Premature Menopause Cures

Premature menopause is when a woman's periods have come to a complete stop before age 40. The term is sometimes used for premature ovarian failure, which is similar, but these conditions are not the same. Some women with POF still have occasional periods, though most cannot become pregnant without medical intervention. Both premature menopause and POF can be treated to ease symptoms, enhance fertility and ward off development of later health problems, but neither condition can truly be cured.

Understanding Causes

• Understanding the reason periods have stopped is key to treatment decisions. Sometimes premature menopause is spontaneous. In those cases, the process includes a phase of perimenopause-when periods are irregular and women can have hot flashes, mood swings, sweating, sleep disturbances and vaginal dryness. Problems with the pituitary and thyroid gland can also cause periods to stop. Radiation treatment in the pelvic area and chemotherapy can damage the ovaries, resulting in premature menopause, which can occur months after the treatment. When premature menopause is caused by removal of the ovaries, menopause is sudden. To determine the reason periods have stopped, your doctor will probably test your thyroid and pituitary gland function and check levels of estrogen, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone.

Fertility Options

• During perimenopause or before undergoing treatment or surgery that could induce menopause, you may wish to discuss fertility options with your physician. Many times physicians can harvest eggs for fertilization and later implantation. A woman's general health, age and ability to pay for fertility treatment are all factors. Fertility treatment is appropriate in many cases of POF.

Hormone Treatments

• Hormone treatments can deal with effects of estrogen loss. Estrogen can be given alone or in combination with progesterone to ease hot flashes, sleep disturbances, mood swings and vaginal atrophy, and help prevent osteoporosis (weakening of the bones). The use of estrogen alone is linked to an increased chance of breast and uterine cancer in women who undergo menopause at the traditional age, but no studies have been done to determine if the link exists for women who use the hormone after early menopause. If the culprit is the thyroid or pituitary gland, several different prescriptions can help maintain the needed hormonal balance.

Treatment of Depression

• Though menopause at the traditional age is a normal, natural transition of life, premature menopause can trigger emotional impacts far greater than "normal" menopause. Depression is not uncommon in women who experience premature menopause. It can be treated with prescriptions.

Downstream Problems

• Since a woman in premature menopause has many years of life left, menopause-related complications have longer to develop, so her health-care provider must monitor her more closely. If osteoporosis develops, several prescriptions can be used, including bisphosphonates, raloxifene, parathyroid hormone and calcitonin. A woman with premature menopause faces a higher risk of developing heart disease, so she should take steps to guard against diabetes, an ailment with a strong link to heart disease. Loss of estrogen is associated with increased risk of ovarian and colon cancer, gum disease and cataracts.