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Amenorrhea (Absence of Menstruation)


Amenorrhea is the absence of menstrual bleeding and is referred to as amenorrhea in medical literature. Amenorrhea is known among the public as the inability to menstruate. There can be various reasons for not menstruating. A disease experienced by a woman or entering menopause can cause amenorrhea, that is, not menstruating.


What are the reasons for not menstruating?

There are various reasons for not menstruating and they also vary depending on the woman's age. There are causal differences between a young girl who cannot menstruate during puberty and a woman who is over 50 who cannot menstruate. The biggest reason for not menstruating between the ages of 20 and 45 is pregnancy. Especially in this age group (20 to 45 years old), women who go to the doctor with complaints of not menstruating are first given a pregnancy test.


If the woman is not pregnant, some tests are performed on women who cannot menstruate between the ages of 20 and 45, as there may be another negative reason behind it. However, sometimes the reason for not menstruating cannot be determined despite all these tests. The reason for this is many factors such as seasonal changes, long journeys, changes in continents, and rapid changes in the woman's weight. Environmental factors, busy work life, traumas and sudden shocks can also cause women between the ages of 20 and 45 to not menstruate.


The reason for not menstruating at an advanced age, especially after the age of 45, is that the woman has entered menopause. Especially if a woman cannot menstruate for 6 consecutive months, it is highly likely that she has entered menopause. If the laboratory tests are definitive and the woman has not menstruated for 1 year since her last menstrual period, this is an indication that she has definitely entered menopause.


How to identify the causes of missed periods?

Depending on the woman's age and social status, the first test to be done when investigating the cause of amenorrhea is a pregnancy test. If pregnancy is not detected in the woman as a result of the tests performed, hormonal tests are performed. For example, thyroid and some tumors manifest themselves with amenorrhea and can only be diagnosed as a result of hormonal tests.


Treatment of amenorrhea according to the diagnosed types

There are various types of amenorrhea. The type of amenorrhea is determined by the tests performed and the treatment method is applied accordingly.


Primary amenorrhea: Primary amenorrhea is the failure of a young girl to menstruate between the ages of 9 and 16. If a young girl reaches the age of 18 and has not menstruated, this condition is called primary amenorrhea. The cause of primary amenorrhea is usually genetic or hormonal. Since the cause of primary amenorrhea is hormonal and genetic, treatment is carried out by taking these criteria into consideration. Primary amenorrhea syndrome can usually be corrected with hormone therapy.


Rokitansky syndrome : Rokitansky syndrome is caused by the uterus of the fetus developing in the womb not developing sufficiently. In this case, even if the ovaries and hormones are normal, menstruation may not occur. The probability of this syndrome being seen in women is very low. A woman with Rokitansky syndrome can only have a child through a surrogate mother or a uterus transplant.


Secondary amenorrhea: Secondary amenorrhea syndrome is the problem of not having a period while a woman is menstruating. The biggest and most natural reason for this situation is that the woman is pregnant. A second reason is that the woman is going through menopause. However, women with thyroid disease or cysts in their ovaries may also experience secondary amenorrhea type of not having a period. Treatment is also planned according to the woman's complaints. If the woman's not having a period is related to her thyroid or menopause, hormonal treatment can be applied. If it is related to an ovarian cyst, the cysts are removed with surgical treatment.

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