Premature ovarian failure (patient information)

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What is premature ovarian failure?

How do I know if I have premature ovarian failure and what are the symptoms of premature ovarian failure?

Usual signs and symptoms of premature ovarin failure include the following:

Irregular or skipped periods (amenorrhea)
Hot flashes and night sweats
Irritability, poor concentration
Vaginal dryness
Decreased sexual desire
Infertility
Osteoporosis
Low thyroid function, such as muscle hypotonia, fatigue and cold intolerance.
Addison’s disease, such as fatigue, muscle weakness, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Heart diseases, such as palpitation and chest pain.

Other health problems may also cause these symptoms. Only a doctor can tell for sure. A person with any of these symptoms should tell the doctor so that the problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Who is at risk for premature ovarian failure?

In many cases, the cause of premature ovarian is not clear. Some studies demonstrate that the following factors may be involved in the cause of this disorder.

Chromosomal defects: Studies demonstrate that certain genetic disorders may be associated with premature ovarian failure, such as Turner's syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
Toxins: Toxins, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, cigarette smoke, chemicals, pesticides and viruses may damage the genetic material in cells and hasten ovarian failure.
Autoimmune diseases: Autoimmune diseases may cause follicle dysfunction, which may produce antibodies against her own ovarian tissue and harm the egg-containing follicles, then result in premature ovarian failure.
Age: The risk of ovarian failure rises as you age.
Genentic factors: Having a family history of premature ovarian failure increases your risk of developing this disorder.

How to know you have premature ovarian failure?

Hormone tests: Women with premature ovarian failure often have abnormally high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)in the blood and their luteinizing hormone (LH) is usually lower than the level of FSH.
Serum estradiol test: The blood level of estradiol, a type of estrogen, is usually low in women with premature ovarian failure.
Chromosome test: This test can check all 46 of the chromosomes for abnormalities.

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider if you have any symptoms of premature ovarian failure.

Treatment options

Treatments of premature ovarian failure include estrogen therapy to release symptoms and tresatments on the complications.

Estrogen therapy. The goal of estrogen therapy is to help prevent osteoporosis and relieve symptoms of estrogen deficiency, such as vaginal dryness and hot flashes. The doctors usually prescribe both estrogen and progesterone to protect the lining of your uterus from precancerous changes that may result if you take estrogen alone. According to the association on hormone replacement therapy and cardiovascular disease and breast cancer incidence, doctors prefer that the benefits of hormone replacement therapy usually outweigh the potential risks in young women with premature ovarian failure .
Calcium and vitamin D supplements. Taken together, these supplements are important for bone health and help reduce the development of osteoporosis. Your doctor will probably advise you to have bone density testing done before starting supplements so that you'll have some idea of your baseline bone density measurement.

Addressing infertility

Infertility is a common complication of premature ovarian failure. There's no treatment proved to restore fertility in women with this condition. However, some women and their partners choose to pursue a pregnancy through in vitro fertilization using donor eggs. The procedure involves removing eggs from a donor and fertilizing them with your partner's sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized egg (embryo) is then placed in your uterus. During this process, you take medication that balances your hormones to support a pregnancy. Once the pregnancy is established, you stop taking the medication and the pregnancy proceeds naturally to the delivery.