Having worked for a Women’s Health Care brand for 2 years, with a big focus on Menopause, I realised there is very little information about Premature Menopause. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed until I was 28 and my friend told me she wanted to have children ASAP because her Mum had been through Premature Menopause.
Thankfully since then I am a lot more clued up on menopause. Whilst I am by no means a professional, I hope to use this post to raise awareness of Premature Menopause given the lack of education and conversation there currently is on it.
Did you know October is Menopause Month? Maybe it’s because we are women under the age of 45 that marketing around Menopause is not targeted towards us and therefore we don’t ‘see’ it. Maybe there isn’t any significant marketing on Menopause because there’s still a stigma attached to it. Whatever the reason is, we need to be talking about it more from a young age. From what I remember, it was not something taught in school, so how are we supposed to learn about it or know it exists?
Premature Menopause affects 1% of women under the age of 40. It might not sound like a lot, but according to Better Health, one in every 1000 women reach menopause BEFORE the age of 30. More needs to be done to educate and support women when there is a huge emotional and physical impact to this. Would you know if you started going through Premature Menopause? I wouldn’t, and that’s the problem. We can’t get help if we don’t know.
5 Facts On Premature Menopause
1. Premature Menopause And Early Menopause Are Not The Same
The experience and the symptoms are very much the same, but the age in which a person goes through the menopause is the main difference. Early Menopause happens before the age of 45, whereas Premature Menopause happens before the age of 40.
2. It's Not Always Hereditary
- Yes, our family history of menopause age can influence when we will experience menopause but it’s not always black and white;
- Certain health conditions including autoimmune diseases can trigger Early Menopause
- Surgery that has removed parts of your reproductive system
- Smoking, though it is unlikely to bring on Premature Menopause, research has shown smokers are more likely to experience menopause earlier than non-smokers
- Unfortunately there are still a lot of unknown causes
3. The Main Symptoms Of Premature Menopause
These are very similar to the symptoms one might experience when going through the menopause at a later stage in life. The most common symptoms are:
– Changes in your menstrual cycle
– Hot flashes
– Difficulty sleeping or a disturbed sleep
– Changes in mood
– Vaginal dryness
4. How Premature Menopause Can Be Diagnosed
There are a number of tests and checks your doctor can perform including blood tests, hormonal level checks and family history checks to help identify if you are going through Premature Menopause.
5. Contraception Can Confuse Matters
Premature menopause or early menopause may go undiagnosed if you are using hormonal contraception. Friends of mine have gone a few years without a period due to the type of contraception they use. And some pills can have similar side affects to menopause symptoms including, mood changes, loss of sex drive, weight changes and difficulty sleeping.
You wouldn’t necessarily know if your periods had stopped due to contraception of changes in your hormones.
It took me until my thirties to realise the importance of knowing my body and understanding what is happening to it or the potential changes I might go through as I get older. I also wrote a post on Taking Control Of My Hormones, which again I didn’t do until in my 30s. No one talks about menopause when we are young, yet we will all eventually experience it, so why not prepare us? I imagine it’s as life changing as getting your first period.
If you do have any concerns regarding Premature Menopause or Early Menopause, always speak to your doctor or health care professional. And if you just need a sounding platform then speak to a friend, let’s stop the menopause from being a taboo topic.
Amber x
p.s there are 100’s of companies that have developed products to help manage menopausal symptoms such as supplements, tea and lubrication. Always do your research on the brand.
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