“Missing period since last August?”
I have not had my period since around August of last year. I am only 26 years old and I know for a fact that I am not pregnant either. I was wondering what exactly could be causing me to not have a period in 5 months or so? Also, I am curious as to whether or not that if I were to begin taking birth control pills could possibly allow me to start to get my period again? I am fairly concerned due to the fact that up until August I had always had an extremely regular period.
Female | 26 years old
Complaint duration: 6 months
Medications: Subutex
Conditions: P.o.ts
1 Answer
OB-GYN(Obstetrician-Gynecologist)|GynecologyOB-GYN
Dr. Victoria Mondloch
OB-GYN (Obstetrician-Gynecologist) | Gynecology
Missing your period for several months at a time is usually hormonal with a male hormone overriding a female hormone picture which is called PCO or Polycystic Ovary. PCO is poorly understood by most MD’s and rarely looked for unless you are trying to become pregnant, but it causes a lot of trouble due to higher male hormone levels in your body than you are supposed to have. I always check my patients male and female hormone levels to be certain this diagnosis is not happening; but it may take a few months of checking your levels every 2-3months to actually make the diagnosis so find a doc that is willing to entertain this approach. The blood tests that you want checked are: Estradiol, Progesterone, Total Testosterone and Free Testosterone. In addition, you want to also check your other 3 foundational hormone groups: thyroid (TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Thyroglobulin AB and Thyroid peroxidase AB), adrenal (AM Cortisol) and fasting insulin/blood sugar (4-hour fast).
