel. One example is eating healthy food. When you eat foods with calcium,( like yogurt or leafy greens), and vitamin D, (like fish and fortified cereals), they can help your bones to stay strong, which prevents your bones from becoming too weak, a condition known as osteoporosis.
Furthermore, you can exercise to keep your bones and heart strong and also to improve your mood. Then, if smoking is something that you do on a regular basis, you need to cut down on that habit, because smoking hurts the ovaries and makes the symptoms worse.
Treating Specific Symptoms: Doctors can also give special treatment for certain symptoms, like vaginal moisturizer for vaginal dryness and supplements to help strengthen your bones and also prevent fractures in the future.
Bottom Line
Premature menopause can disrupt a woman’s life, not just her menstrual cycle. Finding out if you have it entails paying attention to your symptoms, conducting hormone tests, and looking for other potential problems. What is the good news? There are methods to handle it. There is aid available, whether it is through hormone therapy, non-hormonal choices, or simply eating correctly and exercising.
