FAQs

Early or premature menopause can happen on its own for no clear reason, or it can happen because of certain surgeries, medicines, or health conditions.

Reasons for early or premature menopause can include:

• Family history. Women with a family history of early or premature menopause are more likely to have early or premature menopause.
• Smoking. Women who smoke may reach menopause as much as two years before nonsmokers. They may also get more severe menopause symptoms.² Research suggests that women who have early or premature menopause and smoke die about two years earlier than nonsmoking women.³
• Chemotherapy or pelvic radiation treatments for cancer. These treatments can damage your ovaries and cause your periods to stop forever or just for a while. You also may have trouble getting pregnant or not be able to get pregnant again. Not all women who have chemotherapy or radiation will go through menopause. The younger a woman is at the time of chemotherapy or radiation, the less likely she is to go through menopause.
• Surgery to remove the ovaries. Surgical removal of both ovaries, called a bilateral oophorectomy may cause menopausal symptoms right away. Your periods will stop after this surgery, and your hormone levels will drop quickly. You may have strong menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes and less sexual desire.
• Surgery to remove the uterus. Some women who have a hysterectomy, which removes the uterus, can keep their ovaries. If this happens, you will no longer have periods, and you cannot get pregnant. But you will probably not go through menopause right away because your ovaries will continue to make hormones. Later, you might have natural menopause a year or two earlier than expected.
• Certain health conditions:

• Autoimmune diseases, such as thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Although rare, the body’s immune system, which normally fights off diseases, may mistakenly attack the ovaries and keep them from making hormones.
• HIV and AIDS. Women with HIV whose infection is not well controlled with medicine may experience early menopause.⁴Women with HIV may also have more severe hot flashes than women without HIV.⁵
• Missing chromosomes. Women born with missing chromosomes or problems with chromosomes can go through menopause early. For example, women with the condition called Turner’s syndrome are born without all or part of one X chromosome, so their ovaries do not form normally at birth and their menstrual cycles, including the time around menopause, may not be normal.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome.Women with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have extreme tiredness, weakness, muscle and joint pain, memory loss, headache, unrefreshing sleep, and other symptoms. Research has found that women with ME/CFS are more likely to have early or premature menopause.⁶

You know you have gone through menopause when you have not had your period for 12 months in a row. If you think you may be reaching menopause early, talk to your doctor or nurse.

• Your doctor or nurse will ask you about your symptoms, such as hot flashes, irregular periods, sleep problems, and vaginal dryness.
• Your doctor or nurse may give you a blood test to measure estrogen and related hormones, like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). You may choose to get tested if you want to know whether you can still get pregnant. Your doctor or nurse will test your hormone levels in the first few days of your menstrual cycle (when bleeding begins).

You know you have gone through menopause when you have not had your period for 12 months in a row. If you think you may be reaching menopause early, talk to your doctor or nurse.

• Your doctor or nurse will ask you about your symptoms, such as hot flashes, irregular periods, sleep problems, and vaginal dryness.
• Your doctor or nurse may give you a blood test to measure estrogen and related hormones, like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). You may choose to get tested if you want to know whether you can still get pregnant. Your doctor or nurse will test your hormone levels in the first few days of your menstrual cycle (when bleeding begins).

Changing hormone levels during menopause can cause symptoms such as:

• Hot flashes (or flushes). These are the most common menopause symptom. Hot flashes cause sudden feelings of heat and red blotches on the upper part of your body. You may also have heavy sweating during the hot flash and cold shivering after the flash.
• Vaginal dryness, which can make having sex uncomfortable
• Irregular periods. Your periods may be lighter or heavier, or they may come more often or less often.
• Problems sleeping
• Becoming forgetful or having trouble focusing
• Urinary problems. You may experience leaking urine when you sneeze, or you may find it hard to hold urine long enough to get to the bathroom.
• Mood changes. You might feel irritable or have crying spells.
• Depression and anxiety
• Changing feelings about sex
  
  

Some women with early or premature menopause may also have:

• Higher risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease and osteoporosis, since women will live longer without the health benefits of higher estrogen levels. Talk to your doctor or nurse about steps to lower your risk for these health problems.
• More severe menopause symptoms. Talk to your doctor or nurse about treatments to help with symptoms if they affect your daily life.
• Sadness or depression over the early loss of fertility or the change in their bodies. Talk to your doctor if you have symptoms of depression, including less energy or a lack of interest in things you once enjoyed that lasts longer than a few weeks. Your doctor or nurse can recommend specialists who can help you deal with your feelings. Your doctor or nurse can also discuss options, such as adoption or donor egg programs, if you want to have children.

