What is menopause? What is perimenopause?
Menopause is the point in a woman's life when
she has not had her period for 1 year. It marks the end
of the childbearing years. It's sometimes called "the change of life."
For most women, menopause happens around age 50. But every woman's body
has its own time line. Some women stop having periods in their mid-40s. Others
continue well into their 50s.
is the process of change that leads up to menopause. It can start as early as
your late 30s or as late as your early 50s. How long perimenopause lasts
varies, but it usually lasts from 2 to 8 years. You may have irregular periods
or other symptoms during this time.
Menopause is a natural part of
growing older. You don't need treatment for it unless your symptoms bother you.
But it's a good idea to learn all you can about menopause. Knowing what to
expect can help you stay as healthy as possible during this new phase of your
What causes menopause?
Normal changes in your
reproductive and hormone systems cause menopause. As your egg supply ages, your
body begins to
ovulate less often. During this time, your
hormone levels go up and down unevenly (fluctuate),
causing changes in your periods and other symptoms. In time,
progesterone levels drop enough that the menstrual
Some medical treatments can cause your periods to
stop before age 40. Having your ovaries removed, having
radiation therapy, or having
chemotherapy can trigger early menopause.
What are the symptoms?
Common symptoms include:
- Irregular periods. Some women have light
periods. Others have heavy bleeding. Your menstrual cycle may be longer or
shorter, or you may skip periods.
- Hot flashes.
- Trouble sleeping (insomnia).
changes. Some women have mood swings or feel grouchy, depressed, or worried.
- Feeling that your heart is beating too
fast or unevenly (palpitations).
- Problems with remembering
or thinking clearly.
- Vaginal dryness.
Some women have only a few mild symptoms. Others have
severe symptoms that disrupt their sleep and daily lives.
Symptoms tend to last or get worse the first year or more after
menopause. Over time, hormones even out at low levels, and many symptoms
improve or go away.
Do you need tests to diagnose menopause?
need to be tested to see if you have started perimenopause or reached
menopause. You and your doctor will most likely be able to tell based on
irregular periods and other symptoms.
If you have heavy,
irregular periods, your doctor may want to do tests to rule out a serious cause
of the bleeding. Heavy bleeding may be a normal sign of perimenopause. But it
can also be caused by infection, disease, or a pregnancy problem.
You may not need to see your doctor about menopause symptoms. But it is
important to keep up your annual physical exams. Your risks for heart disease,
cancer, and bone thinning (osteoporosis) increase after menopause.
At your yearly visits, your doctor can check your overall health and recommend
testing as needed.
Do you need treatment?
Menopause is a natural part
of growing older. You don't need treatment for it unless your symptoms bother
you. But if your symptoms are upsetting or uncomfortable, you don't have to
suffer through them. There are treatments that can help.
step is to have a healthy lifestyle. This can help reduce symptoms and also
lower your risk of heart disease and other long-term problems related to
- Make a special effort to eat well. Choose a
heart-healthy diet that is low in saturated fat. It should include plenty of fish,
fruits, vegetables, beans, and high-fiber grains and breads.
- Eat a nutritious diet and be sure you are getting adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D to help your bones stay strong. Low-fat or nonfat dairy products are a great source of
- Get regular exercise. Exercise can help you manage your
weight, keep your heart and bones strong, and lift your mood.
Limit caffeine, alcohol, and stress. These things can make symptoms worse.
Limiting them may help you sleep better.
- If you smoke, stop.
Quitting smoking can reduce hot flashes and long-term health risks.
If lifestyle changes aren't enough to relieve your
symptoms, you can try other measures, such as breathing exercises and yoga.
If you have severe symptoms, you may want to ask your
doctor about prescription medicines. Choices include:
- Low-dose birth control pills before
hormone therapy (HT) after menopause.
- A medicine called clonidine
(Catapres) that is usually used to treat high blood pressure.
All medicines for menopause symptoms have possible risks
or side effects. A very small number of women develop serious health problems
when taking hormone therapy. Be sure to talk to your doctor about your possible
health risks before you start a treatment for menopause symptoms.
Remember, it is still possible to become pregnant until you reach
menopause. To prevent an unwanted pregnancy, keep using birth control until you
have not had a period for 1 full year.
Health Tools help you make wise health decisions or take action to improve your health.
Decision Points focus on key medical care decisions that are important to many health problems.
| ||Hysterectomy and Oophorectomy: Should I Use Estrogen Therapy (ET)?|
| ||Menopause: Should I Use Hormone Therapy (HT)?|
Actionsets are designed to help people take an active role in managing a health condition.
| ||Menopause: Managing Hot Flashes|
| ||Stress Management: Relaxing Your Mind and Body|
Learning about menopause:
- What are perimenopause and menopause?
