Frequent Menstruation
Some Important Facts About Frequent Menstruation
Menstruation is not always a comfortable topic, but frequent menstruation can be quite common in women of all ages, colors and sizes. There are a few different reasons why a woman might be experiencing frequent menstruation, and some can be more serious than others. There are times when menstrual problems are caused by a psychological issue, but most of the time frequent menstruation and other oddities in the monthly cycle are related to something physical.
Under normal circumstances, a woman’s monthly menstruation happens approximately every 28 days, or exactly 4 weeks apart. This can vary somewhat, and all women are different, but some type of pattern will generally develop with the period showing up at roughly the same time each month. There are certain times, however, when the normal menstrual cycle will get messed up and the schedule will be thrown off, resulting in the period coming earlier than normal, later than normal, or not at all.
Psychology and Your Period
First let’s talk about psychological issues and how they might affect the monthly cycle. As many of us are all too aware these days, too much stress can lead to a number of health problems. Stress-related illnesses can be very serious – serious as a heart attack – so it is important to keep those stress levels under control.
Anxiety, stress and excess worry have been known to affect the menstrual cycle. Any of these issues may cause the period to come earlier than usual, or perhaps it will come a few days late. Menstruation issues that stem from psychological troubles usually do not last more than a couple of months. In fact, it may only happen every once and awhile when the woman is having a particularly rough time. Usually, a woman is quite familiar with her monthly period schedule, so any changes will be noticed quickly.
Psychological situations can interfere with the monthly period, but they generally do not lead to long-term changes. If fluctuations in the menstrual cycle continue on for more than a month or two, it is a good idea to see a medical professional for a check up.
Physical Causes for Menstrual Changes
The monthly menstrual cycle is controlled by hormones, the most common of which are estrogen and progesterone. If there is any type of fluctuation or change in a female’s hormone levels – whatever the cause may be, then it will almost always affect the timing of the period.
Hormones can be affected by any number of different circumstances. Depending on the woman’s age, more frequent periods may be caused by a shift in hormone production leading up to the time of menopause. When a woman reaches menopause, the levels of hormones she produces become lower, and this will cause the period to become more and more sporadic until it eventually stops altogether. Menopause begins at different times for every woman, but it is not uncommon for a woman to start menopause at or around the same time as her mother did. In general, this does not begin until at least the age of 50, but it can happen younger or older.
If a woman is not yet at the age of menopause but is having hormonal changes that are causing problems with regular menstruation, a visit to the doctor is probably in order. Although there may be nothing wrong at all, menstrual issues should be checked out to make sure that cancer or another illness is not the cause. Keep in mind that the earlier these problems are checked, the easier and more successful the treatment can be.