You probably have PMS if you have symptoms that:¹²

• Happen in the five days before your period for at least three menstrual cycles in a row
• End within four days after your period starts
• Keep you from enjoying or doing some of your normal activities

Keep track of which PMS symptoms you have and how severe they are for a few months. Write down your symptoms each day on a calendar or with an app on your phone. Please bring this information with you if you book a consultation with us.

Clinical treatments are available but can have adverse effects for many women and often does not incorporate a holistic approach to treating the different symptoms you may experience.

Medical treatments administered by a specialist can include:

• Menopausal hormone therapy, sometimes called hormone replacement therapy, is prescription medicine to help relieve hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Menopausal hormone therapy is safe for some women, but it does have risks. The Food and Drug Administration advises women who want to try menopausal hormone therapy to use the lowest dose that works for the shortest time needed.
• Topical hormone therapy is a low-dose estrogen cream, vaginal ring, insert, or gel that is applied directly to the vagina. This type of hormone therapy can help with vaginal dryness but no other menopause symptoms.

At Yeo wellness, we believe that no two individuals experiences are the same, therefore the treatment approach should be just as unique.

Some of our unique wholistic treatments include:

• Inmode Forma V: Virginal RF relaxes and warms up the tension and muscles internally using a minimally invasive clinical machine for the areas that cannot be reached using external techniques.
• Uterine manipulation and Pelvic flow techniques: A utilisation of combined Korean Keong-lak technique and remedial manipulation to manually remove triggers
• Hi-frequency massage: A minimally invasive clinical treatments that warms up the body from deep inside to relax multiple internal organs (especially the uterine) to increase the blood flow into the abdomen area. It is vital to increase blood flow and warmth to the abdomen to improve overall health and decrease abdominal pain
• Chai-Yok: A traditional Korean vaginal steaming treatment that involve sitting on an open-seated stool with steam rising from a boiling pot or bowl which contains a variety of heated healing herbs or oils. The benefits include a reduction in inflammation, menstrual pain, improve blood circulation and a cleansing of the cervix, uterus and vaginal tissue areas.
• Korean herb medicine tea: Our in-house and unique blend of medicinal and therapeutic Korean herbs tea that has been developed using deep-rooted Korean medicinal treatments.

1. Shifren, J.L., Gass, M.L.S., for the NAMS Recommendations for Clinical Care of Midlife Women Working Group. (2014). The North American Menopause Society Recommendations for Clinical Care of Midlife Women . Menopause;21(10): 1038–1062.

1. Women.Smokefree.gov. (n.d.). 11 Harmful Effects of Smoking on Women’s Health.
2. Bellavia, A., Wolk, A., Orsini, N. (2016);23: Differences in age at death according to smoking and age at menopause. Menopause, 108–110.
3. Imai, K., Sutton, M.Y., Mdodo, R., del Rio, C. (2013). HIV and menopause: A systematic review of the effects of HIV infection on age at menopause and the effects of menopause on response to antiretroviral therapy . Obstetrics and Gynecology International, 2013:340309 (Epub 2013 Dec 19).
4. Looby, S.E., Shifren, J., Corless, I., Rope, A., Pedersen, M.C., Joffe, H., et al. (2014). Increased hot flash severity and related interference in perimenopausal human immunodeficiency virus-infected women. Menopause; 21: 403–409.
5. Boneva, R.S., Lin, J.M., Unger, E.R. (2015). Early menopause and other gynecologic risk indicators for chronic fatigue syndrome in women. Menopause; 22:#826–834.