Irregular periods.

Was chatting to my friend today and she confided in me that she had not had a period in six months.She only started having her periods when she was sixteen.(17 at the mo).She's not pregnant.What could be causing it/Im kinda worried for her as she was quite upset.
Any advice would be helpful.Is it just her menstrual cycle gone wonky coz she only started when she was 16?

jcoote

now i'm no expert in womens bodies (at least not on the inside ) but a lot of girls seem to suffer with this issue and have gone on the birth control pill to regulate them...being 17 your friend might not be comfortbale with that and bein a newbie in the area too.so a trip to the GP is probably the best option (either way).try to reassure her that she is not weird or anything like it

Bamboozled

If she only has started her periods a year ago, then it will take time for them to become a regular happening in her life.

She should go to the doc if she's concerned and is sure she isnt pregnant and check that everything is alright but its not unusual to have irregular periods for a while after only just starting them. A year isnt that long for everything to have settled into a rhythm properly.

If she is worried, get her to talk to an older sister/mother/ or her GP.

Going on the pill to regulate them so soon isnt really the greatest idea, she just needs to wait for them to settle down. (Its the same when coming off the pill after a while - it can take a year or more for periods to get back to the way they were) She hasnt had the "way they were" so really time and a chat with an older female or her GP would be best.

Thanks for the reply.Well im relieved to hear that it is normal.

Bamboozled

You're welcome. If it goes on for another six months to a year and she hasnt been to a GP, then she should go, just to be checked out.

Periods usually settle after a while though.

fuzzywiggle

Yeah it's normal. My friend is the same and she's been having periods since she was 12. If she's worried about it she should see a doctor but it's more common than you think

Owen

Normal, I dated a girl who could go a fortnight, or 6 months without a period. As we were active at the time, it was mildly freaky, pregnancy tests costs me a fortune

RainbowBrite

Yea, as the others have said, this is perfectly normal when you start having your period, from what you've said, you're friend has only being having them 6-12 months, not a whole lot of time for her periods to have regulated themselves.
She shouldn't worry about it, but if it were to last another 3 - 6 months I'd get a check up anyway, the doc would prob prescribe the pill to get her periods going again.

As a side note:- mine are regularly irregular, if you know what I mean
In other words:- I might have my period today, then again in 2 weeks, then not for another 8 weeks, then 6 weeks etc...................
This, for me, is perfectly normal (have had all checked out)
But, if mine were to suddenly disappear for 6 months (been having my period 13yrs now), that wouldn't be normal, & I'd need to get all checked asap.
But when you're just starting out, it takes your body a while to suss itself out.

lost_for_words

I've been having periods since I was 12, now at 23 they are still as irregular (sometimes a year apart) but some people are just like that, its normal.

At some point she should go to the doctor to rule out anything like ovarian cysts or a thyroid problem, but she shouldn't worry too much.

arctic lemur

Maby she has a lack of iron and is run down. she should try liquid iron supplements like Spatone (which you can disolve in Orange) available at the chemist over the counter, or maby she is unconsciously stressed out over something eg exam results, that sort of thing can cause irregularity.

tk123

If she's stressed out that could be whats causing it but she should go the the docs for peace of mind(she could go to a well woman clinic if she doesn't want to go to the family doc). I went for a few months without getting one a few years ago, I went to the doc and they said it was normal and I'd prob notice that my cycle would be shorter once I did get it again and they were right. She should keep a record of when she gets it to find a pattern and as she gets older/more periods she'll prob notice the signs. I blame tv thou for girls thinking there's something wrong with them if they don't have a period every 28 days etc..! :mad:
girl "OMG I I'm pregnant!!"
guy "are you sure?!"
girl "I'm usually 'regular as clockwork' and should have got my period 5 mins ago!" :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

rainbow kirby

lost_for_words wrote:

I've been having periods since I was 12, now at 23 they are still as irregular (sometimes a year apart) but some people are just like that, its normal.

Pretty much the same here, I started at 13, I'm 22 this month and I've never been regular at all. On average I only have around 5-6 a year. I *did* go to the doctor when I was 16 and had tests, but everything turned out normal. I count myself sorta lucky in a way, I can't imagine having 12 a year!

seamus

Is she in the middle of her LC? From those I've talked to, many women experience very irregular periods or none at all, during the run-up to and during the Leaving Cert, due to stress.

Yeah she is doing the leaving cert.She has been quite stressed over it lately, snapping at me for no reason.