Irregular Periods and Their Causes ...

By Neecey

While a normal period happens for three to seven days each month (most typically every 28 days, but equally normally every 21 days to every 35 days), irregular periods can occur at completely different intervals and for varying lengths. A regular period can be light or heavy, producing anything from four teaspoons of fluid to 12, but irregular periods can produce a lot of blood or merely spotting and anything in between.

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1

What is Normal VS Irregular?

Normal periods occur 11 to 13 times a year, but irregular periods may only happen four to nine times a year. In the first three years of a woman's initial menstruation, periods can be quite irregular, which is common and nothing to worry about. However, after the initial three years one's period should be "as regular as clockwork," as the old adage goes. If it is not, then there are various factors that could influence your cycle adversely.

2

What Are the Most Frequent Types of Irregular Periods?

The most common types of irregular periods are:

• Amenorrhea means not having any kind of period for three to six months or more.

• Menometrorrhagia means having long and heavy periods that do happen on a regular basis.

• Oligomenorrhea means having infrequent periods at intervals of 35 days or more.

• Polymenorrhea means having periods that consistently happen at intervals of less than 21 days.

For women who have had their period for several years without any noticeable difference in their frequency and duration, the sudden change to irregular periods can be quite worrying. Not every absence of your period heralds pregnancy, or worse, the onset of cancer though. If you've missed a period, by all means, rush out to the drugstore to buy a pregnancy test kit. If the test comes up blank, but your period still won't show up, here are some of the most often cited reasons that could be responsible for it:

What causes irregular periods?

There are many underlying causes that could provoke irregular periods, but these are the most frequently reported ones:

3

Excessive Weight Loss or Gain

Hormones produced by our bodies during huge weight changes can impact on your cycle.

4

Stress

Prolonged experience of stress, tension and anxiety produces excess of cortisol in our bodies, a so-called stress hormone that wreaks havoc with estrogen and progesterone levels, both of which have a direct influence on the menstruation cycle.

5

Exercise Regimes

Periods require energy. Excessive exercise regimes leave our bodies without the necessary energy to go through the monthly cycle.

Famous Quotes

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

George Santayana
6

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia can have a profound impact on menstruation. Vomiting or starving to lose weight can affect hormones that impact on periods.

7

Using Birth Control Pills

Hormones play such an important part in the menstruation process. Birth control pills may often be helpful to regulate the cycle, but at the beginning they can cause irregular periods even in women who have always had regular cycles.

8

Pregnancy

The most commonly recognized cause for irregular periods - or rather the total stop of menstruation - is pregnancy. However, when your period suddenly stops, you're not necessarily preggers. Take a deep breath, let rational thought guide you before you freak out and ask your Mom, friends and colleagues to organize a baby shower! Do a pregnancy test and, if inconclusive, seek medical advice from your doctor.

9

Menopause

You may think you're still too young for the menopause, when your menstruation stops completely when you reach age 50+, but cancer treatment and chemotherapy can bring on early menopause in women of any age, not just those of middle years. Massive changes in hormonal output are responsible for the menopause, prompting a difficult time for women emotionally.

10

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

This condition is caused by ovarian cysts obstructing regular menstruation. The disorder is often accompanied by other symptoms such as hair growth or thinning of hair on one's scalp, excessive dandruff, infertility or inexplicable weight gain. Visit your doctor without delay if you suspect you suffer from PCOS - this condition often masks more serious causes, such as ovarian cancer.

Do you suffer from irregular periods? Did you seek advice to sort it out? Please share your stories to show others they’re far from alone with this issue.

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Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

Cramps sucks so bad omg

I think i have the olig

@Rabia Shakir your periods sound basically normal, the average period is 5 days long so you are average

For women who suffer from cramping so bad that you have a hard time even getting out of bed (me) , take calcium pills everyday! 1 with breakfast(or lunch) 1 with dinner. I swear by this! You can get them from any drug store, they will completely take cramps away.

Oh the joys of being a woman!

I started my period at 9 years old, but it never became regular, I get it 2-3 times in a single month from 3-9 days and then I always get spotting 1-2 times a month 😓 fast forward 8 years later not a single type of hormonal birth control has fixed it and I have been diagnosed with pcos at 17, irregular periods suck but no one is ever alone

I started with my periods at 13 and I now have irregular periods the cramps suck and I feel terrible every time I get them

All the time.. The cycle used to be 29-32days..for a strange reason when comes summer the cycle 39days and more. Went for check up

Okay i need some help. Im 16 years old and ive had my period since i was 13. Halloweeen of 2014 i stopped having it and didnt for 8 months untill i got onto a Hormone Induced Birth control. Ive been on the pill for almost 2 years now. For about 2 months now, ive been, like every month, taking my pill every night before bed. But the last 2 months in particular ive been having my period twice and ive been seki heavily spotting. I SHOULD get my period close to the end of the month according to my pills. I should start mine this Tuesday and i dont know what to do.

I have had my period for about 5 years now. For the past 3, it has been as regular as clockwork. It has always been 27 days apart, 4 days long, not too heavy, and with very mild cramps. However. I have noticed for about the past 6 months, it has become irregular. It arrived three weeks late at one point, two weeks early another... And has become longer, often lasting up to 8 or 9 days, and accompanied by heavy amounts of blood and cramps so bad that I have thrown up from them. I cannot visit the doctor until late January/ early February and was just wondering what you may believe the cause might be.

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