The word ‘menopause’ literally means the ‘end of monthly cycles’ (the end of monthly periods or menstruation), from the Greek word pausis (‘pause’) and mēn (‘month’).
Officially, menopause is when your periods have stopped (for over a year) but the term often includes the years leading up to this point (perimenopause) and for several years after (post menopause).
Your periods stop because your ovaries have run out of eggs to release each month and this causes them to make a lot less of the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. When it happens depends on many factors such as genetics, underlying conditions, surgery or treatments you may have had — even the number of eggs you had at birth.
As well as periods changing and then stopping altogether, there are many other symptoms of menopause because these hormones play several roles throughout your body. The most common symptoms are hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes, tiredness and insomnia, poor mental focus and concentration, headaches, joint pains, low sex drive, vaginal dryness and urinary and bladder problems.
Menopause is a completely normal and natural part of a woman’s life. It’s a time when our hormones are changing, and our bodies are shifting towards the end of fertility. There are a lot of negative connotations about menopause and that narrative needs to be changed. Menopause is often associated with shame – perhaps because it conjures up thoughts of getting old & feeling washed out. For many women admitting their menopause can be very hard and we need to change that attitude as a society. Associating a woman’s worth with just fertility is an outdated view in the 21st century. The role of women has changed enormously and there is no reason why a post-menopausal woman can enjoy a healthy, happy life without being fatigued.
Another reason why we need to treat Menopause as a priority is because the average time spent post menopause is increasing causing them to live with unpleasant effects without hormones in a hormone deficiency state. The average woman lived up to the age of 59 in the 1900s. This has gone up to 83 now. The global average for women to touch menopause is 51 years. In India, the average age is 46 years. This means women live for 37 years in post menopause!
Menopause Explained:
It is important to first understand what goes in a woman’s body before the menopause begins. During our reproductive life, every month an egg is released from our ovaries which also rhythmically releases hormones namely estrogens, progestogens and androgens.
Meanwhile, our brains make hormones called follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinising hormone (LH), which are essential for communication between the brain and the ovaries. Hormones relay messages from the brain to the ovaries and back again to keep everything running like clockwork.
When we start to run out of eggs, our ovaries begin to produce fewer hormones, particularly estrogen, and the levels can fluctuate wildly. Our brains make more FSH to try to balance things out when oestrogen levels are low. The changing levels of hormones from the ovaries give many of us symptoms – some of which are well known (hot flushes) and some less so (joint pains). This stage of the menopause transition is known as the perimenopause.
The menopause occurs when your ovaries permanently stop producing eggs. Your oestrogen levels are now always low, and your FSH levels are permanently high. If you have a blood test to see if you’ve reached menopause, your doctor will check the FSH and, sometimes, estrogen levels.
What do the terms ‘surgical’ and ‘medical’ menopause mean?
Some women enter menopause for reasons other than natural changes in their hormones. The two most common types are surgical and medical menopause:
Surgical menopause – this occurs when a woman’s ovaries are removed. Hormone levels plummet, and she immediately experiences menopause.
Medical menopause – this occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop working due to chemotherapy, other medicines, or radiotherapy.