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For most women the natural process of
menopause begins around age 40 when periods may become less regular.
Declining levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone
cause changes in your periods. These hormones keep the vagina
and uterus healthy and create menstrual cycles.
Some women enter menopause as a result of surgery. Removal of your uterus
(hysterectomy) and ovaries (oophorectomy) will initiate menopause at any
age. Depending on your age, removal of the uterus alone,
although stopping menstruation, does not cause menopause. This is because the
ovaries produce hormones, not the uterus.
However, women who have only the uterus removed may experience menopause sooner,
depending on ovarian function before the hysterectomy.
Women have debated which type of menopause has worse symptoms. This would be
impossible to evaluate because 85% – 90% of women undergoing surgical menopause
receive hormone therapy versus only about 50% of women with natural
menopause. And it’s important to note that the experience of
menopause is different for every woman.
There does appear to be a higher incidence of hot flashes with surgical menopause
than with natural menopause. However, in appropriate patients, moderate to severe
menopausal symptoms1 can be controlled with hormone therapy.
If you have had a hysterectomy and are considering hormone therapy, you only need
to consider estrogen therapy. Combination hormone therapy, which includes progestin,
may only be needed for women with an intact uterus. Learn more about
estrogen
therapy.
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