Going through menopause in your teenage years can be exceptionally rough. Menopause usually takes place between the ages of 45 and 55. Premature menopause is menopause that occurs before the age of 40. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 250,000 women under the age of 40 in the United States have premature ovarian failure, which leads to premature menopause.
What is premature menopause?
When a woman is in her late 30s or early 40s, her levels of estrogen start to decline. This decline normally happens gradually over a two- to eight-year period known as perimenopause. In this early stage of menopause, women still have a menstrual cycle. Once this stage is completed, they move into menopause. When estrogen levels have reduced significantly, menstrual bleeding cease. Once this has happened for 12 months in a row, a woman has entered the last stage of menopause, known as post-menopause. In premature menopause, women bypass all stages of menopause and enter straight into post-menopause. There is a sudden reduction of estrogen, causing the ovaries to fail immediately.
Symptoms
The symptoms a teen experiences in premature menopause are the same symptoms experienced in natural menopause. These include missed periods, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, bladder irritability, inability to control urination, irritability, mood swings, mild depression, night sweats, dry skin, dry eyes, sleeplessness (fatigue) and decreased interest in sex.
Causes
Two main causes may contribute to premature menopause in teens. Although the occurrence of premature menopause in this age group is rare, it does happen. One cause for premature menopause in teenagers is premature ovarian failure (POV). This occurs when the ovaries no longer produce enough estrogen to sustain menstrual cycles or ovulation. According to epigee.com, autoimmune disease attributes to more than 65 percent of POV cases, and others are born with it. Other causes of premature menopause are surgical removal of both ovaries, chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatments for cancer.
Treatments
Currently, there are no cures for premature menopause, but there are many treatments. Most treatments specifically address the problematic symptoms that occur with premature menopause. One treatment is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in which the patient receives replacement estrogen in low doses to eliminate symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. Other treatment options include the use of antidepressants to lessen psychological symptoms such as mood swings, depression and irritability.
Special consideration
In natural menopause, women run the risk of developing several conditions directly attributed to the decline of estrogen. These include osteoporosis (bone thinning disease), heart disease and high cholesterol. These risks are even higher in women who have gone through menopause before the age of 40. If you are going through, or expecting to go through, premenopause in your teens, discuss minimize these risks with your physician. Meanwhile, taking a daily calcium supplement and eating healthy meals may help reduce high cholesterol and osteoporosis.
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