Why do some women reach menopause at 45 and others over 50?
90442
The same reason that some men have heart attacks at 30 and some have strong hearts at 80. It can have a lot to do with your health over the years, your diet, and your genetics. Some women with pre-mutational fragile-x syndrome go through menopause as early as thirty. Sooner in very rare cases.
91994
Do you mean "Why does it occur" or do you mena "How does it occur".\n\nHow it occurs is essentially ovarians failure. The ovaries stop producing hormones and there is a cascade of biological effects as a result, eveythhing  from cessationn of menstruation through to a loss of bone density and mood changes.\n\n(BTW menopause has nothing whatoever to with running out of eggs as Dr_n_ur_friend implied. A woman at menopause stillhas hundreds of thousands of viable eggs available.)\n\nWhy it occurs is because pregnancy is quite risky, women are esential in the raising of their offspring in the early years and human babie mature very slowly. As a result humans evolved a system whereby women couldn't risk there lives through pregnancy if they weren't going to live long enough to ensure the children survived to adulthood.\n\nMenopause is simply a way of stopping a woman having a child  if she is likely to die before the child turns 12. Instead she is able to devote all here resoucres to rasing any previous children or assisting in the care of grandchildren.\n\nToday of women commonly live far more than 12 years after menopause, but in a 'natural' state that owuld have been rare, and our bodies are still evolutionarily stick in the neolithic no matter how advanced our technology may be.
384710
Oh, don't be embarassed!! It's a very normal thing to be concerned about.\n\nMenopause occurs as the ovaries stop producing estrogen, causing the reproductive system to gradually shut down. As the body adapts to the changing levels of natural hormones, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and palpitations, psychological symptoms such as increased depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings and lack of concentration, and atrophic symptoms such as vaginal dryness and urgency of urination appear. Together with these symptoms, the woman may also have increasingly scanty and erratic menstrual periods.\n\nTechnically, menopause refers to the cessation of menses; whereas the gradual process through which this occurs, which typically takes a year but may last as little as six months or more than five years, is known as climacteric. \n\nThe average onset of menopause is 50.5 years, but some women enter menopause at a younger age. Perimenopause refers to the time preceding menopause, during which the production of hormones such as estrogen and progesterone diminishes and becomes more irregular. During this period fertility diminishes. Menopause is arbitrarily defined as a minimum of twelve months without menstruation. Perimenopause can begin as early as age 35, although it usually begins much later. It can last for a few months or for several years. The duration of perimenopause cannot be predicted in advance.\n\nMedical treatments for menopausal symptoms have been developed. Most notably, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), has been used to reduce the weakening of bones (known as osteoporosis). However, some women have resisted the implication that menopause is a disorder, seeing it as a natural stage of life. There has also been scientific controversy over whether the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks. \n\nIt should be bearable, if not, see your doctor. I've found studies that show a relationship between your mother's menopause and yours. I was told that the age your mother started her menses determined the age you got yours, but that frequently isn't true.\n\nAll the best
926442
Try looking on webmd.com or another medical site. I think they can live into their 50s but most don't get very old.
29830
Yeah Im a 28 year old male who knows this will happen to my wife when shes late 30s or early 40s and shell have hot flashes and wont be fun to be around and ill need to take her to a doctor to get medicine and show her i love her and support her and try and make it nice.\n\nPhysically she won't have her menstual cycle when its done.
558268
I believe an Eastern European woman in her 60's recently delivered a child conceived with the help of a reproductive endocrinologist.  And another woman of about 67 years of age is pregnant.  But, most women lose fertility in their forties or early fifties.
512202
I'm not sure if there's any link with menopause itself, but dry eye is much more common in middle-aged and older people.
156626
Stress is probably the number one cause of irregular periods. However, assuming your age is 50, you very well could be in the early stages of menopause. Most women women start to experience symptoms as early as 40 years. If you have any doubts or are worried about menopause, talk with a doctor. As far as HRT's go, your doctor should be able to tell you if you need them. They may not even be right for you. In the meantime, relax, take a luxurious hot bath with lots of bubbles and slow down. Let your brain unwind. Talk to your doctor or gynocologist. They are there to help. Best of luck to you
860226
Ha, my mom thought she was going through menopause at 41, turns out she was just PG with me, ha...... Go to the doctor....
635506
It is medically possible... for a woman of 33 to go through MENOPAUSE...\n\nAs with all things that concern you... \n\nSEE YOUR DOCTOR.\n\nPlease, based on these symtons... SEE HIM/HER fast... Okay?
