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or whether she took oral contraceptives for birth control. What does influence the time of menopause? Genetics are a key factor. Ask your mother and And, cigarette smoking can cause you to reach menopause two years earlier than nonsmokers. About six years prior to natural menopause is when menopause-related changes begin (perimenopause). Fluctuations in the levels of hormones vitexchastetree produced by the aging ovaries lead to normal, physical changes such as: Irregular menstrual patterns. One of the most common and annoying symptoms you may notice during your 40s is that your periods become irregular. They may be heavier one month and then very vitexchastetree light the next. They may get shorter or last longer. You may even begin to skip your period every few months or lose track of when your periods should start and end. These symptoms are caused by irregular estrogen and progesterone levels. For example, if you donąt ovulate one month ‹ which is common for women in their late 40s ‹ progesterone isnąt produced to stimulate menstruation and estrogen levels continue to rise. This can cause spotting throughout your cycle or heavy bleeding when menstruation vitexchastetree does start. This constant dance of hormones orchestrates our fertility, a dance that changes throughout the month and throughout our lives. Of the millions of follicles (eggs) in the ovaries, eight to vitexchastetree ten mature each month. But, in most cases, only one reaches the point that it ruptures and releases an egg (ovulation). The unused follicles die. After ovulation, the ruptured follicle reconnects and continues to grow, becoming the corpus luteum. In preparation for fertilization, it produces estrogen and progesterone to create an extra lining in the uterus. But after about 12 days, if no fertilization occurs, the corpus luteum dies, and estrogen and progesterone levels plunge. This causes the lining to be expelled. Menstruation begins. Hormonally, a woman''s period marks the end of the menstrual cycle. A new cycle begins when the hypothalamus, in response to the dramatic drop in estrogen and progesterone levels at the end of the last cycle, sends GnRh (another hormone) to the pituitary, which then releases a new batch of follicle stimulating hormones (FSH) to the ovaries. This stimulates the maturation of a small group of follicles. If you skip a period, your body may not be making enough vitexchastetree progesterone to break down the uterine lining. However, your estrogen levels may remain high even though you are not menstruating. At menopause, hormone levels don''t always decline uniformly. Production of estrogen and progesterone is erratic and unpredictable.Most women can tell if they are approaching menopause because their menstrual periods start changing. Perimenopause is a term used to describe this time. Perimenopause is what some describe as "being in menopause," but menopause itself is only one day in a woman''s life after she had not had a menstrual period for 12 consecutive months, and no other biological or physiological cause can be identified. Until 12 consecutive months have passed without a period, a woman may still be able to get pregnant. Although the majority of women experience natural menopause, some women may experience induced menopause due to one of a number of medical interventions. Surgically removing both ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy) before natural menopause causes surgical menopause. Induced menopause can also occur if the ovaries are damaged by radiation, chemotherapy, or certain other drugs.
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