menstrualhut

"Its also helpful later on in life when you are trying to get pregnant."

How is it helpful? Just curious.

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I would think so you would know when you're ovulating. Makes it easier to figure out when you're most and least fertile.

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But you don't ovulate on birth control pills. And coming off them, you wouldn't necessarily maintain a regular 28 day cycle. The onlys way to tell when ovulation is occuring is to observe fertility signs (like basal body temperature, cervical position and fluid, etc) or to use an ovulation detection kit, which can be pricey.

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I know. It's an advantage of having a regular period. Not an advantage of using BC to "regulate" your period.

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tiggy162004.livejournal.com

No you don't ovulate but i have known people who were put on the pill and when they came off it there periods were regular. They were on it for a while but it was like they just had to get there bodys to know that this should be happening like this and it corrected its self.

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I guess I'm just wary of hormones in general- if I don't need it, I probably don't want it in my body. I'v ehad no problem tracking my ovulation patterns by using my fertility signs. A great resource on that is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. With it, I'm confident in my ability to avoid pregnancy now, and to concieve when I am ready.

Whatever works for you, I guess :-)

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kateherself.livejournal.com

I was on the pill for 10 years. I've been off for about 4, and my periods STILL haven't returned to normal. I'm not sure if my experience is out of the ordinary.
But my hormones are still kind of out of wack.

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purplepillow.livejournal.com

Oh that's not comforting at all!!! I just went off the pill this week after being on it for ten years...I am a little nervous about what is going to happen!

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If the doctor determined that you are healthy and if you don't kind the irregularity- just say no. There is no real reason to use artificial hormones in your body. Your period does not need to be regular to be normal- right now, this is normal for you.

I hope you can convince your mom to relax about it. Why is she being so insistant that you use hormones?

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I'll look into some resources for you about natural hormonal regulation. I'm in the process of moving though, so if anyone else can help the OP out....

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I'm really not sure. She seems to think it's unnatural, and therefore unhealthy. But it's my body, and i'm not doing anything unnatural that could keep me from getting my period (i.e. starving myself, doing drugs, etc) so I don't understand what could be unnatural about it, and personally, it feels much less natural to force myself to menstruate with fake hormones. She wanted me on sleeping pills for the same reason.

Thank you. If you're busy, don't worry about it. If you find something, let me know.

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Really, you are young, but your body is perfectly normal and healthy. I completely agree with your sentiments about artificial hormones. When it comes down to it- its your body and your mom needs to respect your opinions.

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That is not true. Hormones are used to treat many things. Including Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which I have. If I don't treat my condition with hormones I will become infertile and get osteoporosis due to bone loss.

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I was referrign to the OP situation only. I too have PCOS, and I understand that there are situations where artificial hormones are a much better alternative. Sorry for the misunderstanding- I should have worded my thoughts better

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There are other reason for wanting to have a regular period. Not losing bone density is a big one.

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skeptictank.livejournal.com

But I don't think this is an issue to a 15 year old as it would be to someone who is say... 30. I was highly irregular from 14-18 and my doctors always said that it wasn't a problem unless the irregularity continued on into my 20's, which it didn't.

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At 15 one is supposed to be building up bone density. Not losing it.

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Sorry, I'm not familiar with the connection between regular menstruation and bone density (other than after menopause, in which case, I thought it was the overall hormonal shift, not the lack of period per se.) Can you elaborate?

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I am just repeating what several medical professionals have told me. It seems like they wouldn't make this stuff up. ;)

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I saw down-thread your comment about bone density loss after six months with no period... but are you sure this applies to women as young as the OP? I'm sure you didn't make it up, but is it possible you misunderstood? I mean, as everyone has stated, irregularity five years after menarche isn't unusual. Not having begun menstruating at all isn't out of the range of normal for women the OP's age either.

Either way, the OP can ask her doctor if she should be concerned about her bone density. Cheers.

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I've been having period problems since I was 16. That is what my doctor told me then.

There have also been several articles lately about how being on depo for an extended period of time isn't good because it stops your period and you begin to lose bone density. You can go on depo anytime after you begin your period, so I would assume the bone loss thing applies to all ages. I also asked my doctor about the Depo thing because I was thinking of going on it and she confirmed what I have read. She said that they don't usually let women stay on depo for more than five years at a time because of bone loss.

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okie. thanks.

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kateherself.livejournal.com

If I were you, i would NOT go on the hormones.
Most young women have irregular periods until they get their own rhythms going.

There are certain herbs you can use to regulate your hormones (black cohosh is one i know of) but i wouldn't really experiment with those unless you were under the supervision of some kind of herbalist or naturopath.

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Parsley can also be used to induce a period, as can raspberry leaf tea. There are herbs out there, but I agree, don't use them unless you are positive you know what you are doing, or under the care of someone who does know what they are doing.

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There are bad things that can happen if you don't have a regular hormone cycle. If you don't have a period for six months in a row you start loosing bone density. Women can only build up bone density until they are thirty, so it is important to have a regular period when you are young. You could get osteoporosis later in life if you don't fix this now.

There could also be other problems happening. I take the pill to regulate my period because I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome can also make you infertile if it isn't treated. One of the treatments is birth control pills. I would try to figure out why your periods aren't regular. I had regular ones for years before developing a problem.

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I don't sleep very much, and no test has revealed a cause. I think they're probably connected in some way.

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Hey, I read some things a little while ago about night lighting affecting ovulation. Basically, if we sleep in dark rooms (no light at all), then introduce a night light or something for a few days, ovulation will occur.

