Many people simply assume that menopause begins in the late forties, early fifties. Some people might experience menopause in the earlier forties, but for the most part, society believes menopause is something for older women to go through. However, with the increase in medical technology, more women are experiencing early onset menopause than ever before. Here are the most common reasons why a woman will experience early onset menopause.
Autoimmune Disorders
An autoimmune disorder can cause early onset menopause. This, however, is not a category that is increasing in frequency for early onset menopause due to medical technology. In fact, medical technology is keeping more and more people who do experience autoimmune disorders from the devastating effects of these disorders, including early onset menopause. For many people, this is no longer an early menopause cause. But for those who do experience early menopause due to their autoimmune disorder it is because the body identifies the reproductive system for some reason as a disease or an enemy to the body. It then begins sending antibodies to the reproductive system and destroys it. When the ovaries stop producing eggs, menopause begins.
Cancer Treatments
Cancer treatments can cause a woman to experience early onset menopause. Cancer treatments include radiation and chemotherapy as well as other toxic drugs. While these drugs and treatments are necessary to treat cancer, they can, and do, wreak havoc on an individual’s body. Many women who go through cancer treatments find that it renders them infertile. Sadly, both radiation and chemotherapy can fry a woman’s reproductive system. In addition, other treatments, especially for breast cancer, halt the creation of estrogen. Menopause begins with a halt in estrogen creation, so it goes to follow that the cancer patient would also begin early onset menopause. While some people do regain their monthly period, most women do not regain fertility.
Reproductive System Surgery
The third common reason for early onset menopause is due to surgery on a woman’s reproductive system. While it is obvious that a complete hysterectomy will cause early onset menopause, even if you are able to keep your ovaries you could still begin to experience menopause. This is because even a minor injury to an ovary could cause it to stop working. This can easily happen during surgery, even when the ovaries remain intact. Another surgery where this is true is tubal ligation.
While other things can cause early onset menopause, these three reasons are the most common and prevalent reasons for early onset menopause.
