Menopause Causes

Menopause is a normal and natural biological process. However, some conditions can bring menopause on before the natural timeline.

Natural Hormone Decline

Some women enter menopause earlier than others. If you are one of these women, on your late 30s, your ovaries will begin to make less of the hormones that control menstruation: estrogen and progesterone. Fewer eggs are maturing in your ovaries each month at this time, and ovulation is not as predictable. In your 40s, this progression will become even more pronounced. Menstruation may be longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent until no more eggs go through the maturation process and your periods stop. It’s possible to have a period every month up until your last period, but you’re more likely to have some irregularity. Learn if you are at risk for early or premature menopause.

Hysterectomy with Oophorectomy

A hysterectomy that surgically removes your uterus — but not your ovaries — won’t usually cause menopause. Although you will no longer have periods, your ovaries still release eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone. But menopause will occur if a hysterectomy is accompanied by an oophorectomy to remove both ovaries. There will be no transitional phase; your period will simply stop coming, and you may have some hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. About half of all U.S. hysterectomies also remove the ovaries.

Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy

These cancer therapies can damage a woman’s ovaries and induce menopause, causing symptoms during treatment or within three to six months. Some doctors may prescribe estrogen replacement therapy (also called hormone therapy) to reduce these effects. Chemotherapy or radiation-induced menopause may be temporary or permanent; unfortunately, there is no way to accurately gauge how these therapies will affect any one person’s menstrual cycle.