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Summary
Premature ovarian failure (POF) is when a woman's ovaries stop working before she is 40.
POF is different from premature menopause. With premature menopause, your periods stop before age 40. You can no longer get pregnant. The cause can be natural or it can be a disease, surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. With POF, some women still have occasional periods. They may even get pregnant. In most cases of POF, the cause is unknown.
Missed periods are usually the first sign of POF. Later symptoms may be similar to those of natural menopause:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Irritability
- Poor concentration
- Decreased sex drive
- Pain during sex
- Vaginal dryness
Doctors diagnose POF by doing a physical exam and lab and imaging tests.
Most women with POF cannot get pregnant naturally. Fertility treatments help a few women; others use donor eggs to have children. There is no treatment that will restore normal ovarian function. However, many health care providers suggest taking hormones until age 50.
NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (Hormone Health Network)
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Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)
(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Symptoms
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What Are the Symptoms of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Diagnosis and Tests
- Estrogen Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
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How Do Health Care Providers Diagnose Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
- LH (Luteinizing Hormone) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Treatments and Therapies
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What Are the Treatments for Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Related Issues
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Are There Disorders or Conditions Associated with Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI)? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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What Causes POI? (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Genetics
- Fragile X-Associated Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (FXPOI) (National Fragile X Foundation)
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Fragile X-Associated Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (FXPOI): Condition Information (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
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Genetics Home Reference: blepharophimosis, ptosis, and epicanthus inversus syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
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Genetics Home Reference: fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
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Hormone Treatment Restores Bone Density for Young Women with Menopause-Like Condition (Primary Ovarian Insufficiency) (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Ovarian Failure, Premature (National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
- Find an Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)
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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Also in Spanish
Teenagers
- Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) (Children's Hospital Boston)
Patient Handouts
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Luteinizing hormone (LH) blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Ovarian hypofunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
