As if we didn't have enough to worry about, early menopause is something a lot of women dread. The definition of menopause is basically not having a period at all for 12 months. Usually, menopause occurs around age 45. Early menopause is the total lack of a period for 12 months before that 45 year mark.
Early menopause can also be the result of other health problems, including cancer that causes the ovaries to stop working or general ovary failure. Early menopause can also be the term used for what is known as premature ovarian failure. This is when your ovaries either run out of eggs before the average age of 51, or when your ovaries get confused, in a sense, and stop ovulating even though there are eggs present.
There are tests you can take to help you determine if you are suffering from early menopause. These tests look at your hormone levels and help determine if you are in early menopause or not. I know there are a few different kinds of testing procedures out there, including blood and saliva tests.
Sadly, there are women who go through early menopause in their 30s or even their 20s. Along with figuring out the best treatment for you if you experience early menopause, you should make it a point to get help for your mental well-being as it can be traumatizing to go through this alone. If it turns out that you are suffering from early menopause as opposed to, say, premature ovarian failure, the consequence of that distinction are great. A woman with premature ovarian failure may still have functioning ovaries that, in rare cases, may result in pregnancy. Early menopause pretty much destroys that hope.
When a woman experiences early menopause, her treatment options are carefully examined. Because there are so many specifics involved with early menopause and its causes, treatments vary. I personally would be wary of hormone replacement therapy if I was going through early menopause just because I'd wonder what my body was going through anyway.