I need some support and people telling me it’s all going to be ok, because I’m a little scared.
I’m skipping periods. I’m 28, so menopause is damn unlikely. This first happened a few months ago… everything going along as usual, taking my birth control pills as directed, and then… no period. Of course, my first thought was to take a pregnancy test, which was negative. Went to see the doctor, who ordered some hormone tests and a abdominal ultrasound. everything normal except a slightly elevated TSH (nothing new, my TSH likes to dance around between the middle of the normal range and the edge of “too high”) and news that my ovaries are hiding pretty far back. Which apparently is fine but means ultrasound techs will need to squash me half to death to see them.
By the time I got those results back, I’d started my period again (a full month late), so my doc decided it was likely stress-related. Told me to try and relax and things would straighten themselves out - but if it happened again, she wanted to try the “progestin challenge”.
Guess what happened again. And I’m not even stressed out! Well, ok, I am now, about this, but in general the stress level in my life has gone down quite a lot.
I’m nervous. I don’t know what to expect from the progestin challenge. I don’t like the idea of taking a megadose of hormones to trigger menstruation, but if it’ll help, I guess it’s worth it. Has anyone here gone through this? Will I be bitchy and crying for a week? Will I gain ten pounds? Any advice?
I’m trying very hard not to picture my dried-up useless ovaries, but I’m scared. I want a whole bunch of babies, dammit, and this is making me worry that I may not have that chance. Can anyone make me feel a little better?
I’ve found soy products can disturb the menstrual cycle. That’s all I can think of. Sorry, don’t have experience with what you’re going through… just wanted to say hope you feel better and that things work out since that can be scary!
I used to do that pretty regularly when I was a teenager. Couple-three times a year when I was 15 or 16, slowly became less common over the years. It was down to once every couple years by my mid-20’s. Nobody had any clue what caused it, but it seemed overall pretty harmless.
It was one of the things that made me massively glad not to be sexually active as a teenager, though–if I’d been having sex when I started doing that, I’d have been freaked out all the damn time.
I’m sure your doctor explained this all, but if you’re taking birth control pills, you aren’t actually getting a period. You’re experiencing withdrawal bleeding during the week your body isn’t getting a daily dose of hormones (obviously they’re still in your system, though).
This could very well have something to do with stress or a change in diet or exercise, but it’s worth asking your mother and some female relatives whether your family’s got a history of premature menopause or other irregularities.
I did skip a period when I was about 28, for no apparent reason, while I was on BC. Freaked me right the heck out, I’ll tell you. I have no idea what caused it, but had my second baby the next year. It hasn’t happened since.
When you are on BCP for a while, your periods get lighter and lighter to the point that sometimes you can seem to skip. So, that might be a reason.
A major reason some women have irregular periods is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. I would guess that’s why your doctor had the ultrasound done. Here’s the thing: PCOS can’t always be diagnosed by ultrasound. It’s a slippery condition that has a symptom cluster, and not all women have all symptoms. My doc (yes, I have it) said that he wouldn’t be surprised if in the future it was found that what we now call PCOS is really several different conditions with overlapping symptoms. So … I would ask the doc specifically about PCOS. Warning: It took me TEN YEARS to get a doc to finally diagnose me, most blamed my symptoms on the fact that I was overweight, when the reality is that PCOS can contribute to weight issues.
How long have you been taking birth control? As Claire mentions, after a long time, sometimes your body seems to just think, “Eh, screw it.” Happened to me a few times, too. I understand why you’re freaked out! But truly, it’s probably nothing.
Hmm…I have PCOS and take BCP specifically to get my period (ok, that was when I was 13…eventually it helped with actual birth control too ;)) If I DON’T take the Pill - I stopped for about 6 months - I don’t get it.
Is not getting your period while on the Pill an actual symptom of PCOS?
I’ve skipped a couple of time over the years, each time seemed to be due to stress, or a radical change in diet/exercise/light.
