Menopause at 35

If a woman goes into menopause prior to the age of 40, this is considered premature menopause. The cessation of menstrual periods at the age of 35 definitely qualifies as premature menopause.

POF and Premature Menopause

• The Mayo Clinic explains that premature ovarian failure and premature menopause are not the same thing. Women who are experiencing premature menopause stop having periods altogether. When a woman has premature ovarian failure, she may still have sporadic periods and may even become pregnant.

What Causes This?

• Women can go through menopause prematurely due to several factors including illness, genetics or induced menopause via surgery, according to Medicinenet.com. If you are undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, this can push you into premature menopause. Specific illnesses that may prompt an early arrival of menopause are Graves' disease, an autoimmune disorder including hypothyroidism (sluggish thyroid) and lupus. If your mother or sister went into menopause early, you are at risk.

Early Menopause and the Outcome

• According to Project-aware.org, a woman should be aware of what she is going to face if she is undergoing a hysterectomy or surgical menopause. The younger the woman, the more problems she may have as a result of this operation. The risks of acquiring osteoporosis (porous bones) increases during menopause and increases even more if surgical menopause occurs at an early age. Heart disease is also a concern.

Why POF Occurs

• Premature ovarian failure sometimes results in infertility. According to the Mayo Clinic, infertility treatments aren't likely to be successful. If your ovaries have failed and are no longer producing eggs or sufficient amounts of the hormone estrogen, this can lead to infertility and other problems, such as osteoporosis. The symptoms of premature ovarian failure (POF) are very similar to menopausal symptoms because both are the outcome of estrogen deficiency. Premature ovarian failure occurs when there are none, or very few, responsive follicles in the ovaries. This is called follicle depletion. If the follicles are there but aren't responding normally, this is called follicle dysfunction. Sometimes a woman produces antibodies that work against her own ovarian tissue. This can harm the egg-containing follicles. Scientists aren't sure why this happens, although it may be caused by a virus that the woman has been exposed to.

FSH, LH and Estradiol Levels

• According to the Cleveland Clinic, premature menopause can be determined by testing a woman's estradiol levels. Low levels indicate that the ovaries have started to fail. An even more crucial test in determining if premature menopause has occurred is the blood test that measures FSH, which is follicle stimulating hormone. If a woman has normal ovarian function, another vital hormone called luteinizing hormone, or LH, is released by the pituitary gland. LH prompts the mature follicle to open and release an egg. This is ovulation. Estrogen levels increase when the follicles mature, followed by the spike in LH. If this doesn't happen, ovulation doesn't occur. If estrogen production by the ovaries slows down, FSH levels increase. If your FSH level is above 30 or 40 mIU/mL this indicates that you are having premature menopause or premature ovarian insufficiency (POI).

What Are the Odds?

• If a woman wants children but hasn't yet had them, finding out that she is going into premature menopause, or has premature ovarian failure or premature ovarian insufficiency, can be devastating. The chance that you will develop ovarian failure increases as you age. About one in 250 women experience this by the age of 35 and one in 100 by the age of 40.