Menstrual Cycle is the most essential one week for a woman every month. The more these are regular, the fewer diseases related to intimate hygiene or any other genital disorders. Menstruation keeps the system of a woman clean and purifies it every month through the gushing of blood lining from the uterus.
Whenever women reach the phase of Menopause, they experience sure signs of newly developed disease in the body, along with losing the strength from the bones. The list of issues and sickness keeps on increasing with sure signs of aging.
But what if your doctor says your body isn’t going to witness menstruation like those million other women in the world? It is unusual and sounds strange, but it is undoubtedly genuine, and this condition in medical terms is known as Amenorrhea.
According to various studies and diagnoses, Amenorrhea is a condition wherein a woman hasn’t experienced a menstrual cycle between puberty and Menopause. A woman does not share the flow of blood every month during her reproductive years.
It may sound very relaxing and calm for many who have to bear the cramps every month when the menstruation occurs, but it indeed is the reason behind many diseases and isn’t as comforting as it sounds. Amenorrhea doesn’t indicate the possibility of infertility in a woman, rather a more strong indication towards an underlying health condition.
There are certain phases in a woman’s life when the menstruation cycle stops for the time being. It could be during pregnancy or after reaching the age of Menopause. But if it doesn’t begin or maybe abruptly stopped when it is expected to occur, it is a sure sign of Amenorrhea.
What are the types and Causes?
Primary Amenorrhea
Primary Amenorrhea is witnessed very rarely and is the type where period in a girl during her puberty does not occur. National Institutes of Health says that the menstrual cycle must commence at its usual period, which is 16 years of age in a girl. If so does not happen, someone should seek immediate medical attention from a gynecologist.
Primary Amenorrhea usually is detected in someone who already has a family history of delayed menstruation. Specific genetic causes of Amenorrhea involves:
- High levels of Testosterone
- Turner Syndrome
- Müllerian defects, a malformation of reproductive organs such as the improper formation of fallopian tubes or ovaries.
The inability of the genital organs to form accurately makes it incapable of a natural procedure of menstruation to take place.
Secondary Amenorrhea
Secondary Amenorrhea is a type where a woman used to have her cycle, but now they have ceased to occur due to a health condition. One should not worry about this if the menstrual cycle doesn’t happen at its usual time just once. But if the cycle is always irregular and takes a pause after a certain period, your diagnosis might be Secondary Amenorrhea.
During pregnancy or breastfeeding, menstruation stops, but as the body begins to become normal again, periods become regular. Amenorrhea seems likely to occur in a person when a woman doesn’t have her period for over three months.
The menstrual cycle after a specific period could pause due to:
- Low BMI where it reaches below 19 which is the balanced rate of BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Excessive Stress
- Irregular period due to PCOD
- Physical Stress
- There could be medications such as progesterone-only contraceptive medication or any other drug-related to allergy, chemotherapy, antidepressants, etc. that cause irregularity in the monthly cycle.
- Experts say that long-distance runners or ballet dancers experience secondary Amenorrhea due to their rigorous physical routine and sometimes in people who had excessive weight loss due to any disease.
- Premature ovarian failure
- The cancerous tumor in the pituitary gland
What are the Possible Symptoms & Treatments?
The most prominent symptom of Amenorrhea is no occurrence of the menstrual cycle in women, but this could show other symptoms as a sign such as:
- Excessive Hair Loss
- Effects the Visibility
- Extra hairs on the sides of a face
- Lack of breast development in women/girls who are in the Primary Amenorrhea stage.
The doctors might prefer to check for a certain level of hormones in a woman for accurately recognizing the diagnosis that she has Amenorrhea. The hormone level assessment could be a follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and thyroid-stimulating hormone.
A gynecologist may ask several questions in case of Secondary Amenorrhea, which would depend on the factors such as:
- The age when menstruation began
- Possibility of any forthcoming Pregnancy
- Whether Sexually Active or not
- Regularity and blood flow during menstruation
The doctor then, based on those questions, would order tests such as Pregnancy, Thyroid, ovary function test, etc. There could also be other imaging tests like passing a thin, lighted camera through the vagina or cervix to examine the uterus. This testing is known as hysteroscopy.
A professional may advise a watchful gaze over the beginning of the menstrual cycle in the primary Amenhorrea stage if a woman has a family history of the late starting of the menstrual cycle. In the case of deformed reproductive organs, the physician might suggest surgery, but it might not guarantee a regular and natural flow of blood during the period.
If a woman is in the Secondary Amenorrhea stage, the doctor will base his treatment on:
- The doctor would identify excessive weight loss, wherein the cause of the weight loss, and depending on the same treatment or weight gain, the professional regime would follow.
- Rigorous exercise routine could cause an effect so the doctor might arise to be soft on the pattern so that the monthly cycle could be static and stabilized.
- If the weight gain is due to PCOS, proper medication and treatment might reduce excessive weight gain.
- If the underlying cause of Secondary Amenorrhea is Stress, it could be reduced with counseling so that the monthly cycle does not get affected anymore.
All these treatments and maintaining a proper healthy routine can help in stabilizing health and could lead to a regular menstrual cycle. If your condition turns severe and persists, meet your physician for a proper diagnosis.
