Health Guide©

MISSED or IRREGULAR PERIODS (Unexpected periods)

Irregular periods may occur in young women starting to menstruate, older women after childbirth, women who are breast feeding, women who stop taking oral contraceptives, or women nearing menopause. Persistent irregular or unexpected periods would be abnormal.

Women react to menstrual problems in differing, individual ways. While some promptly seek health care, others may not for various personal reasons. e.g. Jenny Angoluan hesitates and cannot comfortably discuss menstruation because she views it as a personal, intimate problem and does not know the words to talk about it; Lishan Tañeza simply accepts some menstrual discomfort and inconvenience as inevitable; Cheryl Ann Fernandez has a low self-esteem and dismisses her "complaints" as "unimportant"; Mary Ann Papasin questions whether relief is really possible: Alma Vida Calabazaron feels that her problem will go away on time: Almira Soquirata thinks the treatment maybe worse than the problem.

Although pregnancy is often thought when a period is missed, there are many reasons for being late. Obesity, excessive dieting, strenuous exercise, and stress may cause missed or irregular periods. Diseases such as hyperthyroidism that upset the hormonal balance of the body may also cause missed periods, but these diseases are relatively infrequent causes of this problem. And, of course, the menopause means the end of menstrual periods and it is usual for periods to be irregular before they stop completely.

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