Menopause: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis

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Table of Contents

What is Menopause?

Menopause is one of the life stages for women that signals the end of their reproductive years.
Menopause is a point in time 12 months after the women’s last period/menstruation.
It is a natural biological process that generally starts from age 45 to 55 years in women.
This marks the completion of menstrual cycles
Menopause occurs when a woman or a person who was assigned as female at birth (AFAB) has gone 12 months in a row without having a menstrual cycle.
They might experience symptoms like hot flashes or notice abnormalities in their menstrual periods.

Causes

Biologically speaking, menopause happens naturally.
The eggs in a woman’s ovaries are all present when she is born.They also produce the hormones progesterone and estrogen in their ovaries, which regulate menstruation and egg production (ovulation).
When the ovaries stop producing eggs on a monthly basis and menstruation stops, it leads to menopause.
However, some women may experience an early menopause. It occurs in about 1% of women before the age of 40.
When their ovaries are removed via a hysterectomy or when chemotherapy damages them, it might lead to this condition.
Premature menopause is the term used when it occurs for any reason before the age of 40.
Primary ovarian insufficiency, which can be brought on by autoimmune disease or hereditary causes, is a condition in which your ovaries are unable to generate the appropriate amounts of reproductive hormones, which can lead to premature menopause. However, there is no known cause for premature menopause.

Signs and Symptoms

The majority of women approaching menopause will start to experience vasomotor symptoms (VMS).
Hot flashes are the most frequent. A hot flash is characterized by an abrupt sensation of warmth that spreads over the upper body, frequently accompanied by blushing, a racing heart, and perspiration.
Most women has flashes that are mild, while other people experience severe ones.
Other menopausal symptoms include:
- Irregular or missed menstruation
- Vaginal dryness
- Sore breasts
- Having more frequent urination
- Difficulty sleeping
- Emotional alterations
- Dry mouth, eyes, or skin
Other frequent indications include:
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Crankiness
- Headaches
- Pains in muscles and joints
- Gaining weight
- Hair fall
- Alterations in libido (sex drive)

Stages of Menopause

The permanent cessation of menstruation that occurs without any sort of medical intervention is known as natural menopause.
There are three steps to the procedure, which is gradual:

1. Menopause transition or perimenopause

Eight to ten years before menopause, the perimenopause might start as the ovaries gradually release less estrogen.
It typically begins in the 40s. Up to menopause, when ovaries stop producing eggs, is when a woman is in perimenopause.
The reduction in estrogen quickens in the latter one to two years of perimenopause.
Many people may be exhibiting menopause symptoms at this time. However, women can still become pregnant during this time and still have menstrual cycles.

2. Menopause

At this time, the majority of the estrogen produced by the ovaries has also stopped being produced.
When a woman goes 12 months without a period, it is diagnosed as menopause.

3. Post menopause

This is the term used to describe the period of time following a year without a period (or the rest of your life after menopause).
Menopausal symptoms like hot flashes may lessen during this phase. However, a decade or longer following the menopause transition, some persons still suffer menopausal symptoms.
People in the postmenopausal phase are more susceptible to a number of diseases, including osteoporosis and heart disease, because of a lower estrogen level.

Diagnosis

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a brand-new blood test called the PicoAMH Elisa diagnostic test for the for the determination of menopausal status in women.
This test is used to determine whether a woman has gone through menopause or is approaching it.
Women who exhibit perimenopause symptoms, which can also have detrimental effects on health, may find this new test to be useful.
Blood test is also be done to find the levels of specific hormones in the body, typically FSH and estradiol, an estrogenic hormone.
Persistently raised FSH blood levels of 30 mIU/mL or above and the absence of menstruation for a continuous year often confirm menopause
Although they are both costly and unreliable, saliva and over-the-counter (OTC) urine tests are also available.
Because FSH and estrogen levels change daily during perimenopause, the majority of medical professionals will make a diagnosis based on the patient’s symptoms, medical history, and menstrual records.
To help rule out any underlying diseases that may be the cause of symptoms, the healthcare practitioner may also order further blood tests such as thyroid function tests, blood lipid profiles, liver function tests, and kidney function tests based on the patient’s symptoms and medical history.

Complications of Menopause

Fluctuating mood
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Sleeping problems
Insomnia
Weight gain
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Frequent urination
Painful sex
Bone fractures
Vaginal dryness
Lowered sex drive
Stopping of the period

Treatment

No medical treatment is required during menopause. Instead, treatments emphasize on controlling or avoiding chronic illnesses that may develop with aging as well as curing your signs and symptoms.

Treatments could consist of:

1. Hormone treatment