Possible Causes For A Late Period
If your period is late, you are advised to perform at least 2 pregnancy tests, with a 7-day interval between each test. If both of these yield negative results, likelihood of pregnancy is low, and the delay in period can be a result of other situations like:
These situations can lead to the absence of your menstrual cycle for more than 3 months . You are advised to see your doctor if this happens.
Menstruation is also considered to be delayed when a girl who has reached the age of 16 has not yet menstruated for the first time. This is also known as primary amenorrhea and should be investigated by a gynecologist. This delayed period may be related to problems such as head trauma, prematurity or defects in the reproductive system such as an imperforate hymen, vaginal septum, or absence of a uterus.
Late Period Reason #20 Miscalculation
How do you calculate your period? Do you count 28 days from your start day? Or 3 weeks from the time you finish? Or just calculate approximately one month down the line? Have you considered the possibility that you may have miscalculated? Thats why we have period calculators, dummy! The average menstrual cycle is 28 days but some women have a 31-day cycle, and some a 27-day cycle This can also change in each woman as the years go by. Some women even have permanent irregular cycles 3 weeks till one period then 5 weeks for the next. Get yourself an app and start tracking your periods.
Late Period Reason #19 Actual Menopause
Women of around 45-55 may be approaching menopause. Ovulation gradually starts to shut down and the other organs are arranging a retirement party for the ovaries. The ovaries are all emotional but secretly looking forward to that hard earned vacation, and the other organs appear sympathetic but are secretly glad that old grumpy-pants will be out of their lives for good. After 12 months of no-show flow, menopause has officially hit.
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A Change In Your Schedule
Changing schedules can throw off your body clock. If you frequently change work shifts from days to nights, or if your schedule is generally all over the place, your period can be fairly unpredictable.
A change in your schedule shouldn’t cause you to completely miss your period, but it can cause your period to start earlier or later than expected. Your cycle can also change by a few days if you experience jet lag.
Discontinuing Birth Control Pills May Delay Periods By Months
If you have discontinued birth control pills, it is normal to miss your period.This is because birth control pills prevent the ovaries from releasing eggs and when you stop taking them, your body requires a certain time to rebalance its functioning.It may take a few weeks or even months for your period to resume. However, consult your doctor if you are worried.
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Late Period Reason #17 Just Beginning To Have Periods
If youre a spring chicken whos just started having periods and are concerned about their irregularity, dont worry. Its completely normal to have late or no periods at first because your body is still trying to adjust to being a woman and get into the rhythm of things. It may even take you a few years to have regular periods but fear not, my precious! Youll soon be doubled over in agony on a monthly basis like clockwork.
What To Do If Your Period Is Delayed
If your period is late, the first step is to complete out a pregnancy test from the pharmacy. If you havent had a period for more than 3 months and you cannot identify the cause, you should go to a gynecologist so that he or she can identify the cause and treat the problem. In some cases, the use of medication is recommended to stimulate your period.
The doctor may order bloodwork to assess progesterone and prolactin levels, which may help to identify the reason for this delay and guide the most appropriate treatment.
Also, depending on what is causing your period delay, you may need to reduce the intensity of physical exercise, take it easy, avoid stress and maintain a varied and balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals. These are all factors that contribute to a regular menstrual cycle.
It is also recommended that you see your doctor regularly to identify possible health problems or diseases such as polycystic ovaries, endometriosis, anorexia, bulimia, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, all which can cause changes to your menstrual cycle.
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Youve Just Started Menstruating
Young women who have only had a few periods may not have regular cycles at first. It can take a few months for cycles to become regular. This is also true if you have just come off of birth control medication that stopped menstrual periods. It makes take a little while for you to get a period every month again.
Late Period Reason #12 Chronic Diseases
Celiac or lupus or other autoimmune diseases can throw your period off. Chronic diseases such as these usually come with a bunch or other symptoms so if a missed or late period is just yet another thing that you can add to a long list of symptoms, you really need to get yourself to a doctor and make sure to give them every single symptom you may be experiencing, from fatigue to excessive sweating, etc.
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Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Home pregnancy test is positive
- You want a pregnancy test done in the office
- Sexual intercourse within the last 3 months
- Recent breast swelling, weight gain or nausea
- Teen acts sick
- Has missed 2 or more periods and prior periods were regular
- Recent weight loss
Recent Stress Causing Late Period
Late Period Reason #15 Birth Control
Various contraception types can mess up your flow. Being on the pill can notoriously give you many side effects like a light flow or sometimes none at all, as can hormonal IUDs, implants, or contraceptive injections. It can also take a while for your period to come back to normal when you first stop using contraceptives.
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When To Visit The Doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you can’t pinpoint the reasons for a late period they may want to check for various conditions. It’s also important to note that vaginal bleeding after a late period may not be the monthly visitor you were expecting. “Anybody who experiences heavy bleeding and pain after a missed period and/or a positive pregnancy test should go to the doctor,” says Dr. McDonald. “All bleeding is not a period, especially in a setting where something is off.”
Safety Of Skipping Your Period
There are a number of reasons why you may want to skip your period.
Its generally safe to do so if youre on birth control pills. However, its best to check with your doctor first. Youll want to make sure that theres no medical reason for you to continue with your current menstruation schedule.
