Causes of Primary and Secondary Amenorrhea: Missing Periods

When my daughter turned sixteen without still having periods, I decided to accompany her to the family doctor to find out what was wrong. Several possible causes of my daughter's condition, called primary amenorrhea, were mentioned by the doctor. After the examination, the doctor advised that my daughter should give attention to her program of study, especially since it was obvious (from the results of the examination) that this was affecting her general health condition.

I had my own experience of a related condition when, for about three months at age thirty-nine, I missed having my regular periods. I thought then that I had reached menopause too early. But a visit to the doctor revealed that I was actually going through the condition known as secondary amenorrhea. Two months later, I became pregnant with my third child.

Both types of amenorrhea are symptoms rather than diseases. A teenage girl who has not started having periods past the age of fifteen is said to be experiencing primary amenorrhea. This condition occurs most often due to any of these factors: excessive study or overwork, emotional tension, infectious disease, or heart disease. In my daughter's case, it was determined that the first in the list of reasons was causing her primary amenorrhea; because of this, her particular condition was not considered a cause for alarm.

On the other hand, a woman, who has had regular periods, is said to have secondary amenorrhea if her normal menstrual flow fails to come for one or more months for reasons other than, of course, pregnancy or normal menopause. Factors that may cause this condition include strenuous exercise, stress, weight changes, or certain drugs, the latter having been identified as the cause for my having had secondary amenorrhea. This condition does not rule out pregnancy; inasmuch as ovulation comes ahead of menstruation, a woman with secondary amenorrhea can go through ovulation and become pregnant even without having a period.

For some women who had put on weight, menstrual flow may be diminished, or it may stop for one or several months. In more serious cases, the absence of periods may be due to some irregular or faulty formation of the female organs, or to an impediment in the cervical canal. In rare instances, the uterus continues to be at an infantile stage. Surgery can correct most cases of cervical obstruction and some cases of abnormal organ formation. However, most cases of primary amenorrhea and secondary amenorrhea can be corrected by remedying their underlying causes through methods other than surgery. [Read the Original Article]