- What causes menopause?
- What are the symptoms?
- What happens before, during, and after menopause?
- When do I need to see my doctor?
- Are there any special exams or tests I should have?
- Who should I see about menopause?
- What types of treatment may help menopause symptoms?
- What is estrogen therapy (ET)?
- Should I use hormone therapy (HT)?
- What do I need to know about the risks and benefits of HT and ET?
- What can I do to prevent osteoporosis after menopause?
Living with symptoms of perimenopause and menopause:
- What can I do in my daily life to reduce symptoms of perimenopause?
- How can I manage hot flashes?
- What is black cohosh?
- Can eating and drinking soy help?
Menopause is a natural part of aging. As you age, the number and quality of
your eggs decline,
hormone levels fluctuate, and your menstrual cycle
becomes less predictable until it finally stops completely.
Causes of early menopause
lifestyle choices and medical treatments can cause or are linked to an earlier
- Smoking. On average, women who smoke reach
menopause 1½ years earlier than those who don't. The longer you have smoked and
the more you smoke, the stronger this effect is likely to be.1
- Radiation therapy to or removal of the
- Radiation therapy or other treatment to the abdomen or
pelvis that damages the ovaries so that they no longer
- Genetic and
- Removal of both
ovaries (oophorectomy), which causes sudden
- Low body fat.
The first sign that you are nearing menopause is a change in your menstrual periods. They may become less frequent. And they may be lighter or heavier than you're used to.
Menopause symptoms range from mild (or none) to severe. They include:
- Hot flashes.
- Sleep disturbances (insomnia).
- Emotional changes, such as mood
swings or irritability.
- A change in sexual interest or
- Problems with concentration and memory that are linked to
sleep loss and fluctuating hormones (not a permanent sign of aging).
- Rapid, irregular
heartbeats (heart palpitations).
These symptoms usually go away after 1 or 2 years. But some women have them for several years longer.
Other conditions can cause similar symptoms. Examples include
pregnancy; a significant change in weight; depression; anxiety; or
uterine, thyroid, or pituitary problems.
Menopause caused by surgery,
radiation therapy can cause more severe symptoms than
usual. Preexisting conditions such as
anxiety, sleep problems, or irritability can also make symptoms worse.
After you stop having menstrual periods, you may get other symptoms, including:
- Drying and thinning of the skin, caused by lower
- Vaginal and urinary
tract changes, such as:
- Vaginal dryness, irritation, and
- An increased risk of vaginal and
urinary tract infections (UTIs).
with sexual activity.
In your late 30s, your
egg supply begins to decline in number and quality. As a result, your
hormone production changes. You may notice a shortened menstrual cycle and some
premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms that you didn't
Gradually, your periods become irregular. This can
start as early as your late 30s or as late as your early 50s. It continues for
2 to 8 years before menstrual cycles end.
During this time, your ovaries are
sometimes producing too much
progesterone and at other times too little. Your
progesterone is likely to fluctuate more than before. This can lead to
heavy menstrual bleeding. (If you have heavy or
unexpected vaginal bleeding, see your doctor to be sure it isn't caused by a
more serious condition.)
About 6 months to a year before your
periods stop, your estrogen starts to drop. When it drops past a certain point,
your menstrual cycles stop. After a year of no menstrual periods, you are said
to have "reached menopause."
During the next year or so, estrogen levels keep going down. This lowers your risk for certain types of cancers (estrogen is linked to some types of cancerous cell growth). But low estrogen
also creates some health concerns, such as:
- Bone loss. Low
estrogen levels after menopause speed bone loss, increasing your risk of
- Skin changes. Low estrogen leads to low
collagen, which is a building block of skin and
connective tissue. It's normal to have thinner, dryer, wrinkled skin after
menopause. The vaginal lining and the lower urinary tract also thin and weaken.
This condition can make sexual activity difficult. It can also increase the risk of
vaginal and urinary tract infections.
- Tooth and gum changes. Low estrogen
affects connective tissue, which increases your risk of tooth loss and possibly
Although the reasons aren't well understood,
a woman's risk of heart disease increases after menopause. Because heart
disease is the number one killer of women, consider your heart risk factors
when making lifestyle and treatment decisions.
