The menopause can be a time of anxiety and distress as you experience symptoms that can be difficult to manage, including hot flushes, anxiety and sleep disturbances.
What is the menopause?
Menopause literally means stopping periods. ‘Meno’ refers to menstruation and ‘pause’ means to stop. The medical definition of menopause is when one year has passed since your last period.
During the menopause, your periods will decline and then stop. It typically starts between the ages of 45-55 and the transition can last for several years.
At the physiological level, menopause happens because of a decrease in the ovaries’ production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone
Read more about the signs and symptoms of the menopause
If you experience menopausal symptoms before the age of 40, you may be in, what is also known as premature ovarian insufficiency.
If you’ve had medical treatment that damages the ovaries, such as radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or have had your ovaries surgically removed, you will enter a medically induced menopause. Sometimes this can make symptoms more severe than with natural menopause.
Three stages of menopause:
- Perimenopause is the transitional period before menopause as levels of estrogens start to decrease. You may begin experiencing menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flushes, irregular periods, sleep disturbances, mood changes and others. Perimenopause can last for years.
- Menopause means your periods have ended. When you have no menstrual cycle for 12 months in a row, you have reached menopause. Unlike the other stages, menopause is a single event rather than an ongoing phase
- Postmenopause is the stage following menopause. It can last until the end of life. Although most menopausal symptoms lessen during this stage, mild ones may persist for several years. When you’re in postmenopause, you face a greater risk of osteoporosis and heart disease because of low estrogen levels.
It can help to find a doctor with a special interest in supporting women through the menopause so that you can receive guidance and advice on symptom management and treatments options.
How is the menopause diagnosed?
If you are a healthy woman over the age of 45, your doctor will diagnose perimenopause or the menopause based on factors such as:
- irregular periods or the complete absence of periods for 12 months
- symptoms such as hot flushes (or hot flashes), insomnia, vaginal dryness, and mood changes
- if you have had your ovaries removed or received treatment that may have damaged them
- the existing use of hormonal treatments that may interfere with the menstrual cycle
Tests most often aren’t needed to diagnose menopause. But sometimes, your healthcare professional may suggest blood tests to check your hormones levels
Your doctor will decide whether you need to undergo tests to rule out other conditions based on your medical history.