Most people have heard of menopause, but not everyone has the correct information. Here we discuss the possible hormonal effects of menopause, including depression, hair loss, and frequent urination. Below, you can find a fact table showing potential menopause symptoms and how to identify them.
What Are the Symptoms of Menopause?
| Symptom | Details |
| Insomnia | Many people with menopause symptoms may experience difficulty sleeping or a disturbed and disrupted sleep cycle |
| Vaginal Dryness | Many people assigned female at birth may experience some vaginal dryness. |
| Weight Gain Menopause | There might be some weight gain when menopause happens. This can be normal but sometimes it’s unwanted. |
| Menopause Depression | Some people feel menopausal depression and menopause sadness. This can include feeling low, down, and make you feel down. |
| Difficulty Concentrating | You may have trouble focusing on tasks or procedures or may have noticed a reduction in your ability to focus. |
| Less Frequent Menstruation | As menopause begins, people assigned female at birth may notice that they have less frequent menstrual cycles. |
| Vasomotor Symptoms, Hot Flashes | As menopause begins and hormones begin to leave your body, you may begin to experience hot flashes on a regular basis.
Transgender men may also experience menopausal symptoms like hot flashes when they begin hormone or puberty blockers, these hormone blockers may trigger menopausal symptoms and affect how your body regulates your body temperature due to a lack of estrogen. |
| Heavy or Lighter Periods Than You Normally Experience | For people assigned female at birth, you may notice that you have much lighter or heavier periods than you normally would have |
| Menopause Hair Loss | You may begin to lose some hair on your body and head as hormones begin to leave your body. |
What is Menopause?
Menopause comes from menses, meaning monthly cycles, and pause, meaning stop. It means hormone production has begun to cease. Oestrogen levels decline naturally between the ages of 45 and 55. Although, for some people, it is earlier or later.
- Age is not the only reason as any lack of oestrogen can cause menopause. In transfeminine people, stopping oestrogen therapy will also cause menopausal symptoms.
Does Menopause and Hormone Changes Only Affect Cis Women?
No. Menopausal symptoms can affect people of all genders. For instance, people assigned female at birth may still be affected by menopause if they do not alter their hormone profile through testosterone therapy.
- Although menopause is experienced by all cisgender women, transmasculine or non-binary people who were assigned female at birth can also experience it if they are not on a masculinising hormone therapy regimen.
What Happens During Menopause When Your Body Stops Producing Hormones?
Hormones affect almost every part of your body. Early on in life, they’re essential to growth as well as bone and brain development. They also affect your reproductive health and nervous system.
- Symptoms of hormone deficiency can cause a variety of symptoms including poor mental health, sleep problems, and changes in sex drive. For example, when the hormone estrogen leaves your body, this can cause depression as your body and mind adapt to the change.
Where Do Hormones Come From?
Many people assume that your hormones always come from your gonads (the ovaries in people assigned female at birth and . the testes in people designated male at birth). However, this isn’t the case. They can also be taken in the form of medication, as a way to assist any body that can’t produce the hormones by itself.
- Some trans and non-binary people use HRT to alter their hormone profiles. This can also be the case for cis people who cannot produce hormones. For example, cisgender women who have had hysterectomies will also need HRT.
What Happens if My Doctor Stops Prescribing Hormones?
Everyone has the right to control their own hormone profile safely. However, some doctors still act as gatekeepers. A lack of knowledge means that some doctors or pharmacists refuse hormones.
- Refusal of hormones is unique to transgender healthcare, which can cause a variety of health issues – including menopausal symptoms – stemming from a lack of hormones in the body.
Book with a Doctor to Discuss your Hormones
References:
- Minkin, Mary Jane. (2019). Menopause: Hormones, Lifestyle, and Optimizing Aging. Obstetrics and gynecology clinics of North America. 46 (3), pages 501-514. Last Accessed: 26/10/2021
- Francis, A. (2018). Contraceptive challenges and the transgender individual. Women’s midlife health. 4 (1), Page 1.