Womens Health – What about Early Menopause?
Early menopause and/or premature menopause are terms that are often used interchangeably — and are often used as umbrella terms to cover many different situations and conditions — from premature ovarian failure to surgical menopause to menopause caused by chemotherapy or radiation. The link between them all is age: To put it as simply as possible, early or premature menopause is typically used to mean menopause that comes well before the average age of normal menopause — when you’re still in your 20s, 30s, or early 40s. More technically, as used by many doctors and medical journals: Early menopause refers to the total cessation of your periods for 12 months — before the age of 45. Some other causes of amennorhea (stopped periods) include: Excessive weight gain or weight loss, Use of certain drugs-such psychiatric drugs and narcotics, excessive exercise, Recent use of birth control pills-it’s not uncommon to stop getting periods for up to six months after discontinuing the pill, Ute
