What causes the menopause and why does it happen?
It is thought that every baby girl is born with all the eggs in her ovaries that she will ever produce in her lifetime.
There is a steady reduction of these eggs over time as some never mature and others are released each month as your period.
By the time most women have reached their late 40's the supply of eggs remaining in the ovaries has fallen to low numbers.
The pituitary gland(which is marble sized and sits at the base of the brain), produces a substance called follicle stimulating hormone (F.S.H.), which is the main hormone involved in producing mature eggs.
However the eggs that now remain are unable to respond as well to F.S.H. as they did when they were younger.
As a result the ovaries will start failing to release eggs and there will be a greatly reduced production of the sex hormones, oestrogen and progesterone.
However, the hormone F.S.H. which is always present in the body, will increase dramatically as the pituitary gland makes more F.S.H. in an attempt to encourage the ovaries to respond and cause the remaining eggs to mature.
At this time your periods will probably become irregular and unpredictable until they stop altogether.
Menopause is "diagnosed" by increased levels of F.S.H. although it is not always reliable, as levels fluctuate.
