Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops and she can't have children any more. This happens because as a woman ages, her ovaries stop making enough of the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
The average age for women to have their last period is about 50 yrs. But it's normal for menopause to occur at any time from age 41 to 59 yrs. A woman often goes through menopause at about the same age as her mother.
Women who have both ovaries removed will go through "surgical menopause" at the time of their surgery. If the uterus is taken out but the ovaries are left, a woman won't have periods but she will only go through menopause when her ovaries stop making oestrogen.
If you stop having periods early before 40 yrs, your doctor can do a blood test to see if you're going through menopause. Menopause is a gradual process that can take several years. You're not really through menopause until you haven't had a period for 12 months.
Everyone's symptoms and health needs are different. Some treatment options include:
Hormone replacement therapy involves taking oestrogen alone or with other hormone. Some women have found that HRT can relieve symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, vaginal dryness and some urinary problems. But HRT is not for everyone.
Menopause increases your risk of osteoporosis due to the loss of your bone - protecting oestrogen. Regular exercises and medications are recommended to prevent bone loss and maintain bone health. Eating a healthy balanced diet and getting regular exercise and yoga may help reduce your risk of the weight gain associated with menopause and may reduce your risk of developing other medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
The inside of bones becomes porous and loose bone mass due to loss of calcium after menopause. Overtime, this weakens the bones and makes them more fragile which easily breaks. Total bone mass reaches to maximum at age of 35, then gradually reduces at rate of 0.5-1 % per year. In menopause, this rate increases to 4-5% per year.
You may not know that you have osteoporosis until you have serious signs like fractured bones, Low back pain or hunched back. You may get shorter overtime due to loss of vertebral mass due to collapse of vertebral body due to osteoporosis. These problems tend to occur after long time and after lot of calcium has been already lost.