one for the girls.....my periods are abnormal, any advice?

Question

for the last few months i come on for a day, stop for atleast 24 hours and then start again for a few more days, this months i came on for a few hours , then stopped for 24 hours, made love, and then came on for an hour and thats it, its now stopped. i know im not pregnant as was sterilised 3 years ago, im only 24 so its not my menapause, any ideas as getting concerned.

Answer 1

Go to your doctor to make sure er'thing is alright

Answer 2

Definately get some labs drawn. I had periods similar in that they would be light and come and go at age 19. (I am now 48)
the Doctors said it was because I was underweight and a long-distance runner. At age 21 they stopped altogether and I was concerned about pregnancy--not that. I developed a pituitary problem that affected all of my hormones and eventually had to have a MRI to diagnose a pituitary tumor which was removed at age 28. I had a few (very few) cycles after that and none for about 10 years + now. The way they diagnosed the pituitary problem was because I was reading an old magazine in the doctors office and showed him the article--he did not want to believe that was the cause, but ran some prolactin tests and a CAT scan (CAT showed nothing), the blood work came back very high (0-20 is normal, mine was 2,000) so they did the MRI and found the problem.
Point being, there may be a lot of reasons WHY your cycles are irregular and by means of testing and seeing an ENDOCRINOLOGIST (specialty=hormones) we solved the question. I hope this is NOT what you have but it is very common in women and if so, have it removed, but be sure that the doc's check ALL of your hormone levels. Stress can also be a cause of amenoria (no periods), so if you are totally stressed out, that may be the cause. But PLEASE see your OB/GYN and
an ENDOCRINOLOGIST to be sure!

Good Luck and Be Well.

Answer 3

If you have been sterilised it could be a hormonal imbalance, I would book an appointment with your Doctor or Practise Nurse to discuss the matter, these symptoms do sound slightly like those experienced by some women during the menopause and sterilisation can lead to early menopause in some individuals, if you want to take a more holistic approach I would recommend either an Aromatherapist, Homoeopath or Reflexologist as these complementary therapies are very affective at treating hormonal imbalances naturally, but you do need to see you Doctor first, just to make sure that you have an accurate diagnosis before commencing any treatments. Good luck

Answer 4

Perimenopause and natural progesterone
Years before the end of your periods, a woman goes through a transitional time that is called perimenopause. This transition - puberty in reverse - occurs as your hormones are gearing down from the high levels needed to reproduce. This transition can take between one and 10 years, but averages about three years. After a full year without a period a woman is proclaimed menopausal.

Hormonal changes are responsible for the onset of perimenopause. As a woman reaches the end of her childbearing years, production of her ovarian hormones begins to fluctuate. During perimenopause, many cycles are annovulatory (do not include ovulation) and estrogen levels can sharply rise and then quickly drop. This causes menstrual periods to become shorter, then more and more irregular until they stop.

In the United States, the average age of menopause is 51.

What are some of the symptoms of perimenopause?
The variations in hormones that occur during perimenopause are responsible for many of the symptoms. Luckily most of the symptoms typically only last for a few months. About one-third of women have no symptoms, while a third have mild ones and a third have severe ones. Overall, many women feel unstable during this time with temperature control (hot flashes), heart rates (palpitations), energy (fatigue), moods (irritability) and even thinking (fuzzy thinking).

Here are some of the commonly mentioned symptoms:

Fatigue
Insomnia
Irregular menstrual periods
Heavy bleeding
Irritability
Hot flashes and night sweats
Memory difficulties (fuzzy thinking)
Mood swings
Although perimenopause is perfectly normal, some symptoms should probably be checked to make sure that they are not the sign of something else. This is particularly true for persistent heavy bleeding, persistent palpitations (especially when accompanied by chest pain or shortness of breath), severe depression or fatigue.

Extreme variations in hormones make testing hard. The FSH test, which checks the blood level of the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), is only valuable after you have been without a period for a year, by which time you will have probably figured out that you are in menopause.

Premature menopause
Premature menopause is technically defined as menopause that occurs before the age of 40. You stop ovulating and your periods stop completely years before the "normal" age of menopause. When you're going through early menopause, you'll notice symptoms that are the same as those for women in perimenopause -- hot flashes, changes in your period, night sweats, mood swings and the like. But you'll notice these symptoms at a much younger age -- in your 20s, early 30s, even late teens. Your estrogen levels drop; your FSH levels rise in an effort to jumpstart your ovarian function -- but you stop ovulating and, ultimately, your periods stop altogether decades earlier than usual.

The role of progesterone
Progesterone has a comprehensive role in a woman's body. And when levels drop, your body is going to react in a big way. We now know that if we allow estrogen to dominate the hormonal environment, there is significant risk of breast cancer and reproductive cancer. So one of progesterone's most important roles is to balance or negate the effects of estrogen.

At menopause, a women's estrogen level will drop by 40-60% (or can be lower in cases involving thin women). Just low enough to stop the menstrual cycle. Progesterone levels, however, may drop close to zero in some women.

This wouldn't have bothered a woman at the turn of the 20th century who rarely lived beyond her reproductive years. But these days a woman can expect to live to 85 years and beyond. She needs to give some thought to how she's going to rejuvenate her 'ageing' endocrine system. Natural hormone replacement will become a vital anti-ageing tool for both men and women, and progesterone supplementation is a good place to start.

Need more info?
E-mail me!
Blessings~
Michelle Jones

Answer 5

I agree you should really go to the doctor. I used to have alot of problems with this when I was in my late teens and early 20's. Sometimes the doctor will place you on a form of birth control (even though you are sterilized) just simply to help regulate your periods! Good luck with this~!

Answer 6

You really need to go to the doctor and have an exam and maybe some tests done. This could be as simple as an irregular cycle or something that needs looking into. Good luck.

Answer 7

well i would say the pill but as you have been sterilised i would put it down to diet/ oestrogen levels.
Didn't realise you had periods when been sterilised,well as they say you learn something new every day.
I got pregnant on the pill and ever since i started back on the pill i have my periods all over the place and have been on many different pills!

Answer 8

Hi-you need to see a doctor about something like this, could be due to any number of things

Answer 9

See a doctor it could be hormonal. Abnormal periods are fairly normal though they could be a sign of bigger problems.

Here's just one example: PCOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pcos

Answer 10

That is odd. May have something to do with how you were "sterilized"...? Hmmm....I would go see your GYN and have it checked out. Even if you can't get pregnant---birth control pills can even out your cycle.