Menopause is something that every woman will go through at a certain point in her life, but how she gets there and what her experience of menopause is like is something that will vary greatly from person to person! Some women will naturally enter menopause at an earlier age than average, and some at a later age. For some women, their entrance into menopause won’t be natural at all, but will come as a result of some medical intervention.
Medically induced menopause is what happens when a surgery, medication, treatment, or other medical procedure permanently changes a woman’s hormones to cause her to enter menopause, often at an earlier age than she otherwise would have. This abrupt shift can be difficult for an individual to cope with on top of whatever condition caused them to need the medical treatment they have received, but with a good support system, some advance knowledge, and the right treatments like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy from Renewed Vitality, it’s possible to embrace this part of life! Here’s what you need to know about medically induced menopause.
What Causes Medically Induced Menopause?
Medically induced menopause can be caused either physically or chemically, but in both cases, it’s brought on by some medical treatment that stops the ovaries from producing estrogen and other sex hormones as they normally would. For example, if a woman were to get a partial hysterectomy where her uterus was removed but not her ovaries, she would likely deal with some hormone imbalances but not enter full medically induced menopause. A full hysterectomy that removes the ovaries would result in menopause because of the halt in hormone production.
There are also medications and treatments that can cause a woman to enter into menopause. Chemotherapy and radiation are some of the main ones. It’s also possible for hormone treatment, like the kind that’s sometimes used to treat specific types of breast cancer, to affect a woman’s ovaries and induce menopause. While these surgeries and treatments are difficult to deal with in their own right on top of how they affect fertility and hormonal health, their life-saving benefits outweigh their downsides, and there are ways to cope with medically induced menopause afterwards!
What are the Symptoms or Side Effects of Medically Induced Menopause?
While medically induced menopause is different from natural menopause in terms of its onset, they’re both relatively similar in their symptoms and how they affect someone’s daily life. Women who go through medically induced menopause can expect to experience hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, changes to weight and body, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, and other typical signs of menopause.
However, medically induced menopause does differ from natural menopause in that it comes on very abruptly. In most healthy women, their body slowly changes its hormone production over time as they age, allowing the symptoms of perimenopause to come on gradually. When a woman is experiencing medically induced menopause, she’ll begin to experience these side effects much more suddenly, which can be difficult to cope with both emotionally and physically.
How Can I Manage Medically Induced Menopause?
The most important thing to have in order to get through medically induced menopause is a good support system and a forgiving mindset that allows you to grieve and struggle while still accepting and adapting to this new phase of life. The second most important thing is the right treatment! Hormone replacement therapy can be a life-changing option for women who go through medically induced menopause, easing their symptoms, increasing their comfort, and making the entire process less difficult to get through.
Here at Renewed Vitality, helping women through all kinds of menopause with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is just what we do, and our team of skilled nurse practitioners is ready to come up with a personalized plan that suits your individual needs. If you’re interested in learning more, make sure to contact us today so that we can help you to start feeling like yourself again!