Do you have very low body fat? I’ve heard it’s not unusual for female athletes to skip occasionally.
I second the diet/exercise thing. Any time I eat less or start working out a lot I have to make sure to ramp up my caloric intake for about 48 hours before I start my period because otherwise it skips.
I had the progestin many many years ago to jumpstart my period. Wasn’t on bc at the time and no chance of pregnancy. Took the pill for a couple days, my period started, and quickly it seemed? I started shaking. Have this memory of standing looking in the bathroom mirror, shaking, crying so hard I doubled over, just a complete meltdown. Cried for maybe an hour straight. The shaking was scarier. Doing that shocked move where you put you hands over your mouth. It lasted just the day the period started. In recent years I was diagnosed with PCOS.
Having PCOS can cause you to have irregular periods.
In addition, taking BCP – regardless of whether you have PCOS or not – can cause you to have lighter and lighter periods, and some women will sometimes seem to skip in that case.
While the event for the two are the same – not having a period when one is expecting it – the causes are completely different. So yes, someone who has PCOS and takes BCP to regulate their cycle COULD ALSO have a “skipped” or exceeding light period due to the BCP.
Unlikely, but not impossible - I have an aunt who started menopause at 26. But she also had things like hot flashes and stuff, it wasn’t just a missed period.
About the only thing you can do it go to a doctor and get it checked out. If it helps, there are women who skip periods from time to time throughout their lives and still have all the children they want and don’t have any thing wrong, they just skip periods occasionally. It can be a normal variation with nothing wrong other than a tendency to skip once in awhile.
Mine got pretty wonky at a similar age - I’d go 5-6 weeks. In my case it was after I stopped taking the Pill (which I’d used for 4 years). They never did get terribly regular until around age 34.
Also, spotting between cycles happened some times. The doctor gave me a short course of Provera which, er, cleaned out the pipes (THOROUGHLY) and that seemed to regulate things for a couple of years. By 4 years later though they’d become so irregular - and nearly nonstop spotting - that the doc did a D&C. This got rid of the spotting, but the cycles were still somewhat irregular (I went 3 months in between once, and definitely did pregnancy tests to make sure!).
Honestly, what finally sorted things out, may have been trying to get pregnant. I semi-seriously think that direct exposure to “those” hormones (we’d used a barrier method before) may have reminded my girly innards what they were expected to be doing.
Definitely discuss with your doctor. There may be some tests s/he may want to run to make sure your hormones aren’t too out of whack.
ETA: Sigh… I really should read for comprehension. I see you have seen the doctor. The Provera I had is the same as a progestin challenge. Basically you’ll have a really heavy period. I have no idea how that all interacts with birth control pills (will you remain on those while doing that). It was I think 10 days of pills, and Aunt Flo arrived with a vengeance about halfway through. I didn’t have any bitchiness (tho my spouse might disagree ;)) and no weight gain. Just get a jumbo-size package of your favorite cotton ponies.
Oh, and obviously I had kids after all of this. The doctor was actually a bit surprised I didn’t have that much trouble conceiving; she thought I’d need Clomid at least.
Well, saw the doc today, and she decided to just refer me to a gynecologist (she’s just my primary-care doc) instead of trying anything new. She double-checked my thyroid and ordered thyroid antibody tests, but nothing else will happen till I see a “pro”. We’ve ruled out PCOS; I don’t fit the symptoms, and an abdominal ultrasound back when this first happened showed normal happy internal bits, as far as they could tell.
I feel a little better knowing that some of you folks have mysteriously skipped periods without any scary health or fertility repercussions. And frankly, I’m glad to be passed off to someone who’s more knowledgeable on this stuff, because maybe I’ll get answers. And maybe, as some of you are suggesting, there are no answers. But I hate the thought of skipping periods here and there, because I know I’ll be flipping out every time it happens, running for a pregnancy test and biting my nails.
And I’m not even stressed out! Well, ok, I am now, about this, but in general the stress level in my life has gone down quite a lot.