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Missed or Irregular Periods - Topic Overview
Most women have between 11 and 13 menstrual periods each year. You may be different: You may have more or fewer. Missed or irregular periods must be looked at in terms of what is normal for you.
Periods are often irregular during the first few years after menstruation starts. It may take several years for the hormones that control menstruation to reach a balance.
Sexual Health Secrets You Need to Know
“I can’t tell you,” says Rebecca Amaru, MD, “the number of times women come into my office in tears because they’ve read or heard something about gynecology they think applies to them – and it doesn’t.” Amaru is clinical instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. She tells WebMD that a lot of what you read about gynecology or about caring for your V zone is either exaggerated or “just plain wrong.”
To help you sort fact from rumor, WebMD asked some of the nation’s top experts about sexual health and V zone care — topics that many women are too embarrassed to ask their own doctor about. What they said, may surprise you.
Menstrual periods also may be very irregular at the other end of the menstrual years. Many women realize that they are approaching perimenopause and menopause when their otherwise regular periods become irregular. Menopause occurs when it has been 12 months since you have had a menstrual period.
Pregnancy is the most common cause of a missed period. If you might be pregnant, treat yourself as if you are pregnant until you know for sure. Use a home pregnancy test as the first step to finding out whether you are pregnant.
If you are not pregnant, other causes of missed or irregular periods include:
- Excessive weight loss or gain. Although low body weight is a common cause of missed or irregular periods, obesity also can cause menstrual problems.
- Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia. For more information, see the topic Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa.
- Increased exercise. Missed periods are common in endurance athletes.
- Emotional stress.
- Illness.
- Travel.
- Medicines such as hormonal birth control methods, which may cause lighter, less frequent, more frequent, or skipped periods or no periods at all.
- Hormone problems. This may cause a change in the levels of the hormones that the body needs to support menstruation.
- Illegal drug use.
- Problems with the
pelvic organs
, such as
imperforate hymen,
polycystic ovary syndrome, or
Asherman's syndrome. - Breast-feeding. Many women do not resume regular periods until they have completed breast-feeding.
Remember, you can still become pregnant even though you are not menstruating. Practice birth control if you do not wish to become pregnant.
Premature ovarian failure is when you stop menstruating before age 40. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy to the abdomen or pelvis may cause premature ovarian failure.
Other diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, tuberculosis, liver disease, and diabetes can cause missed or irregular periods, although this is rare. However, if any of these diseases are present, you will usually have other symptoms besides menstrual irregularities.
If you've skipped a period, try to relax. Restoring your life to emotional and physical balance can help. Many women miss periods now and then. Unless you are pregnant, chances are your cycle will return to normal next month.
Review the Check Your Symptoms section to determine if and when you need to see your health professional.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
Missed or Irregular Periods Topics
ENABLEX is a prescription medicine used in adults to treat the following symptoms due to a condition called overactive bladder:
- · having a strong need to go to the bathroom right away (also called "urgency")
- · leaks or wetting accidents (also called "urinary incontinence")
- · having to go to the bathroom too often (also called "urinary frequency")
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
You should not take once-daily ENABLEX if you have certain types of stomach problems, glaucoma, or have trouble emptying your bladder. Side effects of ENBLEX include blurred vision, and more commonly dry mouth, constipation, indigestion, and abdominal pain. Use caution when doing certain activities until you know how ENBALEX affects you.
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
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