Menopause

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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

• Menopause (National Institute on Aging)
• Menopause (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)

Symptoms

• What Are the Symptoms of Menopause? (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
• FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Hot Flashes (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Signs of the Menopausal Transition (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish
• Vaginal Atrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Alternative Menopause Treatments (Hormone Health Network)
• Bioidentical Hormones and Menopause (Hormone Health Network)
• Black Cohosh (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Menopausal Symptoms and Complementary Health Practices (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Menopause (Food and Drug Administration)
• Menopause: Medicines to Help You (Food and Drug Administration)
• Soy (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Time to Talk: 4 Things to Know about Menopausal Symptoms and Complementary Health Practices (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• What Are the Treatments for Other Symptoms of Menopause? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• What Can You Do for Hot Flashes and Other Menopausal Symptoms (National Institute on Aging) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Healthy Lifestyle: Women's Health (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)
• Diabetes and Menopause: A Twin Challenge (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Menopause and Bone Loss (Hormone Health Network) - PDF Also in Spanish
• 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
• Perimenopausal Bleeding and Bleeding After Menopause (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) 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
• Perimenopause (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Postmenopause (Hormone Health Network)

Health Check Tools

• Menopause Map (Hormone Health Network)

Videos and Tutorials

• Menopause (Hormone Health Network)

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: Use of postmenopausal hormone therapy and risk of Alzheimer's disease in...
• Article: Acupuncture for perimenopausal depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.
• Article: Effects of aging and menopause on pancreatic fat fraction in healthy...
• Menopause -- see more articles
• Premature menopause -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Find an Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)
• Hormone Health Network
• National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish
• womenshealth.gov (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) 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
• What is Menopause? (National Institute on Aging)