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My daughter is 17. she started her period at 15. she bled for 3 month's straight. i took her to the doctor's and put her on birth control pills which made her stop. ok, good. but then she never got her period again so we stopped the pills. got her blood checked and that came back good,so my thing is what could be stopping her from having it? she's never had a regular period. one month she did bleed and after that nothing.
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I'm ninteen years old & have never had a normal period.. like your daughter, i bled ridiculously for a period of time.. mine was only a month & a half until i couldn't take it any longer. I was fifteen at the time. I get chronic headaches/migraines at least five times a week, I think probably due to the fact that my hormones are obviously not in any kind of balance.
I went to the gyno & instead of doing any tests, he put on birth control & never figured out what was wrong with me. my body started rejecting the birth control, yasmin, after two years; i stopped taking any birth control & never got a period.. when i went back, he put me on the nuva ring for whatever reason, and my body didn't like that one either. He then put me on loseasonique, which gives you a period every three months, and that made me sick.. after all of these, he then told me he thinks i have polycystic ovaries. Frustrated, I switched doctors because I was so tired of all this. My new doctor ran every test in the book, and they couldn't give me answers either.
Moral of my story, I have been reccommended by my current doctor to see a reproductive endocrinologist because she is out of ideas. Another thing she told me, was that I could be put on a mini pill which, from what I understand, just keeps your hormones in check & makes you lose the lining of your uterus like it should, because without getting a period the lining builds up & could be very dangerous & cause cancer in later years.
I hope this was helpful. & I hope your daughter gets/ or has gotten answers.
November 22, 2010 - 9:39amThis Comment
Anon - Thanks for your comments, and welcome to EmpowHER. It's sad to read about what you've already been through at such a young age and that you're still in a search for solid answers about your health. Let us know how your appointment goes with the endocrinologist, and if we can help you with any questions you may have afterwards. It's good to see you so well informed and advocating on your own behalf, and we're here to provide additional support if you need it.
November 22, 2010 - 5:32pmTake care,
Pat
This Comment
Hi im 19 and i have the same problem your doughter has.. i been to the doctor but i only get my period if im on birth control. and i got mine when i was 15 had a period 3 months and then the doctor put me on birth control and never got it back .. idk why concerns me because i would like to have kids..im not sexually active but its something i would like whenever i get merried and would like to know does anyone know if you can even become pragnant if in our case we dont have a period?... i get headaches and everything like if i was on my period but im not..someone plz help me!! idk what to do im scared !! im not gonna be able to have my own family!!!
December 1, 2009 - 5:45pm-Nia-
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Nia,
What you have is called amenorrhea, which means absence of menstruation.
It IS possible to get pregnant with amenorrhea, but you need to know if you're ovulating or not. If you aren't ovulating, you can't get pregnant. And if you are ovulating, you can get pregnant but it may be hard to know when in your cycle to try for a baby.
We have a great EmpowHer page on amenorrhea:
https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/amenorrhea-0#definition
And here's some information from that page:
Primary amenorrhea occurs if an adolescent female has not yet begun menstruation by around age 16 or so. Secondary amenorrhea describes a condition in which a woman who has previously menstruated on a regular basis misses three or more periods in a row. In the United States, amenorrhea affects between 2-5% of women.
In nonpregnant women, amenorrhea may result from a variety of factors, including an existing medical condition, lifestyle, emotional distress, hormonal irregularity, or medication. Every effort should be made to determine the exact cause. Specific causes of amenorrhea include:
◦Dramatic weight loss, particularly from drastic diets, eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia , or excessive exercise
◦Dramatic weight gain or morbid obesity
◦Malnourishment
◦Birth defects including lack of a uterus, vagina, or other reproductive organs
◦Medical conditions including cystic fibrosis , Cushing's disease , polycystic ovary , or Prader-Willi syndrome
◦Psychological stress—can lead to a hormonal imbalance sufficient to cause amenorrhea.
◦Medications—some antidepressants, chemotherapeutics, corticosteroids, certain contraceptives.
◦Chromosomal abnormalities
◦Hermaphroditism (having both male and female reproductive organs)
◦Pituitary tumor
◦Thyroid dysfunction
◦Uterine scarring
That page also talks about diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Have you seen your doctor in the last year or so? Has she or he talked with you about possible causes of your amenorrhea and whether any testing should be done?
