Genes have an important effect on age at menopause, but lifestyle contributes, too
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comWhen will menopause start? Mother knows best
Seeded on Wed May 25, 2011 6:41 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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This is news? My grandmother knew this, my mother knew this, and I bet any adult woman with female relatives knows this.
Unless you are an adult woman ,like myself, who is adopted and has no family history. Then as always it sucks to be you.
This is just like so many of these "scientific studies" lately.....they don't know. Nobody knows. Admit it. There are just too many variables.
Why can't we all just admit it? Usually somewhere between 45 and 55. You'll know it when it happens.
You and me both Susanna. Unless the writers want to unseal my adoption records and find my birth mother so I can ask her. Otherwise, I guess we are both just going to have to wait and see. :)
Ditto Susanna and Litesingr. Life isn't just a gift, it's a daily surprise! :)
Unless you are an adult adopted woman, such as myself and have no family history, then it just sucks to be you.
I wonder if women who started menstruating at the average age also go through menopause at the average age. My mom died of cancer at 43. I believe she was still menstruating at the time, but I have no way of knowing when she would've entered menopause. Don't have any sisters and know that one aunt had a total hysterectomy fairly young, ovaries were removed, so don't know when she would've entered menopause. Don't know about the other aunt, since I'm not in contact with her. I started menstruating at 13, the average age at that time. I am 49 now, and still quite regular. I would imagine the average age of menopause, which is 51, will probably apply to me. I have two kids, born by c-section. I don't smoke. We'll see, I guess.
My mother was 38 when she started going through menopause. I got lucky and it didn't start til I was 41. Almost 10 years later I still find the going tough.
I never had symptoms at all. Periods just stopped at 61. My mother stopped at 50. Who knows?
Ok, I am the youngest of 4 sisters and my mother was one of the millions of American women who had complete, and unnecessary, hysterectomies, so we really didn't know what our genetic pattern was.
My mother - like so many other women - had a hysterectomy because she was 51 and still had her period regularly and the doctor saw that as a bad thing, in need of correcting. He told her "it's time to take it out". My mother did as she was told. It turns out natural menopause for my sisters and me was at age 55-56, so my mother lost her uterus for no reason. None of us needed a hysterectomy because "it's time".
The sad thing is, too many women after 50 are still being told their uteruses are disgusting, nothing buy "a big heavy wet sponge" that "needs" to be cut out.
You are absolutely right, nan m! If it's functioning normally, you aren't in any pain, and there's no disease there, it's best ot keep it! Just because a woman isn't going to have children anymore doesn't mean her uterus is useless!
Do not worry about it. Just eat good. Relax. Exercise.
Good advice!
This used to be a unspoken about topic among women. I never quite understood why. One thing I know for certain is that when my time comes, I will NOT use any hormone therapies! I don't care what the doctor says on that issue! Hell, if we can go through child birth, we can handle this too. Maybe not as gracefully as we might like, but it will end eventually, right?
I asked my mom and she replied,"Don't worry about it Timothy."