PERIODS and missing them driving me insane

[uncreativename]

i started my periods late at nearly 16 and they're not generally regular..they go in phases. anyway i keep finding if i get very stressed about something, it makes me miss my period...i am currently still waiting for my period and it's at least a week and a half late..i know i'm not pregnant as i took a test and my boyfriend and i use condoms every time and are very careful.
is the only way to solve this by taking the pill to regularise it? is it normal to miss periods like this?? should i see a doctor?

thanks,
uncreativename

[sera300]

Originally Posted by uncreativename

i started my periods late at nearly 16 and they're not generally regular..they go in phases. anyway i keep finding if i get very stressed about something, it makes me miss my period...i am currently still waiting for my period and it's at least a week and a half late..i know i'm not pregnant as i took a test and my boyfriend and i use condoms every time and are very careful.
is the only way to solve this by taking the pill to regularise it? is it normal to miss periods like this?? should i see a doctor?

thanks,
uncreativename

Stress, weight loss/gain and diet changes can throw your cycle off. How long you are off may be an issue; meaning normally a few days or a month? It's not uncommon for younger women to be irregular.

You need to discuss this with your Gyn, I hope you have seen one already & had a pap. Hormones [if diet and weight are normal] are really the only option to regulate your cycle. And condoms alone are not enough. Condoms for STD & pregnancy protection for him & for you; either spermicidal inserts, IUD, or BCP pills or cervical cap. You really need to discuss this and all options with your GYN! Let your doctor inform you more & you should be reading about your body so you know what is normal for you & how to be safe.

[Brandye]

The onset of menses indicates the beginning of your body changing from essentailly an asexual little girls'body to a very sexual woman's body. It takes a few years for the body to acclimate and for the hormones to reach their adult balance. During this transition stage, hormone levels are erratic making both ovulation and menstruation erratic. Most women take five to seven years for this rebalancing. Some require a pregnancy to stabilize the body. Some are put on hormones to regulate the body.

I, for one, spent most of my teen years washing spots out of knickers. Every pair I owned were spotted. If this is an incinvenience, it is an inconvenience most of us experience. If you are truly experiencing dysmennorhea (pai, scramps, wild mood swings), your doctor can help.

It would be interesting for each woman here to say when they began menstruating and when and how their periods stabilized. I started when I was barely thirteen and it took until I was eighteen. No therapy required - just lots of spotted sheets and knockers.

[uncreativename]

Originally Posted by Brandye

The onset of menses indicates the beginning of your body changing from essentailly an asexual little girls'body to a very sexual woman's body. It takes a few years for the body to acclimate and for the hormones to reach their adult balance. During this transition stage, hormone levels are erratic making both ovulation and menstruation erratic. Most women take five to seven years for this rebalancing. Some require a pregnancy to stabilize the body. Some are put on hormones to regulate the body.

I, for one, spent most of my teen years washing spots out of knickers. Every pair I owned were spotted. If this is an incinvenience, it is an inconvenience most of us experience. If you are truly experiencing dysmennorhea (pai, scramps, wild mood swings), your doctor can help.

It would be interesting for each woman here to say when they began menstruating and when and how their periods stabilized. I started when I was barely thirteen and it took until I was eighteen. No therapy required - just lots of spotted sheets and knockers.

thank you, brandye..you always come up with excellent responses. i thought it was only about 3 years..i guess it depends but nice to know it can take around 5 years or so for the body to get used to its cycle. it would be very interesting to note when others started and when they became stable in terms of their period cycle...

[smallestoftheclan]

I was 17, we bought quite a few pregnacy test in those 3 or so years. I was regular from the start. Every 30 days, lasted for 7, and flow was heavy from day 2 to day 6.
Fibroid tumors are in my family which my doctors said may of contributed to my heavy flow. Still have tubes and ovaries, the rest was removed 15 years ago.
I was just at my gyno and even though I had my cervix removed they tested me for cervical cancer. It seems that even though you are told it was removed it wasn't. There have been a handful of cervical cancer cases in the last few years in women who didn't think they even still had a cervix.

[sera300]

Originally Posted by uncreativename

i started my periods late at nearly 16 and they're not generally regular..they go in phases. anyway i keep finding if i get very stressed about something, it makes me miss my period...i am currently still waiting for my period and it's at least a week and a half late..i know i'm not pregnant as i took a test and my boyfriend and i use condoms every time and are very careful.
is the only way to solve this by taking the pill to regularise it? is it normal to miss periods like this?? should i see a doctor?

thanks,
uncreativename

What has your gyn doctor said to all of this over the years? Have you been to one? Have you had a PAP?

If not, please see a Gyn and get proper exams and information tailored to your particular situation & age.

[reciprocity]

I began when I was 12 and I evened out at about 16 years old. Except my cycle ran around 5.5 weeks as opposed to 28 days and this was so inconvenient because I could never pinpoint the exact day or couple days it would start. When I turned 17 I finally went to the Gyn and asked for a solution. I was put on Birth Control and have been since. I'm still slightly irregular though, even after having been on the pill for a few years. My body still wants to run at about 5 weeks and every now and then I don't begin on the placebo days, I start right after I start a new pack.

[lnt1103]

Your body knows. Stress just will throw things off. As a diabetic, stress hormones will throw off my blood sugar. I've heard of girls missing or being late during finals at school because of the stress. I had a doctor say to me once, 'it's all one body...it's all connected and it all affects other things.'

And stress hormone may not be the only thing in the works here. Reciprocity mentioned going on BC to try to regulate her-I've heard of that before. Again, as a diabetic, I'm on thyroid. But sometimes I get bad about taking it (I know, naughty lnt but its only 88 mcg to try to shrink a goiter-my levels are always fine) and it will mess with my cycle.