Menopause

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools
• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops. It usually occurs naturally, most often after age 45. Menopause happens because the woman's ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a period for one year. Changes and symptoms can start several years earlier. They include:

• A change in periods - shorter or longer, lighter or heavier, with more or less time in between
• Hot flashes and/or night sweats
• Trouble sleeping
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood swings
• Trouble focusing
• Less hair on head, more on face

Some symptoms require treatment. Talk to your doctor about how to best manage menopause. Make sure the doctor knows your medical history and your family medical history. This includes whether you are at risk for heart disease, osteoporosis, or breast cancer.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Start Here

• About Menopause (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Menopause (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Menopause 101: A Primer for the Perimenopausal (North American Menopause Society)
• What Is Menopause? (National Institute on Aging)

Symptoms

• What Are the Symptoms of Menopause? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Anti-Müllerian Hormone Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Estrogen Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Levels Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Hot Flashes (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Vaginal Atrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• 4 Things to Know about Menopausal Symptoms and Complementary Health Practices (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Bioidentical Hormones: Are They Safer? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Black Cohosh (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Hot Flashes: What Can I Do? (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish
• Menopausal Symptoms: In Depth (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Menopause (Food and Drug Administration)
• Menopause Treatment (Endocrine Society)
• Menopause: Medicines to Help You (Food and Drug Administration)
• Soy (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• What Are the Treatments for Other Symptoms of Menopause? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Fitness Tips for Menopause: Why Fitness Counts (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Preparing for Menopause: A Woman's Midlife Change (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Burning Mouth Syndrome (National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) Also in Spanish
• Menopause and Bone Loss (Endocrine Society)
• Menopause and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
• Menopause and High Blood Pressure: What's the Connection? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Menopause Weight Gain: Stop the Middle Age Spread (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Sexual Health and Menopause (North American Menopause Society)
• What You Should Know about Your Reproductive Time Span (North American Menopause Society) - PDF

Specifics

• Early or Premature Menopause (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
• Menopause and You: Postmenopause (Endocrine Society)
• Perimenopause (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Health Check Tools

• Menopause Map (Endocrine Society)

Videos and Tutorials

• Menopause (Endocrine Society)

Statistics and Research

• Menopausal Symptoms and Complementary Health Practices: What the Science Says (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hot Flashes (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Menopause (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Premenopause (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Vasomotor menopausal disorders as a possible result of dysfunction of the...
• Article: Sera from women with different metabolic and menopause states differentially regulate...
• Article: Dietary factors and onset of natural menopause: A systematic review and...
• Menopause -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health Also in Spanish
• Find an Endocrinologist (Endocrine Society)
• National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Cancer treatment -- early menopause (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Deciding about hormone therapy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Menopause (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Types of hormone therapy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish