Missed period should i see doctor

What could be the possible reasons for a delayed period? When should you see a doctor? Living Well Expert Dr. Thanks for your question. It can be normal for women to skip some periods even if they are not pregnant. There are many reasons for missed or delayed periods. The most common causes are pregnancy as you have mentioned , breastfeeding and menopause.

Other reasons include a recent change in weight either weight loss or gain , stress such as emotional stress or physical stress from illness or very strenuous exercise , medication side effects and hormone problems.

After stopping birth control pills, for example, it may be possible to miss your periods for several months. Also, hormonal imbalances such as abnormal thyroid or adrenal gland levels can cause changes in periods. Finally, cysts or tumors on parts of the body involved with menstruation -- such as the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain, or the ovaries polycystic ovarian syndrome -- may be the cause.

If a woman was previously having periods on a regular roughly monthly basis but then goes without one for more than three to six months, a visit to the doctor is recommended. The doctor will ask questions about the woman's lifestyle such as eating and exercise habits , medications and any other symptoms. Laboratory tests of the blood or urine may be performed in addition to a pelvic exam and possibly some imaging studies such as an ultrasound of the pelvis.

Amenorrhoea may also result from hormonal imbalances related to thyroid disorders. Hypothyroidism , for example, can cause amenorrhoea, and actually, amenorrhoea is the first symptom that a patient has that makes them decide to see a doctor.

Of course, there are many other reasons why amenorrhoea occurs and it is important that lab tests and scans are performed to find the exact cause to give the right treatment. Read more: Is my menstrual cycle normal? Because when a woman is suffering from amenorrhoea, their hormones are not working properly, so she will not ovulate during her cycle. If a woman has amenorrhoea for over two months, this means that there is no ovulation in this time period.

If there is no ovulation, women cannot conceive. It is very important that if a woman has amenorrhoea in their fertile years who wants to have a family that she seeks medical advice so that treatment can be given which could allow her to conceive in the future. If no treatment is sought, there is the possibility that she would not be able to have a family in the future due to longer-term infertility.

If there is amenorrhoea, we need to consider it very seriously and see why it is happening, when it started and what treatment we can give to help regulate the menstrual cycle. Amenorrhoea is a natural stage of pregnancy because of what happens during conceiving. Ovulation occurs during the middle of the menstrual cycle of a woman. After conception, the foetus grows inside the uterus. But, what actually happens in the ovaries? At the site of ovulation , we have the creation of a small cyst that we call a corpus luteum.

This cyst secretes hormones that, in case there is a pregnancy, safeguards it. The corpus luteum actually produces high amounts of oestrogen and progesterone to help the pregnancy secure itself and after that, the placenta looks after the developing baby.

The high amount of oestrogen and progesterone produced from that specific cyst in the ovary, means there is no longer the up and down of hormones, which then gives rise to amenorrhoea. This is how nature secures a pregnancy for the first day to the first few weeks of a pregnancy. If your period has stopped or become irregular, make an appointment with an expert to be assessed and, if necessary, treated.

Based in London at the Bader Medical Institute, she has decades of experience, in which she has travelled the world, training in Greece and the United States of America to gain the medical knowledge to make her an expert in her field. An expert in cosmetic gynaecology and hormonal issues, Dr Papadopoulou is known for her Overall assessment of their patients See opinions Severely restricting the amount of calories you eat stops the production of hormones needed for ovulation.

Your GP may refer you to a dietitian if you're underweight, which is when you have a body mass index BMI of less than A dietitian will be able to advise you about how to regain weight safely. If your weight loss is caused by an eating disorder , such as anorexia , they may refer you to an eating disorder specialist or team of specialists.

Being overweight can also affect your menstrual cycle. If you're overweight, your body may produce an excess amount of oestrogen, one of the hormones that regulate the reproductive system in women. Your GP may refer you to a dietitian if you're overweight, with a BMI of 30 or more, and it's affecting your periods. The dietitian will be able to advise you about losing weight safely. The stress that intense physical activity places on your body can affect the hormones responsible for your periods.

Losing too much body fat through intense exercise can also stop you ovulating. You'll be advised to reduce your level of activity if excessive exercise has caused your periods to stop. If you're a professional athlete, you may benefit from seeing a doctor who specialises in sports medicine. They'll be able to give you advice about how to maintain your performance without disrupting your periods.

You might miss a period every so often if you're taking the contraceptive pill. This is not usually a cause for concern.

Some types of contraception , such as the progestogen-only pill POP , contraceptive injection and intrauterine system IUS , particularly Mirena, can cause periods to stop altogether. You may start missing periods as you approach the menopause. This is because oestrogen levels start to decrease, and ovulation becomes less regular. After the menopause, your periods stop completely. The menopause is a natural part of ageing in women, which usually happens between the ages of 45 and The average age for a woman to reach the menopause is 51 in the UK.

However, around 1 in women go through the menopause before the age of This is known as premature menopause or premature ovarian failure. Polycystic ovaries contain a large number of harmless follicles, which are underdeveloped sacs in which eggs develop.

If you have PCOS , these sacs are often unable to release an egg, which means ovulation does not take place.

The condition is responsible for as many as 1 in 3 cases of stopped periods. See your GP if you're not pregnant — you've had a negative pregnancy test — and you've missed more than 3 periods in a row.