Why Have I Missed My Period

A Change In Lifestyle

This can go hand in hand with stress but something as simple as moving house, changing hours at work, travelling or waking up earlier can lead to a skipped period. These changes can interfere with your body clock, which helps to regulate your hormones.

This will only usually cause one skipped period, if it causes any at all, as once your body gets used to the new schedule, the menstrual cycle will return to normal.

Why Does Stress Cause Delayed/missed/late Periods

Even if you rarely have to deal with irregular periods, sometimes stress can throw a wrench in the works and mess up your whole menstrual cycle.

Yup, stress can actually cause your period to be late or delayed when your body is so freaked out by keeping you calm and whatâs happening around you, that makes you anxious, that your bodyâs hormones hold off on critical parts of your menstrual cycle, like ovulation. Think about it from a cavewoman perspective. Stress causes your body to go into fight-or-flight mode, and if youâre running from a giant wooly mammoth, letâs say, it makes sense that your body would be like, âOh this would be a not-so-great time to have a baby right nowâ and hit pause on keeping your reproductive systems ready-to-go. While yes, this does introduce a whole new set of stress, your body probably thinks that Cavewoman-you would likely not have time to ask, âOh crap, why is my period late?â in this scenario.

Ideally you are not so anxious that your body interprets your stress level as running-from-wooly-mammoth-high, but you get it.

Why You Usually Get A Period On The Off

If you get your period on birth control pills, let’s say during the 7 days of placebo “sugar” pills, it’s because the makers of the original combined oral contraceptives succumbed to societal and cultural pressures to mimic the naturally occurring menstrual cycle – not because it was biologically needed.

So a missed period on birth control doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. Okay, here’s some quick science to back this all up because this is some deep, revelatory stuff. So here goes…

You May Like: 90 Probationary Period Employment Form

What To Do If You Have A Missed Period For 2 Months

If you miss your period for 2 months in a row, you should connect with your doctor to see if everything is okay. You can also try a few things at home first:

1. Take a Pregnancy Test

After the first month passes, take a home pregnancy test when you are around two weeks late for your period. You can buy these online or at any drugstore. If the test is positive, give your doctor a call for confirmation. If the test is negative, give it a few more weeks then re-test.

2. Change Your Lifestyle

Have you started a new birth control method? Are you under a lot of stress? Have you lost or gained weight? One of the above causes may be the issue and you may be able to make some changes in your lifestyle that will help balance your cycles.

3. Call Your Doctor

If you don’t have a period after two or three months, you need to call your doctor. Going longer than two months is abnormal and you will need to be evaluated. The doctor will diagnose the cause and you may need medical treatment.

What Are Some Possible Other Reasons Behind My Irregular Period What Are Some Common Late Period Causes Besides Stress

There are a lot of factors besides stress that can impact your menstrual cycle and cause a delayed or late period, like pregnancy, birth control , menopause, weight loss, and too much exercise. Hormone changes could also be a cause of why your period is late that youâd wanna chat over with your doctor.

Don’t Miss: Usaa Grace Period

Youve Lost Or Gained Weight

Severe changes in body weight can lead to a condition known as secondary amenorrhea, which means missing your period for three months or more. This is particularly common when your BMI undergoes a rapid change.

Extreme increases or decreases in body fat can lead to a chaotic hormonal imbalance that causes your period to come late or stop entirely.

In addition, severe calorie restriction affects the part of your brain that talks to your endocrine system, giving instructions for the production of reproductive hormones. When this communication channel is disrupted, hormones can get really out of whack.

Periods : Our Bodies Ourselves

Okay, so women have a menstrual cycle, aka as a monthly period. What exactly is your period, we mean, naturally speaking? Like what does your period look like if you were not taking birth control?

Getting ready for baby-making, science style

Your period before the pill was like this: Your body thinks you might want to get pregnant and so it gives you a chance every month . Every menstrual cycle, your body is preparing for you to be pregnant, and your uterus is building up the lining in anticipation for the new baby.

Menstrual bleeding: Discard that uterine lining!

But news flash to your uterus: you’re not planning on having any babies this month. Typically, the levels of your hormones , your body’s chemical messengers, go up and down depending on the situation. Suppose you don’t get pregnant this cycle. In that case, your estrogen and progesterone levels fall and tell your body to start menstruating, which means discarding the monthly buildup of the lining of the uterus.

Guess what? Your period on birth control is a “withdrawal” bleed

When you have your menstrual period while taking birth control, it’s called a “withdrawal” period because you’re not taking the active pills with the hormones in them. Essentially, it’s a hormone withdrawal, and the bleeding happens because of this lack of hormones.

Okay, so that was a lot. But now you know. And all of the rest will make sense. Get ready for all of the reasons why you could have a missed period on birth control.

Recommended Reading: 90 Day Probation Period Template

Reasons For A Missed Period On Birth Control

There can be a number of reasons that a person can miss a period while on hormonal birth control.

It is considered abnormal to go more than 90 days without a period unless a person is pregnant, going through menopause, or breastfeeding.

People may miss periods or they may stop getting a period entirely for a variety of reasons, including a change in birth control methods, stress, exercise, changes to diet, hormonal imbalances, and pregnancy.

Youve Upped Your Workout Intensity

A strenuous exercise regimen can also cause missed periods. This is most common in those who train for several hours a day. It happens because, whether intentionally or not, youre burning way more calories than you are taking in.

When you burn too many calories, your body doesnt have enough energy to keep all its systems running. This can lead to a hormonal imbalance that throws off your menstrual cycle, leading to missed or late periods.

Periods typically go back to normal as soon as you stop training so hard or increase your caloric intake.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a set of symptoms caused by an imbalance of reproductive hormones. People with PCOS dont ovulate regularly. As a result, your periods may be lighter than normal, arrive at inconsistent times, or disappear altogether.

