Menstrual flow problems – Oligomenorrhoea
Different changes can happen with your menstrual flow from time to time. Some may happen after pregnancy or when taking birth control pills, or there may be other problems that cause disruption. In this post, we consider one of the common ones – Oligomenorrhoea.
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What is Oligomenorrhoea?
Oligomenorrhoea is the term used when a woman has more than 35 days (and less than 90 days) between each menstrual period.
Sometimes, a woman with oligomenorrhoea is said to have a ‘long cycle’.
When a woman has oligomenorrhoea, she will have less frequent menstrual blood flow.
How a Longer Menstrual Cycle Affects You
The implication of an abnormally lengthened menstrual cycle is that the woman is not ovulating normally.
In addition to abnormal period pattern, the woman may complain of infertility – indeed, this may be the presenting complaint.
Others may have symptoms directly related to the cause of Oligomenorrhoea.
Why does Oligomenorrhoea happen?
Well, oligomenorrhoea or ‘long cycle’ happens because ovulation is happening abnormally.
The possible causes include conditions like
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Abnormally high levels of the hormone Prolactin (Hyperprolactinaemia)
- Cushing’s Syndrome
But other problems like stress, weight changes, sexually transmitted infections and even certain medicines can affect your periods.
It is important to thoroughly check how the problem has developed; and any other associated problems to identify the cause
Treatment
The treatment for this condition must include tests to find out why there is a change in ovulation pattern for the woman.
These will include blood tests of course, but other common problems like sexual infections which can also interfere with the normal menstrual flow should be checked for.
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Editing by AskAwayHealth Team
Disclaimer
All AskAwayHealth articles are written by practising Medical Practitioners on a wide range of health care conditions to provide evidence based guidance and to help promote quality health care. The advice in our material is not meant to replace management of your specific condition by a qualified health care practitioner.
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