Frequent delays in menstruation

For patients aged 10 to 17 years, all medical services are provided free of charge.

Make an appointment for a consultation by phone.

One of the problems that significantly complicates the work of a pediatric gynecologist is late access to a doctor in case of menstrual irregularities, delays or abnormal menstruation in teenage girls.

Until now, any topics related to sexuality are considered extremely intimate in our society, closed for discussion. Because of this, many girls are embarrassed to talk about their problems with their parents and even with their gynecologist. The lack of reliable information about the characteristics of menstrual discharge causes some of them to show excessive anxiety and even fear upon the onset of menarche. Others, on the contrary, due to the inability to assess how normal the changes occurring in the body are, do not pay attention to negative symptoms or hope that everything will improve on its own.

Modern gynecologists consider menstrual discharge to be one of the main indicators of a woman’s health status. Many diseases and pathological conditions lead to delays, disruption of cyclicity and the occurrence of other abnormalities. Early detection of the problem allows you to start treatment in a timely manner and subsequently apply preventive measures to curb the development of the disease.

Most girls experience their first menstruation between 12 and 14 years of age. However, in reality, the process of puberty begins several years earlier. From about 8 years old, the level of specific sex hormones in a girl’s body begins to increase, under the influence of which her body gradually begins to change.

The transformation affects almost all organs and systems: the pelvic bones expand, the thickness of the fat layer increases, due to which the body of a teenage girl acquires feminine roundness, and the development of secondary sexual characteristics begins.

Changes occur in a certain sequence. At about 9-10 years old, the mammary glands begin to enlarge, the process of formation of their internal structure begins, which lasts about 6-7 years and ends at about 15-16 years of age. During the same period, the girl begins to develop hairs on her pubic area, and then on other parts of her body. Only after two or three years does the first menstruation occur, giving rise to menstrual cycles.

The cyclical nature of menstruation is due to certain physical changes and hormonal fluctuations that prepare the female body for pregnancy and bearing a child. If pregnancy does not occur during one period, a kind of renewal and return to the original state occurs in the body, i.e. menstruation, giving rise to a new cycle.

Features of menstruation in teenage girls

Pediatric gynecologists consider the following indicators to be the conditional norm:

• age of menarche, i.e. the onset of the first menstruation - about 12-13 years;
• the duration of the monthly cycle during the first year is from 21 to 35 days;
• duration of menstruation – from 3 to 7 days;
• The permissible interval between menstruation is from 21 to 45 days.

During the first year, the cyclicity of the onset of menstruation is just being established, so small delays, fluctuations in their duration and frequency are not a dangerous deviation. Parents should remember that their regularity and intensity can be influenced by various external factors.

Due to the lack of clear indicators of the norm, parents do not always understand in what cases it is necessary to contact a pediatric gynecologist.

Main signs to see a doctor:

• no breast enlargement by age 13;
• absence of menstruation before age 15;
• cessation of monthly discharge for more than 90 days;
• irregular menstruation;
• the duration of the monthly cycle is less than 21 days or more than 40 days;
• duration of menstruation over 7 days;
• excessive bleeding, requiring changing tampons or pads every 2 hours or more often;
• severe pain accompanying menstruation;
• spotting between periods.

If a girl has at least one of the listed signs, she must be shown to a doctor.

Why do delays occur and the cyclicity of menstruation in girls occurs?

If the menstrual cycle is unstable, the following factors may influence its fluctuations:

• poor ecology, presence of pollution in the environment;
• constant quarrels between family members, unfavorable psychological situation in the house;
• heredity, late onset of menstruation and irregular periods in the mother;
• long-term stress and anxiety associated with studies, or conflict situations that arise when communicating with peers;
• excessive physical activity due to intense sports or a large amount of housework (more often happens in families living in rural areas);
• unbalanced diet, lack of nutrients, vitamins and minerals;
• metabolic disorders, obesity.

In any of these cases, delays and disruption of the menstrual cycle are possible. When they appear, it is necessary to visit a pediatric gynecologist as soon as possible to establish the cause of the pathology and begin its treatment.

