Sue:
How can a woman differentiate between early menopause and perimenopause?

Kathy:
That's an excellent question! It can get very confusing....so here's an attempt at making some sense of it.

Perimenopause:
To put it briefly, perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause, when your hormones fluctuate and you notice symptoms. And this often begins happening when a woman reaches her late 30s, as her body begins the transition to menopause, which occurs, on average, at about age 51.

Premature menopause,
on the other hand, is technically defined as menopause that occurs before the age of 40. You stop ovulating and your periods stop completely years before the "normal" age of menopause. When you're going through early menopause, you'll notice symptoms that are the same as those for women in perimenopause -- hot flashes, changes in your period, night sweats, mood swings and the like. But you'll notice these symptoms at a much younger age -- in your 20s, early 30s, even late teens. Your estrogen levels drop; your FSH levels rise in an effort to jumpstart your ovarian function -- but you stop ovulating and, ultimately, your periods stop altogether decades earlier than usual.

POF vs. Menopause
To make matters a little more confusing, though: One key thing that differentiates premature ovarian failure (aka premature menopause) from regular menopause is that women with POF often still get their periods even after they've been tested with high FSH levels. For example, I had FSH levels of 156 (tested three different times), estradiol levels of 12, yet was still getting my period on occasion, even though I'd had no period at all for over six straight months. Moreover, some women with POF can and do spontaneously ovulate -- and even get pregnant. It's not common, to be sure, but it does sometimes happen.

So premature menopause isn't the beginnings of the normal transition into menopause as perimenopause is, but a specific condition that affects hundreds of thousands of young women like me.

Sue:
Thank you Kathy for your insights and comments and now I'd like to move on to the excerpt from your book Dealing with the Emotional Realities of Premature Menopause

The Premaure Menopause Book
Excerpt from Chapter 4:
Why Me?:
Dealing with the Emotional Realities of Premature Menopause

FREE excerpt: Emotional Realities

Natural vs. Synthetic Hormones
In Stephanie Bender's best seller, The Power of Perimenopause, she covers all aspects of perimenopause and menopause. She spends a great deal of time talking about how to use hormones to balance out the ups and downs of perimenopause and menopause.  Ms. Bender talks about the differences between synthetic and natural hormone preparations, you'll be surprised to learn what she has to say.

Natural Progesterone Cream
Natural Woman, Natural Menopause
more Healthy Living Books
Holistic & Natural Medicine
Aromatherapy
Synthetic vs. Natural?
Natural Progesterone Cream

Interview with author
Linda Ojeda
more Healthy Living Books

Fit & Trim Support Group

book | video
more weight loss books
more Fitness Videos

more Personal Health Books
HotFlash Meno Support

Personal Massager with Heat

more Spa & Wellness