Learn what a typical Menopause prognosis is at Consumer Reports Health.

Menopause

What will happen to me?

Women experience menopause in different ways.

You might sail through this time in your life with few problems. Or you might have severe symptoms that affect the quality of your life.

Source:
Gambrell RD Jr.
The menopause: benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy.
Comprehensive Therapy. 1994; 20: 580-585.

You might feel liberated because you've stopped having periods. Or you might feel miserable because you know that you can no longer get pregnant and have children.

One large survey of women in Scotland (who were aged 45 to 54) found that although most of them had had at least one symptom of menopause, just under half said that their symptoms were a problem.

Source:
Porter M, Penney GC, Russell D, et al.
A population based survey of women's experience of the menopause.
British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1996; 103: 1025-1028.

Your experience of menopause might depend on what else is going on in your life.

Source:
Winterich JA, Umberson D.
How women experience menopause: the importance of social context.
Journal of Women and Aging. 1999; 11: 57-73.

³ You might find it more difficult to cope with menopause and the changes it brings if you're under stress for other reasons (for example, because of a crisis in your marriage or your children leaving home).

Your feelings about this time in your life will affect how you experience menopause. Some women see menopause as a positive step in moving on to the next stage of life. Other women feel anxious about the physical changes they are going through.

Source:
Walter CA.
The psychosocial meaning of menopause: women's experiences.
Journal of Women and Aging. 2000; 12: 117-131.

⁴

Whatever your experience, research has found that most women facing menopause want information and reassurance. They want to know what to expect and whether their experience is normal.

Source:
Cobb JO.
Reassuring the woman facing menopause: strategies and resources.
Patient Education and Counseling. 1998; 33: 281-288.

⁵

Will my symptoms go away?

When you reach menopause, your body no longer makes certain

hormones
Hormones are chemicals that are made in certain parts of the body. They travel through the bloodstream and have an effect on other parts of the body. For example, the female sex hormone estrogen is made in a woman's ovaries. Estrogen has many different effects on a woman's body. It makes the breasts grow at puberty and helps control periods. It is also needed to get pregnant.

hormones. You can't get pregnant or have children after menopause.

Keep in mind that you can still get pregnant in the time leading up to menopause even if your periods have stopped. It's only when you haven't had periods for a year that you have definitely reached menopause and can no longer get pregnant. Before that, if you don't want children, you will still need to use birth control.

But the good news is that your body should start to adapt to changes in the hormone levels that happen at this time. This means that some symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, will eventually disappear. This should happen regardless of whether you decide to have treatment for them.

Source:
Hagstad A, Janson PO.
The epidemiology of climacteric symptoms.
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 1986; 134 (supplement 1): S59-S65.

⁶ One study found that symptoms of menopause lasted about four years for the average woman.

Source:
Politi MC, Schleinitz MD, Col NF.
Revisiting the duration of vasomotor symptoms of menopause: a meta-analysis.
Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2008; 23(9): 1507-13.

⁷

Some things that happen to your body when you reach menopause are permanent.

Source:
Morris E, Rymer J.
Menopausal symptoms.
Clinical Evidence. 2006; 15: 1-3.

⁸ For example, after menopause you might still have a dry vagina, which can make sex uncomfortable. There are things you can do to help yourself if you have a dry vagina, or you might wish to consider medical treatment.

To find out more, see Self-help for common menopausal symptoms and What treatments work for menopause?.

Your health after menopause

In the years after menopause, you might be more likely to have certain health problems. Researchers think this might be because your body is no longer making

estrogen
Estrogen is the name given to three female sex hormones: oestradiol, oestrone and oestriol. Estrogen causes women's sexual development during puberty: it is needed to develop breasts, have periods and get pregnant. Estrogen is also thought to affect women's health in other ways. It may influence their mood, cholesterol levels and how their bones grow. Men have very low levels of estrogen in their bodies, but doctors aren't completely sure what it does. Estrogen is an important ingredient in most types of contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy.

estrogen.

Source:
Al-Azzawi F.
The menopause and its treatment in perspective.
Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2001; 77: 292-304.

⁹ To find out more about why estrogen is important, see Estrogen: its special role.

But your changing hormone levels are not the only thing that can affect your health after menopause. Other things are important, too, such as what you eat, how much exercise you do and whether you smoke. There is a lot you can do to help keep yourself healthy as you get older.

Two of the most serious health problems for women in the years after menopause are:

You can take care of your health as you grow older by:

Source:
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Heart Disease.
Healthy Heart Handbook for Women. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ (accessed on 20 March 2009).

¹⁰

Eating a balanced, healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and low amounts of fat
Not smoking
Drinking plenty of water
Drinking alcohol in moderation. This means no more than one drink a day for most women (a standard drink is usually considered to be 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor)
Maintaining a healthy weight
Visiting your doctor regularly for check-ups and for regular

mammogram
A mammogram is a special kind of X-ray picture of the breast.

mammograms, cholesterol checks and other screening tests
Staying active, both physically and mentally.

Sources for the information on this page:

Gambrell RD Jr.The menopause: benefits and risks of hormone replacement therapy.Comprehensive Therapy. 1994; 20: 580-585.

Porter M, Penney GC, Russell D, et al.A population based survey of women's experience of the menopause.British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 1996; 103: 1025-1028.

Winterich JA, Umberson D.How women experience menopause: the importance of social context.Journal of Women and Aging. 1999; 11: 57-73.

Walter CA.The psychosocial meaning of menopause: women's experiences.Journal of Women and Aging. 2000; 12: 117-131.

Cobb JO.Reassuring the woman facing menopause: strategies and resources.Patient Education and Counseling. 1998; 33: 281-288.

Hagstad A, Janson PO.The epidemiology of climacteric symptoms.Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 1986; 134 (supplement 1): S59-S65.

Politi MC, Schleinitz MD, Col NF. Revisiting the duration of vasomotor symptoms of menopause: a meta-analysis.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2008; 23(9): 1507-13.

Morris E, Rymer J.Menopausal symptoms.Clinical Evidence. 2006; 15: 1-3.

Al-Azzawi F.The menopause and its treatment in perspective.Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2001; 77: 292-304.

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.Heart Disease.Healthy Heart Handbook for Women. Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ (accessed on 20 March 2009).

This information was last updated on Apr 09, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2009. All rights reserved.

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