We wondered if your menopause started 20 years later if you took the pill for 20 years. The reasoning for this was that those eggs are still present in your body and that they have to mature after all. Then we wondered whether the menopause actually started because of the eggs that have run out or because there are changes in hormone regulation? (due to changes in hormones, egg cell maturation stops or because there is no more egg cell maturation, hormone production changes). If it’s due to changes in hormones, what causes them to start changing? In other words, what is the main cause of menopause?
Answer
Dear Lot,
Menopause begins when the eggs are depleted. If there are no eggs that can develop, no estrogen will be produced in the ovaries. This causes the most common complaints of menopause. (hot flashes, osteoporosis, skin aging,…)
By taking a pill you will only stop ovulation. Egg cells are lost every day. An egg cell starts to develop at a certain point, but due to an unfavorable hormonal profile (pill intake, pregnancy, after ovulation,…) it cannot develop and dies. So you cannot delay menopause by taking a pill.
kind regards,
Answered by
dr. Jasper Verguts
Gynecology Obstetrics
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
.