In the summer of 2017, something happened that I still have some regrets thinking about.
That year, I graduated from a medical university with an undergraduate degree. I passed through Chengdu on my trip and made an appointment to meet my cousin whom I hadn’t seen for a long time.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
During the dinner, my white-collar cousin and I talked about work and life together. Maybe because I was a medical student, we talked about her menstruation by the way.
My cousin said that she used to have regular menstrual periods, and she didn’t know whether it was due to the stress of work or some other reason in the past two years. She only came once every two or three months. A lot of trouble, it doesn’t matter.
But I recently talked to a boyfriend, got along well, and I am about to get married. I am worried that irregular menstruation will affect fertility.
So I went to the old Chinese medicine recommended by my acquaintance to have a look. I started to drink Chinese medicine. The effect is good, and I can come every month.
My cousin asked me:
Short menstruation, how many girls do this happen?
I said:
You still have to check the reasons carefully. You can’t blindly drink Chinese medicine. It may be polycystic ovary syndrome, or it may be…
I thought of “premature ovarian failure”, but didn’t say it, after all my cousin was only 25 years old.
After returning from Chengdu, I became a resident physician in the gynecology department of a tertiary-grade hospital. Every day, I faced an overwhelming number of patients and wrote endless medical records, which gradually faded away.
Contact my cousin again. It will be a year later. She sent a test sheet, saying that I have been drinking traditional Chinese medicine for more than half a year and I have stopped menstruating.
Go to the hospital to check, the doctor diagnosed “premature ovarian failure”, that is, menopause, and there is little hope of fertility, and can only take oral hormone replacement therapy to keep other organs of the body from being greatly affected…
I was shocked and regretted hearing this. She is only 26 years old and is about to get married. How come she has gone through menopause?
It has been 5 years since the incident, and every time I recall this incident, I still feel very regretful and regret not urging her to go to the hospital for a good check.
Now, I have become an attending gynecologist and decided to write about premature ovarian failure, hoping to arouse more people to pay attention to their menstrual changes and ovarian health.
The ovary is a female-specific organ and the source of human life. Only when it secretes hormones and ovulates normally can it breed offspring;
In addition, the estrogen secreted by the ovaries makes women beautiful and maintains a “reverse growth” appearance.
Normal ovaries also have working years, and they will retire around the age of 50. The eggs will no longer grow and be released, and the estrogen will become less and less, and the ovarian function will gradually fail.
In medicine, it is called “premature ovarian insufficiency”.
Women’s ovaries lose their normal function before the age of 40, manifesting as secondary amenorrhea, infertility, often accompanied by perimenopause symptoms such as sweating, insomnia, and memory loss. is 1%.
Osteoporosis, metabolic disorders (high blood sugar, high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease and other problems may also occur with further ovarian failure.
There are many reasons, some of which are beyond our control, such as chromosomal abnormalities and genetic diseases, immune diseases, iatrogenic injury (radiotherapy and chemotherapy, inevitable surgical injury due to ovarian disease), etc.;
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There are other parts we can avoid, such as long-term negative emotions, smoking and drinking, chemical exposure, abuse of oral contraceptives, obesity, etc.
Premature ovarian failure is a worldwide problem, and many tests may be done, but the reason is still not found.
Before premature ovarian failure, women may experience poor skin (roughness, acne, yellowing, etc.), abnormal menstruation (oligomenorrhea, etc.) menopause or amenorrhea), mood disorders (irritability), reduced sexual function (reduced libido, dyspareunia, vaginal dryness), infertility and so on.
Ovarian function cannot be recovered after the decline, the only thing that can be done is hormone replacement therapy to relieve perimenopausal symptoms and prevent long-term osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular system diseases, etc. complication.
Normal sex and age-appropriate pregnancy are the best ways to maintain your ovaries.
In addition, maintain a good mood and living habits, relieve stress, quit smoking and drinking, do not over-diet to lose weight, avoid staying up late, improve work environment (work with daily exposure to chemicals without protection) and Regular checkups are necessary.
If it is premature ovarian failure caused by radiotherapy, chemotherapy or ovarian surgery, ovarian tissue can be frozen before treatment and ovarian tissue transplantation can be performed later. This new technology has saved many women’s ovaries.
The most important thing is – if you have abnormal menstruation, please go to the hospital in time.
Especially for women who have not yet given birth, if they find that the ovarian function is declining, they should seize the golden period before the ovarian function is completely exhausted and intervene in time, and there is still a good chance of having a baby of their own.
It can be very difficult to wait until the ovaries have completely failed before considering fertility.
Afterword
Now, my cousin is married to the man who loves her. I went to be a bridesmaid at the wedding and watched the scene of their love and affection. Maybe only the doctor knows what my cousin will face in the future marriage life. Difficulty…
I can only silently send my blessings.
My cousin is currently taking hormone replacement therapy on a regular basis. With a glimmer of hope, she insists on going to the reproductive department to measure the follicle and hormone levels, and try to have her own baby with assisted reproductive technology.
However, because of the late consultation time, the reproductive doctor is also very helpless. If the cousin had gone to the doctor and intervened in time when the menstrual disorder had been disordered, the chance of having her own baby would be much higher than now.
If there is a time machine, let me go back to the summer of 2017, I must strongly suggest that my cousin go to a professional hospital for treatment as soon as possible, maybe… now there is no possibility.
Focus on menstruation, take care of the ovaries, and hope that the “flower of women” can bloom for a longer time…
Reviewer
Yuan Bo｜Deputy Chief Physician of Department of Gynecology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
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