Contact our medical center to consult a qualified gynecologist specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents. We can do any tests that are necessary to diagnose the disease, undergo ultrasound and other types of research.

What delay is considered normal?

How long can a period be normally delayed if a girl is sure that she is definitely not pregnant? If critical days are “late” by several days (no more than 7), then you should not worry when:

• There are no signs of pathology. How long can menstruation be delayed in a more or less healthy non-pregnant woman? Experts say 2-3 days. A girl’s period being late for 2 days is the norm; it can occur due to sudden changes in air temperature outside or due to surges in atmospheric pressure. A woman's period being late for 3 days is also not a reason to worry. It can be associated with constant stress, poor nutrition, overwork, etc. It's worth thinking about changing your lifestyle. Even a 4-day delay in menstruation is not a reason to panic; it can be caused by the same reasons.
• There is pathology, but it is not related to the reproductive system. How long can a girl's period be delayed without pregnancy and without serious health problems? From 5 to 7 days. A delay of about 5 days in menstruation may occur due to colds, flu or other infection, inflammatory disease. The patient cannot be called completely healthy, but there is no need to contact a gynecologist with such a delay. As soon as her body recovers, the cycle will improve. A delay of 6 or 7 days in menstruation can also be due to the fact that the girl had an acute respiratory infection, flu, sore throat, or suffered from bronchitis. If we talk about the norm, i.e. how many days can a period be delayed? Doctors believe that it is no more than a week, i.e. from 5 to 7 days.
• Pregnancy or the presence of any pathology. When a delay in menstruation lasts 10 days or more, this indicates the presence of various gynecological or endocrine (hormonal) diseases or the onset of pregnancy. In this case, you should immediately visit a gynecologist to prescribe treatment at the initial stage of the disease. Otherwise, over time, without proper treatment, complications may appear, for example, infertility.

The negative impact of stress on the monthly cycles of teenage girls

In adolescence, a girl’s nervous system, as a rule, is not highly stable and is subject to high stress. The hormonal changes occurring in the body contribute to the emergence of strong emotional fluctuations. A stressful state can be caused by even insignificant or ordinary, from the point of view of an adult, events, which does not eliminate the need to combat this phenomenon.

Most often, the following manifestations act as stress factors.

• Changes in body shape or function. This is most typical for girls who started puberty earlier than their peers. They often experience psychological discomfort due to the changes taking place and are embarrassed about their body. Another common reason for stress is a change in metabolism, leading to a sharp increase in body fat.
• Conflicts with peers. It is no secret that violence in various forms is widespread among teenagers today, from moral pressure to physical influence.
• Family problems. Any deterioration in the psychological atmosphere in the family has a sharply negative impact on the fragile nervous system of adolescents. Excessive severity, lack of trust between parents and the girl, indifference to her problems, quarrels between mother and father - all these are stress factors for the child.
• Moving. Changing a place of residence in adolescence is much more difficult to endure than in adulthood, since a girl’s social circle completely changes, she is forced to join a new team, and this does not always happen without conflicts.
• Love experiences. During adolescence, almost all girls experience the feeling of falling in love for the first time. It may be unrequited or cause reciprocal feelings on the part of the object of love, but in any case it serves as a source of extremely acute and violent emotions.
• Studies. The increased attention today aimed at achieving high results in the Unified State Exam and other educational tests often serves as a source of stress for schoolgirls.

Parents should avoid circumstances that contribute to the formation of stressful situations. The child’s psyche is extremely vulnerable, and the consequences of mental trauma often manifest themselves through a variety of physical ailments, including in the form of disorders of the development of reproductive function.

The fact is that a stressful state is accompanied by an increase in the production of prolactin, a hormone that is usually produced in large quantities during pregnancy and lactation.