Other PCOS symptoms can include:

• excess or coarse facial and body hair
• acne on the face and body
• thinning hair
• weight gain or trouble losing weight
• dark patches of skin, often on the neck creases, groin, and underneath breasts
• skin tags in the armpits or neck

Read Also: Period Blood Stains On Sheets

Nutrient Deficiencies Or Chronic Disease

Underling nutrient deficiencies or chronic disease are a third reason your body may decide to delay or halt ovulation, making your period late. When these conditions go unaddressed, your body can perceive this as yet another form of stress.

Being malnourished or suffering from an unmanaged condition like an autoimmune disease are common reasons for irregular cycles or missing periods.

If your period has been missing or irregular for some time, it is always a good idea to visit your primary healthcare provider for a full checkup including lab work. Some blood tests to discuss with your doctor include:

• Iron studies

• Follicle Stimulating Hormone and LH

Does A Missed Period For 2 Months Mean I’m Pregnant

When you are pregnant, your menstrual periods will stop. However, a missed period doesn’t always mean you’re pregnant. If you’re wondering whether you might be pregnant, there are a few points that point to a possible pregnancy. These include:

• You were actively trying to get pregnant in the months before.
• You ovulated prior to your period’s stopping.
• You had sexual intercourse in the ovulation window .
• You were sexually active and not using birth control.

If all of the above points are true, then you have a good chance of being pregnant.

Signs of Early Pregnancy

The only way to truly know if you’re pregnant is a positive pregnancy test and confirmation by a doctor. However, there are a few signs that may give clues to a possible pregnancy. If a missed period for 2 months is due to pregnancy, you’ll start feeling the symptoms below around the four-week mark. Some women even notice subtle changes sooner than four-weeks.

• Breast tenderness
• Breast fullness
• Nausea
• Lower abdominal bloating and fullness
• Feeling short of breath with exercise
• Sensitive to smells
• Feeling tired all the time
• Needing to urinate more often
• Higher than normal body temperature
• Dizziness
• Constipation

Read Also: Employee Probationary Period Template

Okay Youre Right Ive Been Under A Ton Of Pressure Lately How Do I Fix My Period Cycle So That Stress Doesnt Impact It Anymore

As great as it would be if there were a way to communicate to your body, âHey, Iâm done worrying, you can make my period normal again!â itâs easier said than done. Make sure youâre taking time for yourself to do things you like and enjoy. Yes, doing you might just be exactly what your body need right now.

And if worrying about whether your period is late or not is the number one thing thatâs bothering you and keeping you up at night, it might be worth it to book an appointment to see the doctor. Ugh yes, you might have to call on the phone and make an appointment, but the peace of mind youâll feel afterwards if you are able to find a cause and remedy it may be worth it.

What Are Regular Periods

Most girls get their first period between the ages of 10 and 15, but some get it earlier and some later. The first period is known as menarche .

A girl’s monthly cycle is the number of days from the start of her period to the start of the next time she gets her period. You often hear this is a 28-day cycle. But 28 is just an average figure that doctors use. Cycle lengths vary some are 24 days, some are 34 days. And a girl may notice that her cycles are different lengths each month especially for the few years after she first starts getting her period.

Early in a girl’s cycle, her ovaries start preparing one egg. At the same time, the lining of the uterus becomes thick to prepare a nesting place for a fertilized egg in the event that the girl becomes pregnant.

About 2 weeks before a girl gets her period, the egg is released from the ovary . The egg travels through the fallopian tube into the uterus. If the egg isn’t fertilized by sperm, it starts to fall apart. Then the lining and egg leave a girl’s body as her period and the whole thing starts all over again that’s why we use the word “cycle.” The first day a girl’s period comes is Day 1 of her cycle.

It’s also normal for the number of days a girl has her period to vary. Sometimes a girl may bleed for 2 days, sometimes it may last a week. That’s because the level of hormones the body makes can be different from one cycle to the next, and this affects the amount and length of bleeding.

Also Check: Usaa Grace Period Auto Insurance New Car

What Causes Missed Periods

• A teen girl may be fine and just a little late with regulating her periods.
• She may have a hormone imbalance called polycystic ovary syndrome and needs to be checked for high cholesterol and diabetes.
• She may have an ovary or thyroid problem and need hormones.
• She may have low estrogen levels from excessive exercise or low weight, and she may be at risk for low bone mass.

Without enough estrogen, not only do menstrual cycles stop, but the body does not absorb enough calcium to build strong bones. This can result in low bone mass. Since very little bone mass is added after women are 20 years old, the teen years are very important for building the right amount of bone for a lifetime.

Everyone, teen girls especially, needs the right balance of exercise, body weight, calcium intake, vitamin D, and estrogen levels to have healthy bones.

While Were On The Topic Of Stress

Lets break down some of the most common triggers of stress which can delay or halt ovulation .

Its easy to think of psychological stressors in our lives like deadlines, difficult relationships, arguments and caring for small children.

However, there are many other forms of stress which can wreak havoc on our cycle, even without you feeling overly stressed. The most common forms of non-psychological stress which cause delayed or missing periods are:

Cant click the image to sign up for my Heal Your Cycle Masterclass? .

Don’t Miss: 90 Day Probationary Period Template

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

Recap: The 4 Reasons Why You May Have Missed Your Period On Birth Control

We talked about 4 solid reasons why you may have missed your period this month, even though you’re taking birth control. Here they are again:

The main message is generally not to worry about being pregnant if you’ve been taking your pills and have no other concerning symptoms. But if you’re concerned, you can always ask your health care provider.

Don’t Miss: Can You Donate Blood While Menstruating