Women explain in detail the symptoms of premature menopause that occur before the age of 40

As part of treatment for stage 3 hormone positive breast cancer, Rosalina Felipe, then 28 years old, started taking medication for menopause. Initially, she gave little thought to it as she was focused on getting through her aggressive treatments and being cancer-free. After her treatment ended, her symptoms such as hot flashes, joint pain, and brain fog increased, and she felt anxious about what these changes meant for her.

“I was totally unprepared for going through menopause,” the 31-year-old Los Angeles resident told TODAY.com. “I wish I had been more educated about what happens when my body goes through menopause.”

Last year, her annual blood test revealed the highest cholesterol levels she had ever experienced. She read online that menopause can increase cholesterol. For clarity, Felipe asked her oncologist about the long-term effects of early menopause.

“I asked her about my heart health and what happens to it? My brain health. ,” she says. “I'm really worried about the long term.”

Felipe won't have to take menopausal medications forever, but it's unclear whether the symptoms she's experiencing will have a lasting impact on her health. Felipe is not alone, she said. Many women who are being treated for cancer or other illnesses reach menopause earlier than other women. They often feel isolated. While friends and family members are starting families and building careers, people with early menopause are dealing with symptoms such as night sweats, mood swings, loss of sex drive, and brain fog.

“I had to get through this menopause all on my own,” says Felipe. “All information I have seen or read is solely my own.”

Early and premature menopause

by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women's Health, the average age of menopause in the United States is 52 years. According to the bureau, early menopause occurs before the age of 45, and premature menopause occurs before the age of 40. Both early menopause and premature menopause occur for the same reasons, such as family history, smoking, chemotherapy, pelvic radiation, surgical removal of the ovaries, hysterectomy, or other health conditions. Although research on women's health has lagged behind, there is still enough evidence for experts to know that early onset of menopause can lead to health problems later in life.

“There are huge medical implications,” Dr. Lauren Streicher, a board-certified menopause specialist and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told TODAY.com. “In most cases, they are more than twice as likely to develop long-term medical problems as people who have the disease. menopause Especially when you look at heart disease, at predictable times. ”

For those who can receive hormone replacement therapy, “there is a consensus in the medical community” that they should receive hormone replacement therapy, Streicher said.

“This is not controversial,” she added. “We will put you on hormone therapy (if you have early menopause), but you will continue on hormone therapy because the risk of medical problems is very high.” People who experience early menopause are at increased risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. and often experience more severe symptoms. Symptoms of menopausesays the Department of Women's Health.

However, treating symptoms can be more difficult for people who cannot take hormone medications, such as those with hormone-positive breast or reproductive cancers. However, treatments do exist.

“There are ways to treat bone loss without hormones,” Streicher says. “There are non-hormonal ways to treat hot flashes.”

Perimenopausal patients People with menopause have a hard time finding doctors who understand how to treat their symptoms. This can be difficult for people who experience early menopause. Even oncologists and gynecologists may not be up to date on the latest research on menopause and its treatment.

“There was an article published this year that looked at what kind of menopause education most obstetricians and gynecologists receive during their training, and it's pathetic,” Streicher says. “There's almost nothing. So the idea that obstetricians and gynecologists would naturally know something about menopause is simply not true. Very few do.”

Felipe experienced this when she struggled to find a doctor who would treat her menopausal symptoms and was “really disappointed.”

“It’s hard to find providers,” she says. “I said[to the medical oncologist]'Do you have a menopause specialist?' And she looked up the hospital directory online, and she said, 'No, I don't think so.' said.”

Early menopause can also have a negative impact on mental health, with the Women's Health Bureau reporting that many people experience depression and mood changes as they grapple with body changes and loss of fertility. He warns. Asha Miller, who was diagnosed with stage 3 progesterone- and estrogen-positive breast cancer in her 30s, said her menopause brought about a profound emotional shift.

“I've been having bouts of depression and anxiety, and I feel like I can say I'm much better today than I've ever been,” the 40-year-old Columbus native told TODAY.com. “I didn't really understand what was happening to me, so I didn't even know if I had the words to articulate it to get the help I needed.”

