Are there concerns if I have absent or infrequent periods?

If you are a sexually active woman you may be anxious that you could be pregnant. It must be stressed that PCOS associated with infrequent or absent periods only means that the chance of pregnancy is reduced, but this can by no means be considered as a guarantee against pregnancy.In the longer term, if the endometrium is being stimulated by oestrogen without the cyclical intervention of progesterone, there is a risk of the endometrium becoming hyperplastic (unduly thickened) and occasionally this could lead to malignant change (endometrial cancer). Cancer of the lining of the womb tends to be a problem around the age of fifty or sixty but can occur earlier. Twenty or thirty years ago, we would have investigated a woman with absent or infre Quent periods and if no problem was found no treatment would have been recommended. Nowadays, we recommend checking that oestrogen levels are ade Quate and offer oestrogen with cyclical progestogen if the levels are persistently low.

Related Medical Abstracts - Click on the paper title:-

See Also:

PCOS - Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Do you have an unanswered women's health question?

Please let us have your general question on our NEW FORUM / MESSAGE BOARDS facility and we will try to answer it for you. I am sure that you will appreciate that we cannot offer advice on the management of an individual's specific problem.

 

 

Please subscribe to receive our FREE women's health newsletter. STAY UP TO DATE on the important issues affecting YOUR HEALTH.
First Name:
Family Name:
Email:
Profession:
Country:
Age:

DISCLAIMER

The aim of this web site is to provide a general guide and it is not intended as a substitute for a consultation with an appropriate specialist in respect of individual care and treatment.

Thank you for your visiting us at 2womenshealth.com.

This is the personal website of David A Viniker MD FRCOG, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London.

I do hope that you find the answers to your questions in the patient information and medical advice provided. If you still have unanswered questions, please consider entering them into one of our forums and I will try to assist you.