At a certain age in the woman’s body, some changes occur that interfere with her physical, social and psychological state. The primary role in this process belongs to endocrine disorders, mainly a decrease in the production of the hormone estrogen is observed. What are these changes? At what age can they overtake a woman? This is what will be discussed in this article.
general information
Menopause is a normal condition that absolutely every woman has to face.
In the life of all the fair sex comes a rather difficult time associated with hormonal restructuring of the whole organism. This is a special physiological period during which, against the background of natural age-related changes, involutional processes directly in the reproductive system itself prevail. They, as a rule, are characterized first by the cessation of childbearing function, and then menstrual. Such a physiological period in medicine is called "climax". What to do?
Main reasons
According to experts, the reason for the development of this condition lies in the change in the hormonal background, or rather, there is a decrease in the production of sex hormones. If we are talking about a prematurely developed menopause, then here doctors distinguish a number of provoking factors:
- life situations that led to severe stress;
- removal of the ovaries and uterus;
- various kinds of thyroid disease;
- the production of insufficient amounts of hormones by the ovaries;
- genital infections that were diagnosed during puberty.
What time does menopause in women begin? Unfortunately, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question, since this period for each lady, depending on the genetic predisposition, occurs at different ages.
What are the stages of menopause?
Experts conditionally subdivide it into three stages. If every woman will have a rough idea about this period, from a psychological point of view it will be much easier for her to transfer this time. The thing is that she will understand what is happening to her right now. This is a very important aspect, which we will consider in more detail below.
- Premenopause. What time does menopause begin? This stage occurs in women at about 40-45 years old. Some doctors consider premenopause the onset of menopause. It is characterized by a sharp decrease in the production of the hormone estrogen, which manifests itself in the form of an irregular menstrual cycle and a change in the nature of the discharge. As a rule, women do not complain of any physical or psychological discomfort.
- Menopause. In the specialized literature, you can find another name for this stage - "natural menopause in women." Symptoms, ladies age may vary somewhat. This period is characterized by an almost final stop of estrogen production, which is accompanied by a complete cessation of menstruation.
- Postmenopause. This stage occurs approximately a year after menstruation has completely stopped. Its duration, according to experts, depends solely on how quickly the body and the endocrine system can adapt to their new state. Postmenopause is insidious in that it can significantly worsen a lady’s health and provoke the development of many diseases (osteoporosis, thyroid pathologies, etc.).
When does the menopause begin?
How does the menopause begin? First of all, it should be noted that this condition occurs earlier in some women, and later in others, but in most cases at the age of about 45 years. Some ladies believe that the onset of menopause and its average duration are directly related to the intensity of sexual activity and the number of births. They explain this by the fact that childbirth literally "exhausts" the ovaries. That is why in large mothers, menopause occurs much earlier and is accompanied by great suffering. However, this statement is incorrect. A large number of children and a pronounced ability to conceive reflect only good ovarian function and excellent health. 
Experts (based on data obtained in the course of numerous experiments) are sure that alcohol abuse and smoking, as well as promiscuous sexual intercourse most often make themselves felt with menopause in women. The age of women who have entered this physiological period most often does not exceed 45 years.
In medicine, there are also concepts of early and late menopause. In the first case, we can expect the termination of the menstrual cycle before the age of 40 years. As a rule, close relatives of such women also had an early menopause. Moreover, women from such families have a late onset of menstruation (18-20 years).
As for the late menopause (after 50 years), then there is no reason to be afraid of it. If a woman has no health problems, then experts recommend just visiting a gynecologist regularly and monitor her condition.
How does the menopause begin?
Doctors distinguish a number of symptoms that directly accompany this condition. It is important to note that some women show all clinical signs, while others only a certain part. How hard it is to endure this condition depends directly on the level of estrogen and the rate of its decline. If previously the hormone levels were not very high, and they decreased gradually, most likely the woman will not feel any discomfort. Otherwise, with a high level of hormones, menopause will not be easy to survive. What is the difference in menopause? Symptoms
- Hot flushes - a feeling of heat and redness of the skin in the head and neck, which are simultaneously accompanied by sweating. This condition can last about five minutes.
- Headache.
- Insomnia. In fact, this is a very characteristic sign for menopause. Loss of sleep, in turn, provokes nervousness, exhaustion, not only on the physical, but also on the mental level.
- A depressive state also appears with menopause in women. Age in this case plays far from the last role. The younger the lady, the more pronounced this symptom. Tears for no reason, bad mood, a feeling of complete hopelessness - these are all clear signs of depression.
- Change in habitual metabolism. Some ladies suffer from metabolic disorders of carbohydrates, which entails changes in blood sugar and even its appearance in the urine.
- Circulatory problems. These are hot flushes, numbness in the limbs, a feeling of constant pressure in the chest.
- Irregular periods.
- Decreased sexual desire, dryness in the vagina, fullness. The chest loses its usual elasticity. Body weight increases, as the action of the thyroid gland weakens.
Above, we have listed only some of the symptoms that most fully characterize how the menopause begins. In fact, they may vary slightly depending on the individual characteristics of the female body.
What complications can you face?
According to experts, about 55% of women (45-50 years) in the period of menopause in the absence of qualified treatment experience heart disease. At a later age (55-70 years), there is often a violation of the function of the urinary tract (starting from urinary incontinence and ending with inflammatory processes of a chronic nature).
Many women have osteoporosis, which entails fractures of large bones. According to available data, by the age of 70, about 40% of women suffered such injuries.
The main problem is that a woman has to seek help from completely different specialists (gynecologist, surgeon, general practitioner, etc.). One has only to imagine that from each doctor she receives 2-3 prescribed medications. As a result, only individual symptoms are treated, not the primary problem called menopause. What to do in this case? Is it possible to mitigate the discomfort?
What should be the treatment?
First of all, doctors strongly recommend abandoning bad habits, add more sport to your life and try to relax more often. It is better to abandon the obsession with losing weight. The thing is that in many women, as the menopause begins, overweight appears. Subcutaneous fat is known to play a paramount role in hormonal metabolism.
In addition, yoga, sauna and massage are the main non-drug methods of dealing with discomfort. They are recommended to relieve pain and stress.
How else can you overcome menopause?
Reviews of doctors on the treatment of this physiological condition are very diverse. So, some are convinced that this period should simply be experienced.
Others believe that medication is in fact not enough. Most often, women are prescribed hormonal drugs. However, they are categorically contraindicated for varicose veins, tumors, diabetes, high blood pressure. All these restrictions make many women refuse to take medication.
For the gentle elimination of menopause symptoms, non-hormonal drugs based on plant components are used, for example, ESTROVEL® capsules, a complex of phytoestrogens, vitamins and trace elements, the components of which act on the main manifestations of menopause. It contains vitamin K1 and boron, helping to reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
With extreme caution, antihypertensive and sedative drugs should be taken, since during menopause, very often transient hypertension occurs.
With menstrual disorders, gestagens are prescribed. 
Should I be afraid of menopause?
Actually, you should not treat this state as towards the end of your life. Thanks to the achievements of modern medicine, today it is possible to minimize the discomfort and primary symptoms that arise during this period. Moreover, for many ladies, about 20 years elapse between the birth of the last child and the beginning of this "new" time. This means that virtually no significant changes in life, for example, in social terms, do not accompany menopause in women. Symptoms, age, lack of psychological support - many women face this. However, it is important to properly configure yourself - and then all the discomfort will pass unnoticed.