Can infertility drugs cause premature menopause?

There is a downside to everything, however, premature menopause is a big price to pay for IVF treatments.

By: Debjani Arora | | Updated: December 22, 2015 5:24 pm

While there aren’t any concrete studies that say infertility treatments and medications can be a reason behind premature menopause, but experts believe there is a strong link between the two. ‘Lifestyle changes, infertility treatment due to late marriage, wrong eating habits and a lot of other factors contribute towards premature menopause,’ says Dr Pooja Khatri Mehta, consultant gynaecologist, Paras Hospital, Gurgaon. However, infertility treatments and medications can induce early menopause and make it difficult for a woman to conceive too. If you are someone who is contemplating an IVF treatment, you should read this.

‘Infertility medications and the treatments definitely lead to a lot of hormonal disturbances, but above all it also stimulates the ovary to ovulate and produce more egg. But remember, our ovaries have limited supply of eggs and they exhaust them over a period. That is when women start to experience symptoms of menopause or attain premature menopause,’ explains Dr Mehta. Too much of these drugs stimulate the ovaries to ovulate and release more eggs during ovulation, which can exhaust too soon. Here are 11 symptoms of menopause that you should be aware of.

On an average it is believed that a woman reaches menopause around age 50, and she is thought to be premenopausal between 42 to 47 years of age. ‘However, with a sedentary lifestyle, the influence of medications (IVF), smoking, drinking this scenario is changing rapidly,’ she adds. So, if your ovaries are subjected to abuse and are depleted of its natural egg reserve, then it is inevitable that you might suffer premature menopause.

When should you worry?

If your periods have stopped before the age of 40 and you have still not conceived despite being on IVF drugs and treatments, talk to your doctor about it.
You are experiencing symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, mood changes, vaginal dryness and decreased sex drive. These indicate that your hormones are taking a dip.

What you should do

Speak to your IVF specialist and find out how to tackle the problem. In fact, you should talk to your specialist right at the beginning to get a clear picture of how many cycles you can undergo and what will the implications be on your health.
If IVF treatments don’t show results, don’t get disheartened and adopt a child if you so wish to be a mother.

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Published : December 9, 2015 2:31 pm | Updated:December 22, 2015 5:24 pm

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