One of the most important functions of prolactin in a woman’s body is to control the production of progesterone, a hormone that regulates the course of the menstrual cycle in its second, final phase. In addition, prolactin has a regulatory effect on thyroid cells. The higher the level of prolactin in the body, the more the secretion of hormones in the thyroid gland is inhibited. At the same time, prolactin impairs the passage of signals between the thyroid gland and the pituitary gland, resulting in an increase in the production of thyroid-stimulating hormone. High TSH levels contribute to the development of menstrual irregularities, usually leading to delays. If prolactin levels are maintained at a consistently high level for a long time, the result is a complete cessation of menstruation, or amenorrhea.

Another negative manifestation of stress is an increase in the activity of another hormone-producing organ - the adrenal cortex. There is an increase in the production of cortisol, a hormone that also affects the menstrual cycle and overall metabolism. The consequence of excessive cortisol production is often an increase in body fat, deterioration of the skin, as well as hirsutism - increased growth of body hair. Menstruation becomes irregular and leads to delays. If the condition does not improve over a long period of time, infertility may result.

How to get your periods back if they disappeared while losing weight?

Menstrual irregularities or complete absence of periods on a diet are a common problem. This can indicate either serious illnesses or that a particular diet and training program are not suitable for you, that there is too much stress in life, that the body is tired and needs rest. To solve a problem, you need to find and eliminate the cause that caused it. To do this, you will need to take blood tests and take a break from diet and exercise. Read the article for more details.

How to get your periods back if they disappeared while losing weight?

Many women on a diet experience some kind of menstrual irregularities. To avoid these problems, it is necessary to take into account the nutritional characteristics and characteristics of training against the background of the female cycle, and in order to return menstruation, you need to understand the reasons and urgently take action (calorizer). Increased cycles, irregular periods, or complete cessation of periods can either lead to or signal greater health problems.

First, you should make sure that an irregular cycle or absence of menstruation (amenorrhea) is not one of the symptoms of serious diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, early menopause, pituitary tumor, or thyroid dysfunction. It is necessary to contact a gynecologist and endocrinologist to get a referral for blood tests to rule out these options.

Causes of menstrual irregularities

In most cases, those losing weight lose their periods for the following reasons:

• Too much physical activity;
• Too large and/or prolonged calorie deficit;
• Unbalanced diet;
• Reaching too low a body fat percentage;
• Chronic stress.

Too much physical activity can cause amenorrhea. This often happens when girls copy the training programs of professionals, try to set records in every lesson, or do too much cardio (several hours every day). The body experiences enormous stress and seeks to save energy through the function of procreation.

A strict or long-term diet leads to hormonal disorders - the level of stress hormone increases, the level of leptin decreases, and subsequently the level of sex hormones. In such conditions, the body strives to survive, rather than reproduce. Leptin is involved in the regulation of the reproductive system. The stronger and longer the calorie deficit, the lower the level of this hormone.

Eliminating entire food groups from the diet, such as red meat and dairy products, as well as severely limiting fats can lead to disruption of the female cycle. Fats are necessary for the production of hormones. Red meat contains iron, and dairy products contain calcium. Women's needs for these substances are higher than those of men, especially against the background of problems with the cycle.

A low percentage of fat and rapid weight loss also introduce an imbalance in hormonal levels. It is also worth mentioning leptin, the level of which in the body decreases with weight loss.

Chronic stress is one of the main factors of hormonal disorders. The nervous and endocrine systems regulate immune and reproductive functions. There is a lot of evidence of how prolonged emotional turmoil led to menstrual irregularities. There is the concept of “military amenorrhea,” when during periods of hostilities women lost their periods. Many women in their daily lives experience a level of stress that causes their body to “delay” the moment of ovulation. The situation is aggravated by a calorie deficit, training, lack of sleep, neuroses and complexes, and abuse of stimulants.

How to restore the menstrual cycle?

Ignoring the problem can lead to serious consequences - infertility, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases that develop against the background of hormonal disorders. First of all, you need to take blood tests for hormones and undergo an examination prescribed by your doctor to make sure that you are formally healthy. At the same time, create conditions in which the cycle can restore itself. As we know, prevention is the best treatment.

