Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea means the absence of the menstrual period. Besides childhood, pregnancy, breastfeeding or menopause, the absence of the menstrual period might point towards a problem with the reproductive system. Hormonal disturbance is one of the most common causes of amenorrhea. The interplay of female sex hormones can be disrupted by a wide range of events, including ailments of the reproductive organs, weight loss, and emotional stress or over exercising. More often, there's no worrying cause found.
Causes of Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea can be divided into 2 groups:
• Amenorrhea without evidence of associated androgen excess
• Amenorrhea with evidence of androgen excess (eg, hirsutism, virilization and sexual ambiguity)
Pregnancy is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea. A pregnancy test is suggested as a first step in assessment of a secondary amenorrhea. Hypothalamic amenorrhea is defined as amenorrhea that is due to a disruption in the regulator hormones produced by the hypothalamus in the brain. These hormones influence the pituitary gland, which in turn sends signals to the ovaries to produce the characteristics cyclic hormones. Several conditions can affect the hypothalamus and result into hypothalamic amenorrhea, such as:
• Emotional or physical stress
• Too much weight loss
• Severe illness
• Rigorous exercise
Other types of medical conditions can cause secondary amenorrhea:
• Tumors or other diseases of the pituitary gland that lead to high levels of the hormone prolactin (which is involved in the production of milk) also leads into amenorrhea due to the high prolactin levels
• Hypothyoroidism and increased levels of androgens (male hormones), either from outside sources or from disorders that lets the body to produce extremely elevated levels of male hormones
• Ovarian failure (premature ovarian failure or early menopause) and polycystic ovary syndrome, and
• Asherman's syndrome is an example of uterine disease that leads to amenorrhea. It results from scarring of the uterine lining following instrumentation of the uterine cavity to handle postpartum bleeding or infection.
Post Pill Amenorrhea
Women who have stopped taking oral contraceptive pills must experience the return of menstruation within 3 months after discontinuing pill use. Earlier, it was believed that birth control pills enhanced a woman's risk of amenorrhea following use of the pill, however, this has been proven not to be the case. Women who don't resume menstruation after 3 months have passed since oral contraceptive pills were stopped need to be assessed for causes of secondary amenorrhea.
Homeopathic Treatment for Amenorrhea
Homeopathy targets the individual as a whole rather than the ailment. It's a perfect example of curing this condition as it improves the body's immune system. Many women who suffer from this ailment recover to a great extent by homeopathic remedies. For more information on this, log onto www.drnikam.com