December 3, 2009 - 8:22amThis Comment
well i went to the doctor with my daughter and she told me it's not medically needed to have a period but if you do want kids then they can give you pills to help you get a period every month. then you'll beable to have kids. there so many thing's they can do to help you. you just have to ask your doctor. i wouldn't worry about it hon. when your ready to have children just talk to your doctor.
December 1, 2009 - 8:36pmThis Comment
Fran,
I'm wondering how your daughter's appointment went? I hope that the ob/gyn was wonderful with her and that it's possible you'll get some answers soon. I loved your daughter's response to what the pelvic exam consists of -- "no way, mom" -- we forget, don't we, just how personal that seems the first time around. I hope she wasn't too nervous and that things went well.
April 24, 2009 - 2:17pmThis Comment
Sounds like she could have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome. POCS will cause irregular periods, weight gain - especially in the abdomen, facial hair, thinning head hair, painful periods, etc. The cause is usually a hormonal imbalance and cysts in the ovaries. I experience POCS symptoms (however, my period is regular just very heavy), but I haven't had any ovarian cysts. Talk with the OBGYN about this.
April 22, 2009 - 3:03amThis Comment
Fran, it's so great that you're such an advocate for your daughter's health. I'm sure this is a confusing time for her and it's so good that she has you by her side.
I'm also glad that she has an appointment with an OB/GYN. If this is her first appointment, was it just her regular doctor who put her on the pill before? Without any kind of a pelvic exam?
Please tell her not to be anxious about her appointment. I know it's a lot easier to say that than it is to do, especially for a first appointment. But this is the best thing you could be doing. An ob/gyn is much more familiar with hormonal and gynecological issues than a general practitioner would be.
In answer to what they could do besides a Pap smear: Quite a lot, actually. First of all, they'll take your daughter's medical history from start to finish, to look for any patterns; I'm sure they'll also be interested in the fact that you only had a few periods a year when you were her age. Second, they could test her hormone levels to see where she's at. Third, they could do a sonogram to check out how her ovaries and uterus appear. Fourth, they could prescribe different medication if they think it would be helpful, and discuss any contributing factors, like weight or activity. And last, but certainly not least, they could say "Don't worry! Everything is fine!" And wouldn't it be great to hear that and let time take its course?
Is this your own ob/gyn? If you are concerned at all you might make sure that the doctor and the nurse know ahead of time that this is your daughter's first appointment. I'm sure they'll do everything possible to put her mind at ease. And that means explaining things like the speculum, for instance. Are you able to talk about such things with your daughter, to help her prepare? She would probably be a little less nervous if she understands the stirrups, the speculum, the draping, the fact that she'll be asked to scoot waaaayyy down to the end of the table, and so on.
This may help her a little, it's a Teen magazine article about what to expect at the gynecologist:
http://www.teenmag.com/advice/sex/642953
Does this help at all? Are there more questions we can answer for you? When is your daughter's appointment?
April 20, 2009 - 9:50amThis Comment
hi diane,
April 20, 2009 - 11:35amyes this is her 1st time appoinment with the ob/gyn. her regular doctor put her on those pills. i'm glad to know that there's more than going right to the pap. now i'll write these options down and ask. yes she's going to my ob/gyn. i did explain everything what a ob/gyn does and she's like no way mom. lol. her appointment is tuesday 21st at 3. so wish her luck. thank you Diane, and for the quick responce.
This Comment
Hi,
What type of birth control is your daughter on? There is a pill, called Seasonale, that is an "extended" hormonal contraceptive (taken orally), that is used so women do not have menstruation (although, there is some spotting). I assume that your daughter was put on a 28-day hormonal contraceptive (just the regular "pill").
How much does your daughter weigh, and is she extremely athletic or physically active? Females who have a low body weight or are very active may have amenorrhea (absence of a period). Does your daughter have any other signs or symptoms? Are you concerned about your daughter's weight, or eating issues? Does she over-exercise, or is she in training for any athletic events? And, I've got to state the obvious question: the primary reason for missing periods is pregnancy, is this possible?
If you responded "no" to any of these questions above, then I am curious what the doctors say about her lack of a period. When she had heavy bleeding for a long period of time, did the doctors discover the underlying cause of this, or just put her on birth control? Heavy bleeding can be caused by many things, including fibroids (non-cancerous). Many, many women do not have "regular" periods, so please do not be alarmed by this. However, if the doctors are not providing any type of reason (with either the previous heavy bleeding or amenorrhea), I would suggest a second opinion.
Hope to hear back, and I can do some more research for you.
April 19, 2009 - 6:57amThis Comment