Amenorrhea is defined as a delay of menstruation. There are 2 types of amenorrhea:



a) Primary amenorrhea is defined as no period by age 16 and

b)Secondary amenorrhea is defined as period beginning at the appropriate age, but later stops for more than 3 cycles or 6 months. Women who have a delay of period used to think that may be pregnant. In fact, there are many causes of amenorrhea. In this article, we will discuss causes and symptoms of secondary amenorrhea.

1) Birth Control Pills

After years of using birth control pills many women go off the pills hoping to reestablish their menstrual cycle. For whatever reason, some of them can wait months or even years for it to return. Some women may not have any periods at all because they do not ovulate right away because of the following reasons:

a) Luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome.

b) Lower level of progesterone.

c) Delayed ovulation.

2) Improper diet

Diet high in saturated and trans fat causing high levels of omega 6 fatty acid. Without intake of omega 3 fatty acid to balance it out, it causing hormone imbalance in our body. Other causes of improper diet, such as deficiency of magnesium, and zinc also cause excessive level of bad estrogen resulting in absence of menstruation.

3) Anorexia and Bulimia

Women with eating disorders are often severely malnourished causing body reactions by shutting down the reproductive system as a form of protection for the body.

4) Intensive exercises

Fat is important to maintain healthy brain cell function and regulate our body's normal functions. Women with intensive exercise causes low amounts of fat content that interfere with the function of hormone secretion resulting in a lack of menstruation.

5) Hormone imbalance

In a normal menstrual cycle, your body must secrete hormones to ensure your ovaries release only one egg as resulting of normal functions of hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovaries. Any breakdown of the above chain will cause secondary amenorrhea.

6) Emotional stress

Emotional stress reduces endorphin and depresses the hormonal secretion in our body resulting in absence of menstruation.

7) Obesity

Excessive fat accumulation of obese women causes interfering with normal process of ovulation as we mentioned in 5)

8) Premature ovarian failure

Premature ovarian failure caused by sudden decreasing of levels of estrogen that is needed for starting a menstrual cycle which results in early menopause.

9) Polysystic ovarian syndrome

Polysytic ovarian syndrome is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea. Women with this problem do not ovulate resulting in excessive levels of testosterone and bad estrogen.

10) Weakened liver function

Liver malfunction results in an inability of the liver to detoxify, causing excessive high levels of bad estrogen interfering with normal menstrual cycle.

II. Symptoms

a) Paller

b) Fatigue

c) Poor Health

d) Decreased sex desire

e) Breast size change

f) Dry vagina

g) Lost of vision

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