This is analogous to the moon's phases. Women not exposed to artificial lighting will ovulate near the full moon, then menstruate on the new moon. I haven't tried it because I don't really have a lot of control over my sleeping environment.

I guess my point is, there could be a connection, and its worth looking into.

The info about moonlight and night lighting came from a books called The Garden of Fertility by Katie Singer.

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Hm.. Maybe the fact that I rarely get much sleep at night, and am therefore exposed to more artificial light when the body expects sleep could be affecting it.

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jaipur.livejournal.com

please please please have your mom and your doctor and you discuss this all thoroughly. Having an irregular period is not unhealthy, by itself, and the doc seems to have confirmed that there is nothing else wrong with you. But if you have a history of breast cancer or other cancers in your family, BCP's can be an increased risk factor for those cancers. Make sure you (and your mom) check out the side effects of BCP's before you assume they are a simple risk-free solution to a simple irregular period.

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dis-o-bedience.livejournal.com

you can also check out

bloodmoonherbs for more help :)

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maidenmorticia.livejournal.com

http://scarleteen.com/body/ontherag_4.html

The first paragraph on this page (link above) clearly states that it is perfectly normal to have period irregularities for up to 5 years after first onset. (btw, you might find that entire article interesting info about the period, how it works, etc. so feel free to go back/forward in it) You might want to show this to your Mum/Dr. and talk to them about whether going on the Pill at this point is really the best choice since you've only had a period for 3 years. It's from a very reputable sex-ed site for teens/young women in the US.

I agree with you that hormonal birth control *can* have massive side effects/health problems for women who are on them long term. So I'd be cautious, too. If you're not having sex & not likely to become sexually active anytime soon, then what's the point?

the last paragraph on the same page as the URL recommends a number of vitamins/herbal teas which can help regulate your period. So you might want to try some of those out.

*Good Luck*

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Thank you. Yea, I really like scarleteen. I will try the herbs. They're all pretty benign - things I might put in tea anyway - so I don't think there's much risk in taking them regularly. If that fails, I'll try talking to her again. I don't understand why she thinks it's such a big problem.

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eluted.livejournal.com

If it makes you feel any better, my mother wants me on birth control (not for regulation, but for contraception), but I really hate it and refuse to go back on it. We just have to be firm with these worrysome mother-types. :D

What does your doctor think about your infrequent periods? Does she think it's a problem?

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My doctor assured my mom that it's extremely common, and that it should regulate itself in a few years, but she also said that she would put me on birth control if we were concerned. My mother seems to think that my infrequent periods signify a serious hormonal imbalance that needs to be corrected.

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jaipur.livejournal.com

Any idea why your mom doesn't trust your doctor's opinion?

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Not really. It might have to do with my chronic insomnia. Or just the fact that I have a history of strange (but never particularly serious) maladies. I really think she just has the idea that menstruation is only irregular when something is wrong because she's never had a problem with irregularity.

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star-drifter.livejournal.com

Birth control isn't harmful in the least if you have no history of severe heart disease, are a smoker, cancer, etc. And then it just increases chances of complications. If you are a healthy girl, which it definitely sounds you are they will not harm you, and will definitely help regulate your cycle.

However if you are not comfortable with using birth control (until later on in life when you feel you should if you choose), do not do it. I'm sure in the end the doctor will respect your wishes if you are healthy and have no need to subject yourself to unnecessary hormones.

Good luck! :)

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urania.livejournal.com

A handful of thoughts...

(1) Try, if you can, to discuss with both your doctor and your mom at once that you don't see why this is medically necessary and aren't comfortable with it. IMHO, you are old enough to have some say in your medical treatment--especially in something like this where there is no huge effect either way, and she is trying to get you to take something to reassure herself.

(2) That said, if you are against externally modifying your cycle, I'm not sure I understand why you are so against birth control pills but so open to homeopathic medicines. Both can have some side effects; both can also be very benign in most people. Herbs work (when they do) *because* they introduce chemicals into the body--different chemicals, generally, than what's in the pills, but chemicals nonetheless. Birth control pills, while they do have non-serious side effects for some people (and serious side effects for very few people), are generally seen as safe and they are well-regulated. Some herbs are also well-known and well-researched; just be sure that anything you self-medicate with that way is something that you have researched as carefully as you would any other medicine you put into your body.

Like I said above, it's your body, you're certainly free to prefer to do herbal/homeopathic medicine rather than pharmacy-stile pill bottles. However, a lot of people seem to stop being so cautious/etc when they do so, and imagine all herbs are safe and/or effective, while that's not at all the case. I wanted to make sure you weren't going down that path. Sorry if that all sounded like a rant :) I can't seem to make it not-sound like that, although that's really not what I meant.

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I have told my mom numerous times that it is extremely common and nothing to worry about, as has my gynocologist. She is apparantly not convinced. My gynocologist told her that if we came back with the same complaint (amenorrhea), she would prescribe birth control pills.

I'm not against BCPs. When I become sexually active, I may very well end up on them. At the moment, I'm just as uncomfortable with the idea of using herbs on a regular basis to induce menstruation. I don't want to be on something constantly, especially something that has the potential to have long-term negative side effects, if I don't feel it's necessary.

I asked about the herbs because if I get my period, she'll leave me alone about it for a while. If I go on the BC, I'll likely be on it for quite a while. I'd rather try parsley tea for a week. If it doesn't work, nothing lost. If it does, my body will have some time to potentially regulate a little before she starts bothering me again, and maybe I can avoid the BCPs.

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