What is Menopause?

Menopause naturally occurs between 40 and 60 years of age due to decreasing function of the ovaries. Perimenopause is a term that describes the menopause transition years. Menopause is defined as no menstrual periods for 12 months since the last period.

What is it like to have Menopause?

Common Symptoms Patients' Latest Severity My Current Severity  
Severity
Severe
Moderate
Mild
None
Hot flashes None Mild Moderate Severe
Irregular menstrual periods None Mild Moderate Severe
Mood swings None Mild Moderate Severe
Vaginal dryness None Mild Moderate Severe

What do patients take to treat Menopause and its symptoms?

Commonly prescribed and frequently used treatments

Treatment name Efficacy Overall rating of side effects # of Evaluations
Estrogen derivative
(Premarin Vaginal, Enjuvia, Estrogen Cream, Menest)
5
Paroxetine
(Zydus Paroxetine, Pexeva, Paxxet, Pondera)
1
Fluoxetine
(Moltoben, Flunil, Actan, Verotina)
1
Citalopram
(APO-Citalopram, Citabax, Mylan Citalopram, Alcytan)
1
1
Sertraline
(Eleva, Lustral, Tolrest, Daxid)
0
Clonidine
(Kapvay, Duraclon, Catapres TTS, Catapres)
0
Gabapentin
(Gralise, DOM-Gabapentin, PMS-Gabatentin, APO-Gabapentin)
0
Venlafaxine
(Odven SBK, Pracet, Zarelis, Venlor XR)
0

These charts show data from Menopause patients' latest treatment evaluations

Who has Menopause at PatientsLikeMe?

<20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+
Current Age
Age at first symptom
Age at first symptom # of patients Proportion
0-19 yrs 0
20-29 yrs 9
30-39 yrs 30
40-49 yrs 74
50-59 yrs 23
60-69 yrs 0
70+ yrs 0
Diagnosis status
Diagnosis status # of patients Proportion
Diagnosed 128
Not Officially Diagnosed 26

These charts show data from Menopause patients who have completed their condition history