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The menopause happens when there are no more eggs in your ovaries. |
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Your eggs stimulate your ovaries to produce oestrogen, so there is drop in the levels of oestrogen in the blood when the eggs in your ovaries run out. |
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This fall in hormone levels disrupts your menstrual cycle and produces the other symptoms that are associated with menopause. |
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Causes |
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The menopause usually happens gradually. For a few years before menopause, your periods may become irregular, happening every two to three weeks to every few months. There may be a change in the amount of bleeding - slightly heavier periods are more common. |
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Women who smoke go through the menopause an average of two years early. |
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Menopause is likely to happen later in women who have taken the contraceptive pill or given birth. |
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Surgery that removes the ovaries causes an immediate menopause. |
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When menopause happens before the age of 40, it's considered a premature menopause (or early menopause). |
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Symptoms |
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Although some women have no symptoms other than the ending of their periods, eight in 10 experience menopause symptoms. These can include: |
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hot flushes - eight in 10 women experience flushes |
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night sweats |
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palpitations (a feeling of a thumping heartbeat in your chest) |
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mood changes such as irritability, depression or anxiety, although it's possible that these are due to life changes rather than the menopause itself |
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difficulty sleeping (insomnia), due to night sweats or mood changes |
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thinner, drier skin, hair and brittle nails |
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aches and pains in your joints |
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loss of interest in sex (libido) |
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weight gain |
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headaches |
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vaginal changes - dryness, pain during sexual intercourse and increased risk of vaginal infections |
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urinary changes - inability to control urination (incontinence) and increased risk of urinary infections |
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