Streicher said mood swings are common during perimenopause and menopause, but Early onset or early menopause Exacerbating emotional changes.

“They feel like they're some kind of weirdo,” Streicher said. “The truth is, they're isolated…When you're talking about premature menopause, you may be the only one among your friends who feels that way.”

“He is sweating profusely and fanning himself.”

In her early 30s, Lindsay Peters began experiencing period problems with pain, bloating, constipation, and lower back pain. About seven years later, she learned that she was. endometriosis, a condition in which tissue, such as the endometrium, grows outside the uterus. Her doctor at the time prescribed her injections. menopause to treat her endometriosis. Peters continued taking monthly injections for three months, but developed more symptoms.

“When you have endometriosis“I'm so desperate to try everything because I want to feel better,” Peters, 45, of Arlington, Virginia, told TODAY.com. “I was already having period pain, bloating, bleeding, and cramps. I was having it, and I also had hot flashes, and I had terrible mood swings.”

She returned to her doctor, who dismissed her.

“His response to me was, 'I'm going to give you some water medicine to help with your bloating, and I'm going to send you to see a psychiatrist,'” she recalls. “I felt hopeless, ignored, and unheard. And I felt almost silenced.”

She stopped taking her medication and eventually found a doctor who specialized in treating her. endometriosis The doctor who performed excision surgery to remove the lesion or scar tissue. She felt well for about four months, but when her symptoms returned, she tried another injection that could trigger menopause. She was 37 years old at the time.

“I could be sweating profusely at work, fanning myself, and then the next minute I was freezing,” Peters said. “You'd have migraines, vaginal dryness, mood swings.”

Again, she went off her medication. As her endometriosis symptoms progressed, she underwent a hysterectomy. Adenomyosis, a condition in which tissue such as the endometrium grows into the muscles of the uterus. Currently she only has her right ovary. Once again, the obvious signs of menopause have begun.

“I was experiencing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and discomfort during sex. I had trouble sleeping,” Peters says. “My mood was also pretty low.”

She tried hormone replacement therapy, which caused her to gain weight. Other medications used to treat her symptoms made her endometriosis symptoms worsen again.

“I’m going through menopause because of endometriosis,” she says. “This is a very complex disease.”

In Miller's case, she noticed unexpected symptoms after receiving her diagnosis. breast cancer He is undergoing chemotherapy containing doxorubicin, known as the red devil because of its bright red color.

“They don't tell you that chemotherapy will cause you to go through menopause,” Miller says. “That’s what I wish I had known before I was diagnosed.”

Suddenly, Miller began experiencing unexpected side effects.

“Even though it's the middle of winter, my sheets are soaking wet,” she says. “I have vaginal dryness. I have dry mouth. I can also lose sexual desire.”

Miller also experienced side effects from cancer treatment, including weight gain, hair loss, and radiation burns. After her treatment ended, her periods resumed, but then the bleeding wouldn't stop and she had a hysterectomy.

“Everything is in a state of sleep and you want to minimize estrogen production as much as possible, so even if you try to wake up a little bit…you can't completely reverse it,” she says. “The bleeding continued.”

Miller, like Felipe, belongs to a group called. The Blesseds, a support group for young people with breast or reproductive cancer, or those at risk, such as those who carry a BRCA mutation (also known as previvors). From them, Miller learned that cancer treatment can lead to permanent premature menopause.

“At least some of the Breasts I've talked to never get their periods back,” she says. “Basically, when hormones are administered during sleep, various side effects occur.”

Felipe describes his experience: Social media And she found that talking about cancer and menopause gave her strength.

“I have to start advocating for myself and find other resources and ways to figure out what I can do to get through this period of menopause,” she says. “At least when you get older, you'll be going through menopause for the second time, so it's better to get over it now.”

Although the friends Miller has made at Blessed's have helped her feel less alone about her early onset of menopause, it can still be difficult to deal with menopause at such a young age.

“Your body has just gone through a huge trauma,” she says. “Many of these symptoms occur naturally with menopause, but they're even more common when you're young. You think, 'My body shouldn't be going through this yet.' It's embarrassing to try to talk about these things. ”