Perimenopause, menopause, and post menopause are natural stages in a woman’s life Just like puberty and regular menstrual cycles. The transition to menopause is intended by nature to be a natural and gradual process in which the ovaries gradually decrease their hormonal output with women having few, if any, symptoms.
Menopause Is the End of Menstruation
Menopause is the end of menstruation. The word comes from the Greek mens, meaning monthly, and pausis, meaning cessation. This is the date of the actual menopause — your very last period. Of course, at the time, you can’t know that it’s your very last period. So medical science defines menopause as 12 months without a menstrual period where there are no other causes, such as pregnancy or illness, for this change. This marks the end of natural fertility.
What Is the Average Age of Menopause?
According to the National Institute on Aging, most women experience the onset of natural menopause around the age of 45—55, with an average age of around 51 years. However, some women experience menopause at an earlier or later age for a variety of reasons.
What’s Happening to My Hormones?
During the transition to menopause, the ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone (the hormones that regulate menstruation), with dramatic fluctuations in hormone levels along the way. Most women start this process in their mid to late 30s. By that time, fewer potential eggs are ripening in the ovaries each month, and ovulation is less predictable. Also, the post-ovulation surge in progesterone — the hormone that prepares the body for pregnancy — becomes less dramatic.
Most women begin to notice changes in their bodies, minds, and emotions caused by fluctuating and imbalanced hormones in their 40s. Initially, menstrual cycle changes can be subtle with a wide variety of possibilities. Your periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent. Some few women have regular periods and no symptoms until their periods just stop. Most women, though, have a gradual tapering off, with many changes until they reach menopause. It is possible, though unlikely, to get pregnant during this time.
When your ovaries permanently decrease the production of estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones to very low levels and stop releasing eggs, your periods stop and you have reached menopause. You are no longer able to get pregnant naturally.
Confusing Terms: Menopause vs Perimenopause
Menopause is one point in time — the day you haven’t had a period for 12 months in a row. But people often say “in menopause” and “going through menopause” when they really mean “perimenopause” — the transition years to menopause.
Average Age of Menopause Onset
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Menopause occurs after 51 years of age or sometimes it can even occur before 40. During menopause, one has to suffer from moodiness, gets irritated fast etc. My mom suffers from menopause and we have to handle it very calmly because she gets irritated very fast in small things and we can’t help it, i can’t even get angry as its not her fault. She is going through medication.
Hi Joan,
Thanks for stopping by. You and your mother both have my sympathies during this difficult time. I know how it is. I was seldom emotional or angry until perimenopause hit me. Your mother is very lucky to have a daughter that understands that it’s her hormones that are causing her to act like that and not her “real” self. The good news is that it passes. The bad news is that it can take quite a few years. I had a look at your site and you have some useful suggestions there that might help your mother. (And you too — it’s not too early to start supporting your hormones and many of the symptoms of PMS in young women are caused by the beginning hormonal changes that lead to perimenopause.
All the best to you and your mom,
Catherine
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