REASONS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED YOUR PERIOD OTHER THAN PREGNANCY

Some weeks back when I was discussing with my friend, the topic of missed periods came up and I could hear the relief in her voice while we laughed about it. Every woman in her life must have experienced the fear that comes with a missed period and the uncertainty that follows.
Being pregnant more often than not is what crosses our mind and suddenly we are thrown into frenzy. I know you have been having unprotected sex but next time you miss your period, before swearing that it never comes late and rushing off to get different test strips, you might want to take a deep breath and know the reasons why your period may be playing hide and seek.
• Exercising
I understand the urge to keep fit and be tanned at all times. You wouldn’t want your stomach looking too flabby while you pose for the gram, I mean being healthy is sexy and all. But, exercising too much, can have short-term detrimental effects on your body. Pushing yourself too hard, spending every moment of your breath in the gym, taking long runs and all other forms of exercise can prevent your body from ovulating. Hence, your body struggles to produce estrogen to complete its cycle, leading to missed periods.
• What you weigh
Your weight can prevent your period from coming in some month. Serious weight loss conditions such as anorexia, bulimia can prevent periods from coming by causing the body to be unable to produce oestrogen needed to build the lining of the uterus. Being overweight can cause period loss by producing excessive oestrogen, thus, making the endometrial lining to overgrow and causes heavy periods and disappearance of periods in months.
• Stress
Dealing with an impending deadline, a tiring job, an emotional breakup, unhappy home or a scary event such as death can cause hypothalamic amenorrhea. Hypothalamus an area of the brain which is what regulates the hormones for your period to function properly. If you are dealing with stressful problems or life changing events. It could be the cause of your missed period.
• Birth Control
There are some medications that can cause a shift in your menstrual cycle such as antidepressants, chemotherapy drugs and antipsychotics. But, the major culprit associated with late/missing periods are birth control pills. Some hormone contraceptives, prevent the body from ovulation which leads to no periods. The same applies to other methods like IUDs, implants or injections.
• Illness
This is perhaps the most common of them all. Whenever I have a bout of malaria, cold or something serious, I always miss my period. This is a way of your body fighting the sickness and deciding what functions are important until the illness leaves your body.
• Polycystic Ovary Symptom (PCOS)
PCOS is a condition associated with how the ovaries work. It is a hormonal imbalance which leads to a lack of ovulation, altering the levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. It can cause you to completely miss your period or not menstruate regularly. Other symptoms of PCOS may include, fertility problem, excessive hair growth in places like the face and chest, acne, weight gain and hair loss.
• Premature Menopause
Some women under the age of 40 may start menopause early causing them to not see their periods again for life. It is also known as premature ovarian failure. The woman experiences all symptoms associated with menopause, missed periods, hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness