What's the difference with Surgical and Medical Menopause?

Written By Claire Horn

Sometimes we hear people speak of either Surgical or Medical Menopause. I want to help people understand the difference and if you’re going through either then there is support out there.

Surgical Menopause

Surgical Menopause is the removal of both of the ovaries from a woman who has not reached natural menopause.

This surgery can be one of two.

  1. oophorectomy - the removal of both ovaries only.

  2. Total Abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (TAHBSO) - the removal of the ovaries and uterus.

There are many reasons why a woman might undergo surgery that results in surgical menopause. These include.

  • Cancers affecting the reproductive system

  • fibroids

  • heavy menstrual bleeding

  • endometriosis

  • severe Premenstrual syndrome

  • prophylactic surgery due to family history

  • genetic risk of certain cancers (BRCA 1 & BRCA 2 genes)


As the ovaries are the main producers of estrogen,progesterone and testosterone, the sudden drop in these hormones following their removal causes surgical menopause.

Surgical menopause can develop abruptly, and symptoms are often more severe compared to natural menopause, where hormonal changes typically occur gradually over a longer period.

As mentioned before, hormone receptors are present throughout our bodies and can affect various areas such as the brain, skin, heart, temperature, and blood vessels.

That is why following surgery, individuals may experience a range of symptoms throughout their body, including hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, anxiety, and cognitive difficulties.


Medical Menopause

Medical menopause happens in individuals whose ovarian function has been affected by medical treatments or medications.

This could be down to medical treatment or unintended suppression of hormones (such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) as a result of drugs and treatments.

The most common treatments affecting the ovaries are chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer.

In some cases, individuals with gynecological conditions like endometriosis may be offered treatment to induce medical menopause. Hormone suppression reduces symptoms, allowing the condition to be managed long-term without surgery.




Treatments of symptoms

Each person can be affected differently with Surgical and Medical menopause and we do know that there are limited numbers of medical studies that have followed individuals from before and after surgery to study the long term affects to their health is.

We know that Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be extremely effective and offer relief of the symptoms for individuals that are going through Surgical or medical menopause.

Did you know that HRT also offers cardiac and bone protection.

If you are someone that has had both their Uterus and Ovaries removed, estrogen therapy alone maybe prescribed to you. However , if an individual has only had their ovaries removed and still has a uterus, a combination of estrogen and progesterone HRT is required to protect the endometrial lining of the uterus.

You can also consider adding local estrogen if you have symptoms of vaginal atrophy, this is a condition characterised by dryness and thinning of the vaginal lining.


Like anyone that is taking HRT it is extremely important to have regular follow ups to check on dosages and types of HRT based on that persons medical history and symptoms.

whilst considering HRT you can also evaluate lifestyle changes to which can also manage symptoms.

It can be challenging going through symptoms whilst recovering from a surgical procedure so it is always good to plan ahead and speak to a health care professional before your surgery so you can be fully prepared. You should be advised of this before your surgery but there are some that aren’t advised, which can often lead to them being completed unprepared.

If you are worried or concerned then please do talk to your healthcare professional and if they aren’t helpful then please find your local Menopause professional and they will of course guide you and offer the help you need.

You are not alone.

If your unable to take HRT for to medical reasons, get in touch with me here for a help guide on how to help manage your symptoms.







Love Claire x

Claire Horn http://www.atominteriorstyling.com
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