1-Why shouldn't we be afraid of menopause and pay attention to early menopause?
Menopause occurs at the average age of 50 (44-56) and 99% of all women experience these natural processes emotionally and socially. It is a process for which we, as physicians, are well prepared in terms of the medical, social and psychological support that can be provided physically and during menopause and after menopause. However, early menopause often catches people unprepared. Women and even young women come across them as they mature in their lives, complete their education, and try to resolve some of their daily concerns. It can often take away the chance of having a child that you dream of suddenly. They delay the age of marriage and childbearing by avoiding them first and searching for a spouse who has social, economic and cultural development parallel to their own development.
It is precisely in this search for perfection that early menopause, which can be seen in 1% of women, mostly affects this group of women. Therefore, suspicion, diagnosis and early counseling of this group of patients are vital.
2-Who do we define with early menopause and what is its frequency?
The classic definition of early menopause is cessation of menstruation under the age of 35. However, this does not have much of an effect other than detecting menopause complaints and the possible effects of menopause early. The main thing is to enter menopause under the age of 40, that is, before the productive age is completed. The rate of menopause under the age of 40 is seen in 1% of all women and while the woman is looking for a suitable partner while making career plans. They may suddenly lose their ability to reproduce in their own world (except for getting pregnant with someone else's egg, which is not legal in our country today).
3-Who is particularly at risk?
The most important risk factors are;
a-Those who have early menopause in their family (especially mother, sister),
b-Ovarian reserves should be investigated in women with frequent and irregular menstruation. is.
Additionally;
-Those who will undergo or have received chemotherapy and radiotherapy
-Smokers (it does not cause early menopause, but these women enter menopause 1-1.5 years early on average).
4- What should patients who are at high risk for early menopause and women who are afraid of possible early menopause do?
The best thing to do is to consult a gynecologist and get support on this issue. In fact, many successful studies have been conducted trying to determine the average age of menopause in women using maternal age and AMH, and the ages at which possible menopause is expected have begun to be estimated.
5-Can you give some more information about AMH?
A hormone test. and a new test that is done all over the country, just like other hormones, blood is taken from your arm and the results can be obtained in a very short time. With this test, we can obtain very accurate information about women's ovarian reserves and provide information about their capacity to have children and the proximity of menopause. Since it is a new test, as studies progress over time, our opinions and the sensitivity of the test may change, albeit small.
6-Is there a similarity between the symptoms of classical menopause and the feared symptoms of depletion of ovarian reserve and limitation of the capacity to have children?
Classical menopause; Symptoms such as amenorrhea, hot flushes, insomnia, irritability and similar symptoms do not usually occur due to early depletion of ovarian reserves. The only possible warning sign is irregular menstruation or even a menstrual cycle that may be more than 22 days. These reasons are mostly detected by tests performed in everyone who has a menstrual period and in patients who consult a physician for seemingly innocent menstrual irregularities.
7-What kind of reactions do you encounter in patients whose early menopause or imminent menopause is detected?
In fact, all reactions are related to having or not having children. While women who have children are just wondering how to manage this situation, women who have never had children face deep anxiety and concern. It is often necessary to provide not only medical but also psychological support to this group of women. In addition, cultural factors are also very related to being affected by this situation. Although the destruction is very evident in small cities and rural areas due to possible cultural and economic factors, the number of people affected is less because they marry and have children at an early age. However, women who are worried about life in metropolises, who make career plans and who reach older ages to get married and have children while doing these, may be affected in higher numbers since they do not have children yet.
8-What is your advice to all women during the menopause week to deal with this situation? To get out?
First of all, they should not skip their annual gynecological check-ups, and if they have not had children yet and they care about this very much, they should definitely get counseling about their reproductive capacity. Especially those with a family history of early menopause and irregular menstruation should have the AMH test done at regular intervals so that they can be informed about their ovarian reserves when planning their lives. Married women with limited reserves should not postpone having children or consider methods such as embryo freezing. Those who are single and legally eligible should receive counseling about the egg freezing alternative.
Those who have entered early menopause should definitely seek medical, spiritual and social support for menopause. They should not neglect it and should not neglect close medical support to reduce or eliminate possible osteoporosis and similar devastating effects of menopause.
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