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Premature Menopause After UAE

Menopause happens to all women eventually and drastically affects reproductive ability. In some cases, menopause occurs prematurely due to medical conditions and procedures. An example is uterine artery embolization (UAE).

  1. What is UAE?

    • Uterine artery embolization is a medical procedure used in the treatment of uterine fibroids. The basic goal of UAE is to reduce arterial blood flow to fibroids in the uterus, causing the fibroids to shrink. The reduction of the size of the fibroids brings about pain relief, less frequent urination and less uterine bleeding if the procedure is successful.

    What Is Menopause?

    • Menopause is a biological change that usually occurs in women when they are middle-aged. Due to hormonal changes, the woman who undergoes menopause loses reproductive ability.

    UAE and Menopause

    • UAE works by blocking the arteries to the uterus. The problem with this is that it also blocks the blood supply to the ovaries. As a result, the level of follicle (egg) stimulating hormone (FSH) increases, causing depletion of ovarian reserves and decreasing ovarian function. The decrease in ovarian function triggers premature menopause.

    Statistics

    • Premature menopause in cases of UAE is common. According to the Alternatives to Hysterectomy website run by Dr. Michael Toaff, premature menopause occurs in as many as 15 percent of UAE procedures. This is especially true for women who are near 40 years old, since this group of women are entering midlife and subsequent menopausal risk. Women who are under 40 years of age still show signs of depleted ovarian reserves.

    Pregnancy

    • According to the Alternatives to Hysterectomy website, the statistical odds of having a successful pregnancy after UAE decrease, in part because blood supply to the uterus is diminished. This, when put beside the risk of premature menopause after the procedure, it means that women who undergo UAE are very unlikely to bear children, although cases of successful pregnancy after UAE have been reported.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of premature menopause from UAE and other medical procedures such as hysterectomy are similar to those of regular menopause. They include (but are not limited to) hot flashes, mood swings, insomnia and decreased sex drive. The primary difference is that those with premature menopause may experience these symptoms with more severity--it is thought that this is because hormones decrease gradually in natural menopause while they decrease rapidly in induced premature menopause.

    How to Cope

    • If you have undergone UAE and are experiencing premature menopause, speak with friends, family members or counselors; take medications or hormonal treatments to relieve menopause symptoms; and make sure to get plenty of rest and have a healthy diet. If premature menopause due to UAE has interrupted reproductive plans, consider adoption.

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