Premature Ovarian Insufficiency
Premature Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) is the loss of ovarian function that causes your body to stop producing normal levels of oestrogen, stop producing eggs, and ends periods before the age of 40.
Is POI the same as early menopause?
POI is not to be confused with early, or premature menopause, although it brings many of the same symptoms of menopause that come well before the average age of normal menopause — when you’re still in your teens (some girls don’t start their periods), the 20s, 30s, or early 40s. Periods can stop suddenly, either early or prematurely, with the possibility that they will come back. In early or premature menopause, ovulation and periods stop and you can’t fall pregnant.
Approximately one in every 100 women under the age of 40, one in 1,000 women under 30, and one in 10,000 under 20 experience POI.
What causes POI?
In 90% of cases of POI, the cause is unknown. It can mean women are unable to conceive and some will have occasional periods and may conceive.
POI leaves your body without hormone support for an unhealthily long period. Sex hormones protect the body. The lack of hormones leaves women at increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, and cognitive impairment. Women with POI are likely to be advised to supplement and take hormone replacement therapy until the naturally expected age of menopause, 51, to reduce health risks.
What can help manage Premature Ovarian Insufficiency
Treatments that can help with managing symptoms of POI and the accompanying conditions and health risks include:
HRT to replace your body’s hormones. There are different formulations and it may take trial and testing to find the one that works.
Regular weight-bearing exercise to strengthen your bones and protect against osteoporosis.
Vitamin D & Calcium supplements will help strengthen bones
Maintaining a healthy weight to reduce the risk of heart disease
What support is there for premature menopause?
Daisy Network is a charity that provides information and support for young women diagnosed with premature menopause, or POI. Understanding how isolating, and confusing, a diagnosis of POI can be, they provide guidance and information as well as the latest research on all aspects of POI alongside support for you, your family, and your partners.
Watch our video Premature Ovarian Failure, where we talk with Annabel who went through menopause at age 15.
