I went through menopause early. I had a complete hysterectomy when I was forty-five. After months of uncontrolled bleeding that almost reached the hemorrhage stage every month, that a D&C hadn't corrected, the doctor decided that surgery was the only answer. I was getting run down and weak. I just wanted it over. A few weeks later I began experiencing the symptoms of menopause.

The Linksnoop WebDex explains it this way:

When both the ovaries are removed in women at the pre-menopausal stage, then it's likely to induce the onset of early menopause. Symptoms such as hot flashes may be experienced following the procedure. Other common symptoms such as vaginal dryness and insomnia can occur and generally, they are much stronger than they normally would be during the natural process of menopause.

What does menopause mean, exactly? The My Menopause Blog has the answer:

The first thing that one must acknowledge about menopause is that the term technically applies to only one day in a woman's life; the day she has lived one year without menstruating.

Everything else is called pre-menopause or post-menopause. Everything else can be sheer misery. I went on estrogen therapy for a few months, until the stories of blood clots and cancer scared me off. Then I just dealt with it. Be heartened, ladies. It does gradually go away. And think of the blessings. No more pads, no more birth control pills and no more PMS!