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Irregular Monthly Cycles

It starts with our periods becoming irregular and either more frequent or less frequent. Our blood flow may be heavier or lighter and our periods may be shorter or longer. Irregular monthly cycles can be confusing and scary if we don’t understand what’s really going on.

Let’s face it, being a woman is no fun and some of the tough bodily changes we face can be painful, uncomfortable and downright embarrassing. We face tough times when we are going through puberty, we lose almost all dignity during childbirth and then we go through a sometimes 10 to 15 year period of agony while our body decides to reverse the affects of puberty, rendering us useful for child bearing.

A change in the menstrual cycle is the typically the first sign of menopause. This is the time in which medical experts refer to it as perimenopause (meaning before menopause). Most of the symptoms women complain of are really perimenopause. Menopause means we have not had a monthly cycle in 12 months. Perimenopause can last years (up to 15) before menopause.

Some women notice a change in their menstrual cycles in their mid to late 30’s. It begins during this time because a decline in ovarian function is gradual. Unless a surgery, illness or medical treatment spurs menopause into action, it doesn’t just happen overnight.

Because it can happen to women who are so young, when they stop getting their periods, they often think the opposite is happening and rush out to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. Women need to understand that until you have completed menopause, a pregnancy can still occur even if your periods are irregular, so the appropriate caution should be taken at all times in order to avoid pregnancy.

For some women, the change tends to be more gradual and may not even be very noticeable. When this happens, a woman will notice a steady decrease in both blood flow and the overall duration of the cycle. Menstrual cycles may be heavier, lighter, longer, and shorter or may be frequent or infrequent. It depends on what the woman’s hormones are doing and how everything in her body is changing.

It’s important to get regular blood tests checking for pregnancy and to keep track of your monthly cycles the best you can. When you stop getting your period for 6 to 12 months, menopause has most likely occurred, but make sure you check with your doctor because even after you no longer get your period, you are still capable of conceiving sometimes.
Your doctor should also be ruling out medication problems as well as any other medical problems that may be the cause of your irregular periods. There are several hormone tests which can be completed in order for your doctor to determine whether or not you’re in the beginning stages of menopause. It’s important to know because if there is something else going on with your body, you definitely don’t want to let it go unnoticed or untreated.

Tags: Irregular Monthly Cycles, Menopause, Risk Factors

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