5832
Menopause is the medical term for the end of a woman's menstrual periods.  This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 60, but it can happen earlier. Menopause can also occur when the ovaries are surgically removed or stop functioning for any other reason.  About 75% of women report some troublesome symptoms during menopause, but the severity and frequency of symptoms varies from woman to woman. The most common symptoms are hot flashes and vaginal atrophy (this is, the tissue of the vagina becomes thinner, drier, and more delicate, and begins to shrink). As for question #4 not at all.  Depression may be more likely in the years right before menopause. However, it is unclear whether depression is linked to low levels of estrogen or to the many changes women face during their 40s and 50s (such as career or marriage pressures, or care of children or aging parents).\nMany women say that their sexual desire lessens during the time of menopause. In many cases, the cause is physical. For instance, because lower estrogen levels sometimes cause physical changes in a woman's sexual organs, having sex may become uncomfortable or painful so it is important to find out whether there is a physical cause for lack of desire. For some women, taking hormones called androgens can help restore sexual desire.\nSome women find that sexual desire changes because of how they feel about themselves during menopause. Counseling and support groups can help women learn strategies for coping with the physical and emotional changes that occur during menopause.\nIntercourse may be painful when there is not enough moisture in the vagina or when the tissue lining the vagina becomes fragile because of lower estrogen levels in the body. Several methods are available to relieve pain during intercourse. It may sound surprising, but frequent sexual activity is one of the most effective remedies for vaginal dryness. Other remedies include taking a warm bath before intercourse or using lubricants. Short-acting, water-based lubricants, such as K-Y Jelly, supply moisture and are used immediately before intercourse. These products are readily available in grocery stores and pharmacies, usually at a low cost. Long-acting vaginal moisturizers are also available, and can provide extended relief. Vaginal creams containing estrogen are very helpful in relieving the symptoms of menopause, including vaginal dryness.
123708
Menopause can happen anywhere between your 40's to the 60's.  Most likely you are going thru pre-menopause, which can start as early as 30.  That's the hot flashes and night sweats and all that.  If by chance you are experiencing those sypmtoms of pre menopause, and you are having a hard time handling it, try some herbal remedies.  I've heard black cohosh really helps with hot flashes.
380430
I'm 44 and I bet you're going thru perimenopause because I sure am. See my PMS page and then my perimenopause page. You are not alone!!
86834
Menopause, or premenopause, whichever stage you are in is very unpredictable.  There is a book I love called "What Your Doctor May not Tell You About Premenopause" by dr. John Lee.  That man changed my life and answered questions my regular ob/gyn glared at me for asking.
628934
mid to late 30's a woman usually starts her sexual peak.Not sure how long it lasts,I am 40 and still peaking.
241794
When you start menopause
1024815
Many women have irregular periods and other problems of "pre-menopause" for years. It's not easy to predict when menopause begins, although doctors agree it is complete when a woman has not had a period for a year. Eight out of every 100 women stop menstruating before age 40. At the other end of the spectrum, five out of every 100 continue to have periods until they are almost 60. The average age of menopause is 51.\n\nThere's no mathematical formula to figure out when the ovaries will begin to scale back either, but a woman can get a general idea based on her family history, body type, and lifestyle. Women who began menstruating early will not necessarily stop having periods early as well. It is true that a woman will likely enter menopause at about the same age as her mother. Menopause may occur later than average among smokers.\nThe most common symptom of menopause is a change in the menstrual cycle, but there are a variety of other symptoms as well, including:\n\n\nhot flashes \n\n\nnight sweats \n\n\ninsomnia \n\n\nmood swings/irritability \n\n\nmemory or concentration problems \n\n\nvaginal dryness \n\n\nheavy bleeding \n\n\nfatigue \n\n\ndepression \n\n\nhair changes \n\n\nheadaches \n\n\nheart palpitations \n\n\nsexual disinterest \n\n\nurinary changes \n\n\nweight gain\n\nDiagnosis\n\nThe clearest indication of menopause is the absence of a period for one year. It is also possible to diagnose menopause by testing hormone levels. One important test measures the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) that steadily as a woman ages.\n\nHowever, as a woman first enters menopause, her hormones often fluctuate wildly from day to day. For example, if a woman's estrogen levels are high and progesterone is low, she may have mood swings, irritability, and other symptoms similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). As hormone levels shift and estrogen level falls, hot flashes occur. Because of these fluctuations, a normal hormone level when the blood is tested may not necessarily mean the levels were normal the day before or will be the day after.\n\nIf it has been at least three months since a woman's last period, an FSH test might be more helpful in determining whether menopause has occurred. Most doctors believe that the FSH test alone can't be used as proof that a woman has entered early menopause. A better measure of menopause is a test that checks the levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones at mid-cycle, in addition to FSH.