Articles on Menopause | Topics: menopause, menopausal
by Jean Vasquez
When a woman's ovaries are no longer producing eggs and hormones as they did when they were younger, this is menopause. The main organs that regulate when this will happen are the ovaries. They are situated in the pelvis with one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is approximately the size and shape of an almond. The job of the ovaries is to produce eggs (ova) and several types of hormones that regulate the female cycles that happen through out her life. During a woman's monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one of the ovaries. This where the production of estrogens and progesterone are made and what gives women their female look. These hormones control the development of the breast tissue, a woman's body shape, and body hair. These hormones also regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. Estrogen is the number one chemical in women that helps protect her against osteoporosis (thinning of bone) later in life when her ovaries do not produce adequate estrogen any longer.
Menopause is not something that happens overnight, but is a gradual process of transition that can last up to fourteen years or more for some. This transition period, perimenopause, is different for each and every woman on the planet. After a period of time and many months of an abnormal bleeding pattern, the woman's periods will completely stop She will now begin the actual process of menopause and be in the final stages that can last many years. The average period of onset of menopause or its symptoms is the early fifties. However, there is no way to predict when a woman will enter menopause. You cannot tell either from when a woman started getting her menses as an indicator of when menopause will come on. As rough rule of thumb women tend to undergo menopause at an age similar to that of their mothers, this is a genetic influence that is inherited.
| Historical Quote |
Democracy is the menopause of Western society, the Grand Climacteric of the body social. Fascism is its middle-aged lust.
| —Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929) |
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It is said throughout the medical community that a woman has entered menopause if she has not had a period for more than 12 months. She should also have no other medical reason for the absence of her periods medically and be in the right age bracket for early or normal menopausal onset. Once she meets the standard criteria, she would then go be seen by her doctor for further testing to help determine if menopause id the real reason for her symptoms. A series of hormone tests will be done through blood work. They are not the most reliable since a woman's hormone levels can fluctuate greatly each day and even through one day. Diagnosis menopause solely through hormone evaluation is not a reliable method. At this time there is no sure fire diagnostic blood test that can confirm or deny that a woman is going through the change. Even if levels are low one day, the same woman can have extremely high levels the very next day. The only way to no for sure that you might be headed into menopause is the lack of a period for at least twelve months and other signs and symptoms that normally occur at a specific age range.
Abnormal bleeding a common symptom to the onset of menopause but does not happen for all women and can also occur in varying degrees. Bleeding patterns can easily range from heavy, prolonged bleeding to scant short bouts of spotting. Many women also can experience longer or shorter cycle and cycles that are missed as well. Usually women will experience these bleeding irregularities through out perimenopause and menopause. Menstrual periods will most likely now become either shorter in length with fewer cycle days in between menses or longer in length with more cycle days between periods. Periods can also completely stop all together for long periods of time. It is absolutely impossible to state that there is a normal bleeding pattern observed in menopausal women. Bleeding patterns vary from woman to woman. The complete menopausal transition is also a varying thing from woman to woman with no absolute time, as all women are different. In fact many woman who believe they are in menopause because they have not gotten a period in a long time will get a menses out of the blue. Once the menstrual cycle starts to become obviously irregular, she will need to be evaluated by her doctor.
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