Medical Menopause

Women enter menopause when menstruation is absent for 12 consecutive months after their last regular menstrual period. In the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic, this normally occurs between the ages of 49 and 51. Normal menopause is preceded by several years where hormone production slowly decreases. This period is called perimenopause.

Medical menopause, also called medically induced menopause, surgical menopause or iatrogenic menopause, is sudden and intense because there is no perimenopause. Unlike natural menopause, medical menopause may be only temporary.

Types

• A bilateral oophorectomy, a surgical procedure removing both ovaries, and surgical removal of the uterus, called a hysterectomy, trigger menopause.

Sometimes Temporary

• If a medication has triggered medical menopause, normal menstruation often resumes once the medication leaves the blood stream.

  Chemotherapy may trigger temporary medical menopause. If the ovaries are damaged by chemotherapy or radiation therapy, normal menstruation might not return.

Symptoms

• According to Project Aware, an organization that provides information about menopause, any combination of the 35 symptoms may be triggered by the change in hormone production. Weight gain and fatigue are two common symptoms.

Childhood Treatments

• Medical menopause can be triggered by medical treatments administered during childhood. Girls who receive treatments for childhood cancer experience early menopause, as adults, at a rate 13 times higher than other women in the United States.

Considerations

• Before consenting to a procedure that might trigger a medical menopause, research your options and discuss them with your doctor. If the medically induced menopause cannot be avoided, discuss treating your menopausal symptoms before the procedure