Every day women tell me they were blindsided when they started having perimenopause symptoms in their mid-40’s since they assumed that menopause was years, or even a decade away. And they are pretty much shocked when I tell them that mid-forties is the normal time for estrogen levels to waver, or tank all together. But imagine if you enter menopause when you are in your 20’s or 30’s? This situation is more common than most people appreciate occuring in up to 3% of women.
In this episode I am joined by Dr. Hannah Short, a graduate of the University of Cambridge and a specialist in premature menopause recognized by the British Menopause Society. She is the author of The Complete Guide to POI and Early Menopause.
We discuss:

The difference between EARLY MENOPAUSE, PREMATURE MENOPAUSE and PREMATURE OVARIAN INSUFFICIENCY, otherwise known as POI
WHY Premature Menopause occurs
Why POI occurs
The impact of ENVIRONMENTAL factors
Why SMOKING increases the risk of premature menopause
Why it is so important to DIAGNOSE and TREAT women who enter menopause early
If HORMONE THERAPY is prescribed in different doses or in a different amount than for women who go through menopause at a typical time
HOW LONG women should take hormone therapy
NON-HORMONAL options for women who cannot take hormone therapy

Dr. Hannah Short
Website: https://drhannahshort.co.uk/
Twitter: @drhannahshort
The Complete Guide to POI and Early Menopause GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60382898-the-complete-guide-to-poi-and-early-menopause?
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-POI-Early-Menopause/dp/1399801244/
The Daisy Network (a charity for women with POI) https://www.daisynetwork.org

For more information on this topic:
Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist’s guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain
Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat

Episode 1: Is It Menopause or Some Other Pause?
Episode 2:Think Your Hot Flashes Can't Kill You? Think Again!
Episode 23: Welcome to Peri-menopause
Episode 29: Has Your Hysterectomy Hijacked Your Sex Life?

Lauren Streicher, MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and the founding medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause. She is a certified menopause practitioner of the North American Menopause Society.

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Dr. Streicher is the medical correspondent for Chicago’s top-rated news program, the WGN Morning News, and has been seen on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, NPR, Dr. Radio, Nightline, Fox and Friends, The Steve Harvey Show, CBS This Morning, ABC News Now, NBCNightlyNews,20/20, and World News Tonight. She is an expert source for many magazines and serves on the medical advisory board of The Kinsey Institute, Self Magazine, and Prevention Magazine. She writes a regular column for The Ethel by AARP and Prevention Magazine.
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Books by Lauren Streicher, MD

Slip Sliding Away: Turning Back the Clock on Your Vagina-A gynecologist’s guide to eliminating post-menopause dryness and pain
Hot Flash Hell: A Gynecologist's Guide to Turning Down the Heat
Sex Rx- Hormones, Health, and Your Best Sex Ever
The Essential Guide to Hysterectomy

S1 Ep56: Too Young for Menopause?