Call your doctor if you have:
- Menstrual periods that are unusually heavy,
irregular, or prolonged (1½ to 2 times longer than
- Bleeding between menstrual periods, when periods have been
- Renewed bleeding after having no periods for 6 months or
- Unexplained bleeding while you are taking
- Symptoms, such as
hot flashes, or mood swings, that aren't responding to
home treatment and are interfering with your sleep or daily
- Vaginal pain or dryness that doesn't improve with home
treatment, or you have
signs of a urinary tract infection, such as pain or burning during urination or cloudy urine.
Who to see
The following health professionals can
help you manage menopause symptoms and evaluate menstrual period
- Family medicine doctor
- Nurse practitioner
- Physician assistant
Your age, your history of
menstrual periods, your symptoms, and the results of your
pelvic exam will tell your doctor whether you are near or at menopause. If possible, bring a calendar or journal
of your periods and symptoms.
If you have severe symptoms, if your doctor suspects another medical condition,
or if you have a medical condition that makes a diagnosis difficult, your
doctor may do one or more of the following blood tests:
pregnancy test is done if there is a chance that you
are pregnant. (This can also be a urine test.)
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) test can be used to
confirm whether you have reached menopause.
FSH levels increase during perimenopause and are high
estrogen test is sometimes done to see how low
estrogen has dropped after menopause.
thyroid-stimulating hormone test is used to see
whether irregular menstrual periods or perimenopause-like symptoms are being
caused by a thyroid problem.
If you have had no menstrual periods for 1 year, this is a good time to have a full
physical exam, with particular focus on your heart health and risk factors for
Menopause is a natural part of aging. But symptoms can be
difficult for some women.
If you have
trouble sleeping, mood swings,
hot flashes, cloudy thinking,
heavy menstrual periods, or other symptoms,
treatment can help you get through this time more comfortably.
Treatment for menopause symptoms may include:
- Healthy lifestyle habits, including exercise, healthy eating, and quitting smoking. To learn more, see Home Treatment.
- Hormones and other medicines, such as antidepressants. To learn more, see Medications.
- Treatments such as black cohosh and soy. To learn more, see Other Treatment.
A healthy lifestyle can help you manage menopause symptoms. It can also help lower your risk for heart disease,
osteoporosis, and other long-term health problems.
- If you smoke, stop smoking to reduce hot
flashes and long-term health risks.
- Exercise regularly
to promote both physical and emotional health.
- Limit alcohol intake
to reduce menopause symptoms and long-term health risks.
healthy eating a priority. Cut back on
simple sugars and caffeine, which can make menopause symptoms worse. You'll not
only feel better but may also prevent long-term health problems.
- Pay attention to how the
emotional side of menopause is affecting you. Have a
support network, and seek help as needed.
- Make sure you get enough calcium and vitamin D. Eat foods that are rich in calcium, and take calcium and vitamin D supplements. This can help lower your risk of osteoporosis.
- Improve bladder
control with regular
hot flashes, try keeping your environment cool, dressing in layers, and managing stress.
- Menopause: Managing Hot Flashes
- Stress Management: Relaxing Your Mind and Body
improve vaginal dryness and muscle tone, try using
a vaginal lubricant and doing
Kegel exercises regularly.
Medicines can help you cope with bothersome menopause symptoms. Some medicines contain hormones, and some don't.
Hormone therapy is sometimes used to treat menopause symptoms. But women who use it may have a higher risk of other health problems.
- Menopause: Should I Use Hormone Therapy (HT)?
If your symptoms are the result of early menopause brought on by having your ovaries removed along with your uterus, you may consider estrogen therapy (ET). But ET may increase the risk of health problems in a small number of women.
- Hysterectomy and Oophorectomy: Should I Use Estrogen Therapy (ET)?
- Birth control pills regulate menstrual bleeding and can relieve symptoms until
menopause. They aren't used after menopause.
- Progestin pills and the
levonorgestrel IUD release a form of
progesterone into the uterus. This reduces heavy, irregular menstrual periods. Some women have side effects.
- Low-dose vaginal estrogen (cream, tablet, or ring) reduces dryness and other tissue changes in and around the vagina.
- Hormone therapy (HT) in pill, patch, vaginal ring, gel, or cream form can be used to treat
menopause symptoms. Experts recommend that HT only be used at the lowest
effective dose for the shortest possible period of time.2
- Bioidentical hormones are made in a lab to be similar to
human-produced hormones. But they aren't well
researched and may carry the same health risks that traditional HT
does.3 Any form of hormone therapy is best taken for
as short a time as possible.
- Estrogen therapy (ET) is used to prevent
weakening bones and the severe symptoms that come with sudden, early menopause.