1. Give yourself a break from training for 2 weeks. Increase your non-exercise activity – go for walks more often, try to be active;
2. Recalculate your calorie intake from deficit to weight maintenance, eat within this calorie intake for two weeks;
3. Balance the BJU of your diet;
4. Each meal should consist of proteins, carbohydrates, fats;
5. Get enough sleep;
6. Get more rest, use stress reduction techniques;
7. Drink a high-quality vitamin and mineral complex, pay more attention to the content of vitamins and minerals, iron, calcium, selenium and iodine. Consult your doctor about choosing a vitamin-mineral complex and the need for additional supplements;
8. Eat sea fish more often or include Omega-3 supplements in your diet.

After this, you can gradually return to training, but do the following:

1. Reduce the intensity of physical activity;
2. Recalculate your caloric intake taking into account available energy;
3. On training days, compensate for the calories burned during exercise by eating up to the level of available energy.

The recovery process will not be quick. It can take one month or four. It depends on how long ago the hormonal balance was disrupted. The faster you normalize your daily routine, nutrition and psychological state, the better it will be for your health.

Thus, in order to prevent menstrual irregularities, you should refrain from extremes in diet and exercise, control your stress level and take into account the characteristics of your body (calorizator). To restore the cycle, you will have to do the same, but this will require taking a break from training and diet. Perhaps this will take you one step further away from the result, but it will return the most important thing to you - your health.

Author: Ekaterina G., nutritionist, fitness blogger (especially for) Copying this article in whole or in part is prohibited.

How to deal with stress in teenagers

Since the impact of stress on the development of the reproductive system of girls is extremely great, reasonable and responsible parents should do everything in their power to minimize the risk of their occurrence.

• Try to get psychologically closer to your daughter and create a trusting, friendly atmosphere in the family. She should know that when dealing with her problems, she will receive not reproaches and lectures, but sympathy, friendly advice and help.
• Support your child's hobbies, provide opportunities to attend extracurricular sports, arts, crafts, etc. Children and teenagers who have hobbies are much less likely than their peers without hobbies to experience stress and find themselves in dangerous company.
• Organize a girl’s daily routine, in which there is room not only for studying and computer games or social networks, but also for other activities. Make sure she goes to bed on time and sleeps for at least 8-9 hours.
• Physical activity is the key to a girl’s harmonious development. Walking and cycling, classes in a dance club or sports section not only strengthen the body, but also normalize the functioning of the nervous system, neutralize the effects of stress factors, and help to calm down.
• Be an example for your child of a calm and balanced approach to everyday problems. Teach your daughter to look at any situation from a positive point of view, instill in her the confidence that any obstacles can be overcome to her advantage by finding positive aspects in them.
• Be sure to encourage every child’s success, even small ones, praise your daughter more often and tell her how much you love her. For a girl, emotional contact with her parents is especially important.

What to do in case of delays and irregularities in the monthly cycle

The first step after contacting a pediatric gynecologist, as a rule, is a thorough examination of the young patient. It includes:

• gynecological examination;
• determination of body mass index;
• ultrasound examination of the peritoneal organs;
• clinical urine and blood tests, as well as, if necessary, biochemical blood tests;
• analysis of hormone levels.

The listed measures allow us to determine the cause of deregulation of the menstrual cycle. If the problem arose due to deterioration of the thyroid gland, the doctor prescribes hormonal therapy. During treatment, monthly monitoring of hormone levels is carried out. Violations caused by a lack of vitamins can be eliminated with the help of a balanced diet and multivitamins, in particular E and group B.

You quickly lose a lot of kilograms

Of course, it all depends on the starting weight. Conventionally, if a girl weighs 150 kg, then she will lose 10 kg in the first month without harm to her health. If a girl has 5-7 extra kg, and she wants to get rid of them in a week, then this can affect the general condition of the body and the menstrual cycle, in particular.

A safe option is to lose 5% of your initial body weight in two weeks. But before losing weight, I recommend doing bioimpedance measurements - an assessment of body composition, which shows exactly what your weight is made up of: how much fat tissue, muscle, fluid.

This study will help you track the quality of your weight loss by determining what is causing you to lose weight.