How To Confirm Menopause

Menopause is the final period of the menstrual cycle in women and it is confirmed when after a certain age a woman misses her periods for a cycle of one year. Menopause also marks the end of fertility in women and the reduction in the functioning of the ovaries because of aging. It also means lower levels of estrogen and other hormones produced in the body of the women.

The stage of perimenopause:
The body of a woman starts giving signals of menopause years before the menopause age begins. This period is known as perimenopause and it can last for more than 6 years in many women and ends a year after the final menstrual cycle in women. The perimenopausal changes occur because of the irregular secretion of the hormone estrogen which is produced by the ovaries.

During this transition period, the levels of estrogen declines slowly and it happens erratically. Thus, you would find that the estrogen secretion is sometimes extremely high in the body which may not even be there when the woman was in her reproductive years. Sometimes it can be very low leading to various symptoms like vaginal atrophy, hot flashes, irregular periods and sleep disturbances. Though the chances of fertility are less, however, a woman can get pregnant during perimenopause because of the sudden increase in the hormone levels some times.

What should you do?
If you suspect that you are going through the phase of perimenopause, then it is the right time to go for a thorough health check up. This will help you confirm that you are coming to the age of menopause and if it is not, then it will help you diagnose if you are suffering from any disease that has symptoms similar to perimenopause. In most woman having symptoms of perimenopause, the test of hormone level in the blood is not recommended.

But if a woman is below 40 and showing symptoms of perimenopause, then the test of hormone levels is recommended to confirm whether the woman is going for menopause or it is a result of any other medical condition. Testing of hormone levels in the blood also is a good tool to determine the fertility of a woman and her chances of pregnancy. Thus, a woman can take medications accordingly. This test also helps to know whether the woman is suffering from pre menopause symptoms or it is a fake one created by a thyroid problem.

Another test that can confirm menopause is the test for FSH(follicle stimulating hormone) in the blood. If the level of the FSH is high in the blood and the woman is not menstruating then it is generally confirmed that the woman has reached her menopause. This is because when ovaries stop producing estrogen, then the pituitary gland releases more FSH in the blood for stimulating estrogen production.

However, a single FSH test is not enough to confirm menopause. A routine checkup and regular tests can only confirm the same.