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Oh hey everybody. This week on Ask Cristen I’m talking about two words that likely
strike fear into the heart of anyone with ovaries: premature menopause. [Screaming sound,
dramatic music].
This week’s Ask Cristen question is coming from Jamie who wants to know, ‘I was wondering
about early menopause. I have a friend who is going through it at 35 and my doctor has
put it on the “list of possibilities" for me when I’m only turning 30 later this year.
A general rundown of what it is (and is it the same thing as Premature Ovarian Failure?)
would be greatly appreciated.’ Early menopause simply means that your ovaries stop working
before menopause usually occurs around age 50. You asked whether premature menopause
is the same thing as premature ovarian failure or what the National Institutes of Health
now refers to as Premature Ovarian Insufficiency and the answer is not exactly. Premature menopause
means that your ovaries stop working entirely whereas with premature ovarian insufficiency
your ovaries still have a little bit of life in them it’s just sporadic so you might
get a period every now and then and there’s still a chance, not a huge chance but a chance
that you could get pregnant. Both these conditions are pretty rare. Around 5% of women between
40 and 45 years old will experience spontaneous early menopause whereas just 1% of women under
40 will experience premature ovarian insufficiency. Aside from things like chemotherapy and surgical
removal of your uterus or ovaries, the primary causes of premature menopause include genetics,
autoimmune diseases like thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis and then chromosomal
disorders like Turner’s Syndrome. And in terms of life style factors [inhaling sound],
cigarette smoking has been linked to it. Doctors suggest waiting until you’ve gone at least
3 months without a period and are also experiencing some of the wonderful symptoms of menopause
like hot flashes and night sweats and irregular sleep and vaginal dryness and suddenly feeling
a real kinship with the Golden Girls. Well actually I already feel a real kinship to
the Golden Girls so. And if all that’s the case, doctors will also check your estradiol
and follicle stimulating hormone levels as well as your thyroid function to see whether
it might be happening. Also if you had a late onset period, like if you got your first period
after age 15 or 16 there is a higher chance of developing premature menopause as well.
If this happens, the long-term side effects include greater chance of developing Hashimoto’s
thyroiditis, heart disease and osteoporosis, as well as infertility and possible depression
and anxiety mental health impacts of this physical condition. And the treatment for
it is pretty much the same as run of the mill menopause, focusing on estrogen therapy and
vitamin D supplements to strengthen your bones. But Jamie as for preventing premature or early
menopause, I don’t think there’s really anything we can do about that except quit
smoking. That’s just advice across the board. So if I were you I would go back to that doctor
and ask exactly why this was put on that list of possibilities. Now folks I want to know
whether this is something you have experienced or if you know someone who has experienced
or if it’s something that freaks you out at the thought of experiencing it. Let me
know all of your early menopause thoughts in the comments below. And thanks to everybody
who watched and commented on last week’s Ask Cristen video. Kim Davis responded, ‘I’m
a bigger woman with a not very curvy shape but I still show skin, walk with my head held
high, and smile and laugh just like traditionally beautiful people. People have even said I'm
cocky but all I'm just doing what any traditional beautiful person would do.’ D Hayes said,
‘It's so easy to forget that wherever we are we have had astronomically more successes
than failures. Sometimes just ignoring that yucky feeling (not even activly faking it,
but choosing not to acknowledge the negative) can help you squeeze through one more day
at a time until we get to the finish line. Or....so I hope.’ And as always dear friends
whether you have questions about your body, your brain, relationships, whatever it might
be, be sure to ask me your questions so I can give you some answers. And some uncertified
hmm, semi-medical advice.