Oligomenorrhea

Ooligomenorrhea is one of the manifestations of the hypomenstrual syndrome, when the duration of menstrual bleeding is less than 3 days.

It affects women of childbearing age. Some variation in menstrual periods is normal. When a fertile woman goes more than 35 days without a period, she may be diagnosed with the condition.

Normal periods occur every 21-35 days. The diagnosis is changed to amenorrhoea for more than 90 days of absence of menstruation. The condition is described as complete absence of menstrual cycle.

The diagnosis also applies to girls who have not started menstruating after the age of 15.

Oligomenorrhea – What are the symptoms

Seek medical help if for more than 35 days you have not had a period and you are not taking oral contraceptives.

If your period suddenly changes, contact your personal gynecologist as soon as possible.

For some women, delaying their period too much leads to much heavier than normal menstrual bleeding. This is normal and does not constitute a miscarriage.

Adolescent girls should seek medical attention if they do not menstruate by age 15.

What are the causes?

Most often the condition is a side effect of taking birth control medication.

Some women notice weakening of their periods for 3 to 6 months after starting oral contraceptives.

And sometimes menstrual cycles stop completely.

In the majority of cases the delay in periods and the lessening of the bleeding associated with them is not a problem.

However, sometimes the condition may be due to polycystic ovarian syndrome /PCOS/, which occurs as a result of hormonal imbalance.

Developing ovarian cysts can also affect periods.

Oligomenorrhea can occur in women who have diabetes or thyroid disorders.

The condition is often seen in women with high levels of a protein called prolactin. Medicines such as antipsychotics and antiepileptics can also reduce menstrual bleeding.

In a 2013 survey of high school girls, 17 percent said they deviated from hormonal contraception instructions to intentionally lighten menstrual bleeding.

Half of them say they learned how to do this from non-medical sources.

This highlights the need for better communication between doctors and patients when using contraceptives.

Young women who play sports or undergo heavy physical exertion can develop this condition.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, can also cause less frequent periods than usual.

The condition is also very common in adolescent girls. This is because it usually takes several years for periods to become regular.

Treatment of oligomenorrhea

Reduced menstrual frequency is not considered serious in itself.

Rhythm of menstruation can be corrected by changing the hormonal contraception used or by applying progestin.

Sometimes the health problem causing the condition needs to be treated, in which case the frequency of menstruation will return to normal on its own.

Also, heavily training women with this problem should reduce the intensity of their training or stop it completely for about a month.