Menopause is the time that marks the end of your menstrual cycles. It's diagnosed after you've gone 12 months without a menstrual period. Menopause can happen in your 40s or 50s, but the average age is 51 in the United States. Menopause is a natural biological process.
There's no set age when menopause should start, but usually a woman will enter menopause in her mid-40s to mid-50s. Menopause that occurs before a woman is in her mid-40s is known as early or premature menopause. If a woman is 55 or older and still hasn't begun menopause, doctors would consider it late-onset menopause.
The first sign of the menopause is usually a change in the normal pattern of your periods. You may start having either unusually light or heavy periods. The frequency of your periods may also be affected. You may have one every two or three weeks, or you may not have one for months at a time.
When does menopause usually happen? Menopause happens when you have gone 12 months in a row without a period. The average age of menopause in the United States is 52. The range for women is usually between 45 and 58.
Towards the end of your cycle, PMS symptoms and common menstrual cycle side effects such as cramping, bloating, and insomnia should decline. As your cycle ends, estrogen starts rising again while your uterus rebuilds its lining, and the egg is maturing in its follicle in preparation for ovulation.
What are periods like during perimenopause? Your body is producing less of the hormones that help you ovulate, so your periods can become irregular. Your menstrual cycle could become longer or shorter than usual. Your bleeding could also be heavier or lighter than normal.
Postmenopausal bleeding is vaginal bleeding that occurs a year or more after your last menstrual period. It can be a symptom of vaginal dryness, polyps (noncancerous growths) or other changes in your reproductive system. In about 10% of women, bleeding after menopause is a sign of uterine cancer.
Bleeding can occur in women over 50 after they experience menopause as well. Studies show that this postmenopausal bleeding is usually caused by conditions like uterine fibroids or polyps. It can also be a sign of endometrial cancer, which affects 2 to 3% of women and is most common among postmenopausal women.
Some common, normal signs include irregular periods, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances, and mood swings—all results of unevenly changing levels of ovarian hormones (estrogen) in your body. Read more about how you'll know you're near menopause.
Can You Get Pregnant in Menopause? No, women in menopause cannot get pregnant. After menopause, you do not produce eggs, and you can't get pregnant in a natural way. However, you might still get pregnant with the help of fresh or frozen donor eggs, or your previously frozen eggs.
Conclusions: Age-adjusted mortality is reduced 2% with each increasing year of age at menopause. In particular, ischemic heart disease mortality is 2% lower. Although the risk of death from uterine or ovarian cancer is increased by 5%, the net effect of a later menopause is an increased lifespan.
The SELFCheck menopause test is ideal for those who suspect they may be experiencing menopause and would like confirmation in the comfort of their own home. This reliable test detects levels of follicle-stimulate hormone (FSH) in your body. FSH causes your ovaries to produce oestrogen.
However, it is still possible to have a period up to a year after your last one. After 12 months without a period, any bleeding at all is not normal. Up to 1 in 10 women experience bleeding or spotting after their menopause. In most cases the bleeding is not serious and a cause may not be found.
Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. It can sometimes happen earlier naturally. Or for reasons such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy), cancer treatments like chemotherapy, or a genetic reason.
From your early 40s and into your 50s, during perimenopause, you may find that your periods change and become erratic as your ovaries slow down and oestrogen levels start to fluctuate. It can be very common for your cycle to become highly unpredictable and periods to be heavier and longer.
You may also experience menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems and vaginal dryness. Treatments are available to help ease these symptoms. Once you've gone through 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, you've officially reached menopause, and the perimenopause period is over.
Bleeding from the vagina after menopause is unusual. Get it checked by a health care provider as soon as you can. Or see a doctor who's had extra training to find and treat diseases of the female reproductive organs, called a gynecologist.
Bleeding after menopause is not normal, so take it seriously. Go directly to your ob-gyn. Polyps also can cause vaginal bleeding. If your ob-gyn discovers these benign (noncancerous) growths in your uterus or on your cervix, you might need surgery to remove them.
There can be several causes of postmenopausal bleeding. The most common causes are: inflammation and thinning of the vaginal lining (atrophic vaginitis) or womb lining (endometrial atrophy) – caused by lower oestrogen levels. cervical or womb polyps – growths that are usually non-cancerous.
Declining oestrogen levels contribute to loss of bone mass in the spine and hips and the jawbone. This raises the risk of getting loose teeth or even losing teeth. Gum disease is another problem that can happen during menopause. Gums can deteriorate as a result of the loss of oestrogen.
The hormonal changes of menopause might make you more likely to gain weight around your abdomen than around your hips and thighs. But, hormonal changes alone don't necessarily cause menopause weight gain. Instead, the weight gain is usually related to aging, as well as lifestyle and genetic factors.
Causes of absent menstruation
Natural causes most likely to cause amenorrhea include pregnancy, breast-feeding, and menopause. Lifestyle factors may include excessive exercise and stress. Also, having too little body fat or too much body fat may also delay or stop menstruation. Hormonal imbalances may cause amenorrhea.
Getting Pregnant After 50
If you are trying to get pregnant after age 50, you will probably need some fertility help. While it's not impossible to become pregnant naturally at 50, it is very rare. Women are born with all of the eggs they will ever have.