Answering the question mark about irregular periods
I have yet to meet a women who doesn't complain about her period. Goodness knows I have. We worry about it's arrival each month (admit it -- you've counted days on a calendar worrying about whether "it" will come during prom or your wedding or your beach vacation). But when it doesn't arrive like clockwork, that's worrisome in a whole other way. For women with irregular periods the question is usually "why?"Researchers from four universities surveyed women and found that only 28% had perfectly regular cycles. The reasons for irregular periods vary. Here are just some of the possibilities:
- Late periods. If you're over 45 and your periods are stretching out for longer periods of time you might be perimenopausal. If you're under 45, talk to your doctor -- you may have a hormone imbalance.
- Missed periods. The obvious possibility is pregnancy, but if you've already ruled that out there are other possibilities. Stress can cause you to skip a period or two and conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can also caused missed periods. If you're extremely underweight or have high muscle mass/low body fat that can also cause missed periods. Check with your doctor if you've skipped two or more periods in a row.
- Atypically heavy or light flow. A change in flow is likely due to progesterone fluctuations. Change in diet, stress, and sleeplessness can all affect progesterone levels and subsequently affect your period.
- More painful than usual. Many women experience cramps with their periods, but there are several factors that can make your cramps worse than usual. Stress and poor eating habits can both affect cramping. PCOS, endometriosis, and fibroids can also lead to painful periods.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-13-2008 @ 4:14PM
Christi said...
So many women get hung up on, "If my period isn't stopwatch perfect, am I normal?" Whereas, recognizing that women are individuals and that cycles are unique to themselves are a good first start. Then, women can go into finding out what healthy ranges are, and how their cycles compare.
A normal menstrual cycle is around 24 to 36 days and it's healthy for the follicular phase (the part of the cycle after the first day of menstruation up to ovulation) to vary in length because of varying levels of stress in our day-to-day/week-to-week lives.
As for the luteal phase (the part of the cycle after ovulation to the first day of the next cycle), healthy is between around 10 to 17 days. However, what's important is that with each individual woman, it shouldn't vary by more than a day or so from cycle to cycle. So, knowing the length of one's own luteal phase and knowing how to pinpoint ovulation are a reliable way of predicting when the next period should start.
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