Causes and treatment for menopause blues

You have perhaps heard that mood changes are a usual part of menopause. It is assessed that by 2030, 1.2 billion women will be menopausal. (Source: Research Gate) Keep reading to learn more.

Stages of menopause

• Perimenopause is the transitional time that starts before menopause and includes the 12 months that follow a person’s last menstrual cycle. As you enter perimenopause, you might find that you're more irritable, sad, angry, negative, or restless.
• Menopause starts either 12 months after the previous menstrual cycle or when menstruation has stopped for a reason like the removal of the ovaries. Depression can make coping with menopause very hard or unbearable. It impacts relationships, work performance, and quality of life.
• Postmenopause refers to the years after menopause. It can be hard to know when menopause got over and postmenopause started.

Causes

Menopause is a phase in life, not a disease. Most women experience natural menopause during midlife. Nevertheless, surgery and other factors can cause menopause to start early.

• Natural menopause

A female’s reproductive years last from puberty to menopause. Toward menopause, the levels of the estrogen and progesterone hormones in the body fall. This is because they are no longer necessary to support reproduction. These changes trigger menopause.

• Surgery and treatment

If you undergo surgery to remove your ovaries, you will experience menopause. If this happens before middle age, doctors may refer to it as early menopause. Some treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, can cause the ovaries to stop working either temporarily or permanently. The probability of this happening depends on your age and the type and location of the treatment.

• Premature menopause

Some experience menopause earlier than others for reasons other than medical interferences. Doctors consider menopause to be premature if it develops before the age of 40 and early if it starts between the ages of 40 and 45. (Source: National Public Radio) Early menopause naturally occurs in around 5% of females. (Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) Sometimes, menopause develops early if a person has a genetic condition that affects the chromosomes like Turner’s syndrome, autoimmune disease, and in rare cases, an infection like tuberculosis, malaria or mumps. If you experience changes in menstrual patterns before the age of 45, you should see a doctor.