- Testosterone with estrogen is sometimes used for menopausal
symptoms that don't improve with estrogen therapy. But it isn't FDA-approved,
because its risks aren't yet fully known. Testosterone with estrogen carries the
same risks as estrogen treatment (blood clots, stroke, breast cancer) as well
as testosterone risks and side effects.
Short-term, low-dose HT or ET can
be taken for up to 4 to 5 years, with regular checkups. This may work well for
many women, who will find that their menopause symptoms have subsided within
this period of time.
- Antidepressants can lower the number and
severity of hot flashes. They may also help with irritability, depression, and moodiness.
- Clonidine, a high blood pressure medicine, can reduce
the number and severity of hot flashes.4 Some women
have side effects related to low blood pressure.
- Gabapentin (Neurontin) is an antiseizure medicine. It can
reduce the number and severity of hot flashes.5
Possible side effects include sleepiness, dizziness, and swelling.
- Ospemifene (Osphena) is used to reduce vaginal changes that can make sex painful.
women have turned to alternative medicine for menopause symptom relief. Before you try prescription medicines or hormones, you can think about using one or more of the
following options for preventing or treating symptoms.
- Mind and body relaxation using breathing exercises. It may reduce hot flashes and emotional symptoms.
- Black cohosh (such as Remifemin) may prevent or relieve menopause symptoms. But the research on black
cohosh has had mixed results.
- Soy may improve menopause symptoms. But studies have
shown mixed results.
- Yoga (which often includes meditative breathing)
biofeedback gives you tools you can use to reduce
stress. High stress is likely to make your symptoms worse.
Remember that dietary supplements aren't regulated the way medicines are. It's important to be careful when taking supplements. Tell your doctor what you are taking.
Treatments to avoid
Based on the
latest research, some treatments aren't recommended,
either because they don't work or because they can cause dangerous
effects.6 These include:
- DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone).
- Dong quai.
- Evening primrose.
- Wild yam or natural progesterone creams.
|North American Menopause Society (U.S.)|
|Web Address: ||www.menopause.org|
|The Endocrine Society: Hormone Health Network (U.S.)|
|Web Address: ||www.hormone.org|
- Abnormal Uterine Bleeding
- Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding
- Birth Control
- Breast Cancer
- Deep Vein Thrombosis
- Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer
- Fibrocystic Breasts
- Heart Attack and Unstable Angina
- Sexuality and Physical Changes With Aging
Fritz MA, Speroff L (2011). Menopause and perimenopausal transition. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 673–748. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
North American Menopause Society (2012). The 2012 hormone therapy position statement of
the North American Menopause Society. Menopause, 19(3): 257–271. Also
available online: http://www.menopause.org/PSht12.pdf.
North American Menopause Society (2010). Estrogen and
progestogen use in postmenopausal women: 2010 position statement of the
North American Menopause Society. Menopause, 17(2):
242–255. Also available online: http://www.menopause.org/PSht10.pdf.
Cedars MI, Evans M (2008). Menopause. In RS Gibbs et al., eds., Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology, 10th ed., pp. 725–741. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Fritz MA, Speroff L (2011). Postmenopausal hormone therapy. In Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, 8th ed., pp. 749–857. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2001, reaffirmed 2010). Use of botanicals for management of menopausal symptoms. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 28. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 97(6, Suppl): 1–11.
Other Works Consulted
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Menopause Guidelines Revision Task Force (2006). American Association of
Clinical Endocrinologists medical guidelines for clinical practice for the
diagnosis and treatment of menopause. Endocrine Practice, 12(3): 315–337.
Daley A, et al. (2011). Exercise for vasomotor menopausal symptoms. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (9).
Grady D, Barrett-Connor E (2012). Menopause. In L Goldman, A Shafer, eds., Goldman's Cecil Medicine, 24th ed., pp. 1565–1571. Philadelphia: Saunders.
Levis S, et al. (2011). Soy isoflavones in the prevention of menopausal
bone loss and menopausal symptoms. Archives of Internal Medicine, 171(15): 1363–1369.
Manson JE, Bassuk SS (2012). The menopause transition and postmenopausal hormone therapy. In DL Longo et al., eds., Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 18th ed., vol. 2, pp. 3040–3046. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shifren JL, Schiff I (2007). Menopause. In JS Berek,
ed., Berek and Novak's Gynecology, 14th ed., pp.
1323–1340. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force 2012. Menopausal Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Available online: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf12/menohrt/menohrtfinalrs.pdf.
|By: ||Healthwise Staff ||Current as of: March 12, 2014|
|Medical Review: ||Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine|
Carla J. Herman, MD, MPH - Geriatric Medicine