As much as we don’t want to have a period, we want to have a period. We know it’s healthy for our bodies to have one and something is off if we suddenly start skipping them.
When we have a period, the body is shedding the uterine lining that it doesn’t need and preventing it from becoming too thick. A thick uterine lining could be an issue especially later on in life.
Fertility is another common reason that women are concerned about skipped periods. When you’re planning a family, we want to optimize our cycles beforehand and get our hormones in working order.
An absent period is called amenorrhea, that’s just FYI.
Here are some things to think about when you have skipped a period:
- Is there a chance that you are pregnant?
- Do you have a Thyroid Issue?
- There is a condition called PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) that presents with missed periods. We often see lower levels of progesterone, there could be higher levels of testosterone (both seen on bloodwork) alongside a few other hormone changes on bloodwork and we may see an ultrasound that reveals cysts on the ovaries. With PCOS it’s very common to have longer cycles lasting over 35 days and skipped periods.
- Are you over exercising? It’s not uncommon for competitive athletes to lose their period for a time.
- Have you been suffering with an eating disorder? We need a sufficient amount of body fat to build our hormones which help us have a period. If you’re underweight it could be affecting your periods.
- Have you been under a lot of stress? High cortisol (our stress hormone) can create other hormone imbalances that cause us to skip a period.
If you’re missing periods and think something is up with your hormones, it’s time to check in with your naturopath to start on a hormone balancing treatment plan.