Taking birth control pills to reduce or eliminate your period is just as safe as taking them in the conventional way, says Gerardo Bustillo, MD, OB-GYN, at Orange Coast Memorial in Fountain Valley, California.
Menstruation isnt physiologically necessary. In general, women today experience many more menstrual cycles over their lifetime compared to women of previous generations, says Bustillo. There are a few reasons for that, including the following:
- Many women today start menstruating at a younger age.
- Women today have fewer pregnancies on average.
- Women today dont breastfeed for as long.
- Women today generally reach menopause later in life.
According to Lisa Dabney, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the monthly period that traditional birth control pills allow for may have had more to do with marketing than anything.
When the birth control pills first came out, they were designed for women to get their periods every four weeks like a natural period, she says. This interval is really set up by the cycle of the pills and was set up that way so women would more readily accept them.
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Other Reasons For A Missed Period Besides Pregnancy
If you are not trying for a pregnancy and still end up getting a delayed period, chances are that it could point to an underlying health condition or something as simple as stress
Yes, we know that the first sign of being pregnant is a missed period, which is medically known as amenorrhea. But if you are not trying for a pregnancy and still end up getting a delayed period, chances are it could be pointing to an underlying health condition or something as simple as stress, which we tend to ignore on our daily lives.
Here are 5 other reasons for a missed period besides a pregnancy:
When To Reach Out To Your Doc
If missing your period has become a regular occurrence its best to check in with the doc to see whats up with your bod. Even if youre just going through a change in the pattern of your regular periods theres no harm to bring it up, better to put your mind at ease than to cause unnecessary stress for yourself.
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Why Am I Not Getting My Period At All
The medical term for absent periods is amenorrhea, and is considered to occur when a woman who has previously had normal periods stops menstruating for six months or more. Many of the causes of amenorrhea are the same as those for a skipped period. Your period can be absent for a number of reasons:
Pregnancy
The most common reason to not get your period is because you are pregnant. A home pregnancy test can quickly tell you if that is the reason.
Menopause
Most women stop getting their periods in their late 40s or early 50s. The average age is 51 years old.
Breastfeeding
If you breastfeed frequently, including at night-time, you may not get a period for many months. Be aware that you will ovulate prior to getting your period back, so birth control is important if you are not ready to be pregnant again.
Stress
While a sudden stressful life event can result in a single missed period, ongoing, high level stress and anxiety can cause your period to stop altogether. Managing stress though self-care, counselling, changing your life circumstances, medication, or other strategies can help you return to having normal periods.
Weight loss
Ongoing, dramatic weight loss, from low intake, excessive exercise, gastric bypass surgery, or eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia can stop your period. This happens because the hormones required for ovulation are not produced.
Underweight
Obesity
High levels of prolactin
Ashermans syndrome
Absent uterus
Premature ovarian failure
Reasons For Late Periods Other Than Pregnancy
In this article I am going to tell you about some of the common reasons for late periods other than pregnancy. Hey, suffering from delayed periods, is you periods later, than usual, have you skipped your periods for more than 2-3 months and afraid, what the reasons could be if not pregnancy, though you havent tried to get pregnant, here are the common reasons for your periods being later than usual, and the reasons are other than pregnancy, so have a look, to gain a wider dimension of conclusion to your problem.
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Causes Of A Missed Period
Often there is nothing to worry about when periods stop, and no serious cause. There are certain times when it is normal not to have periods. These include:
- Before puberty. Girls start to go through puberty from around the age of 9 years and their periods start a year or two later. Up until that point girls do not have periods.
- During pregnancy. If you are pregnant, your periods will normally stop until after the baby is born.
- During breastfeeding. If you are fully breastfeeding, you will normally not have a period until you stop. You may find you have a bleed if you drop a feed, or start to breastfeed less.
- After menopause. The menopause is the time in your life when your ovaries stop producing eggs and you stop having periods. The average menopause is around the age of 51. You will be classed as having gone through the menopause a year after your last period. However, it is extremely common for your periods to become less regular in the years leading up to the menopause. See the separate leaflet called Menopause for more details.
- If you are using certain types of contraception. Some types of contraception may stop periods. They do not do so in all women however, it is normal not to have periods if you are using:
The Basics Of Birth Control Pills
When you swallow birth control pills, youre ingesting one or more synthetic hormones. This could be a combination of estrogen and progestin, or just progestin, depending on the type of birth control that youre taking. These hormones work to prevent pregnancy in three different ways.
First, they work to prevent your ovaries from ovulating, or releasing an egg each month.
They also thicken the cervical mucus, which makes it harder for sperm to reach an egg if one is released. The hormones can thin the uterine lining, too. This means that if an egg does get fertilized, itll be difficult for it to attach to the uterine lining and develop.
Birth control pills are over 99 percent effective when used correctly. This means taking the pill at the same time every day. If you miss a day or youre late taking your pill, the efficacy can decrease. With typical use, the failure rate is about
Several different types of birth control pills are available.
Some are similar to the pill packs that were first made available in 1960. They included 21 days of pills with active hormones and seven placebo or inactive pills. When you take an inactive pill, it allows for bleeding that mimics normal menstruation.
There are also packs that allow for 24 days of active pills and a shorter menstrual-like bleeding period.
Extended-cycle or continuous regimens consist of a couple of months worth of active pills. They can either reduce the number of periods you have or eliminate your period entirely.
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