Amenorrhea/ no periods
Amenorrhea is the absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive
age. A sign, not a disease, amenorrhea seldom results from a serious
condition. However, for those wanting to conceive not knowing why
menstruation has stopped can be stressful, and waiting for it to recur
may feel like a lifetime.
There are two types of amenorrhea: primary and secondary amenorrhea.
Primary amenorrhoea is the absence of menstruation in a woman by the
age of 16. Secondary amenorrhoea is where an established menstruation
has ceased for three months in a woman with a history a regular cycle
or six months in a woman with a history of irregular periods.
Secondary amenorrhea is much more common than primary amenorrhea.
Other than the two physiological reasons (pregnancy and breastfeeding)
there are many possible causes of secondary amenorrhea including:
• Stress. Mental stress can temporarily alter the functioning of your
hypothalamus — an area of your brain that controls the hormones that
regulate your menstrual cycle. Ovulation and menstruation may stop
as a result. Regular menstrual periods usually resume after your stress
decreases.
• Drug-induced. Certain medications can cause menstrual periods to
stop. For example, antidepressants, antipsychotics, some chemotherapy
drugs and oral corticosteroids can cause amenorrhea.
• Illness. Chronic illness may postpone menstrual periods. As you
recover, menstruation typically resumes.
• Hormonal imbalance. A common cause of amenorrhea or irregular periods
is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
• Low body weight. Excessively low body weight interrupts many hormonal
functions in your body, potentially halting ovulation. Women who have
an eating disorder, such as anorexia or bulimia, often stop having
periods because of these abnormal hormonal changes.
• Excessive exercise. Women who participate in sports that require
rigorous training, such as ballet, long-distance running or gymnastics,
may find their menstrual cycle interrupted. Several factors combine
to contribute to the loss of periods in athletes, including low body
fat, stress and high energy expenditure.
• Thyroid malfunction. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)
commonly causes menstrual irregularities, including amenorrhea.
• Pituitary tumour. A noncancerous (benign) tumour in your pituitary
gland (adenoma or prolactinoma) can cause an overproduction of prolactin.
• Uterine scarring. Asherman's syndrome, a condition in which scar
tissue builds up in the lining of the uterus, can sometimes occur
after uterine procedures, such as a dilation and curettage (D and
C), Caesarean section or treatment for uterine fibroids. Uterine scarring
prevents the normal build up and shedding of the uterine lining, which
can result in very light menstrual bleeding or no periods at all.
• Premature Ovarian Failure: Menopause usually occurs between ages
45 and 55. If you experience menopause before age 40, it is considered
premature ovarian failure.
Treatment
Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture
Often with amenorrhea, the problems are less with the physical structures
themselves but more problems with how these structures function. Luckily,
Chinese medicine excels at uncovering and correcting functional imbalances
in the body.
If you are not menstruating, there is always a reason. With a little
investigation into your medical history and an accurate description
of what you're experiencing, you and our specialists can usually discover
– and uncover – the imbalances that are preventing menstruation, and
conception. Treating this underlying problem with acupuncture and
Chinese herbal medicine is the best way to resolve your amenorrhea
and regulate your menstruation. Depending on the cause of your amenorrhea,
lifestyle changes and dietary modifications may be necessary to regulate
your body.
Research
Study 1
In Chinese Medicine, fertility is a bi-product of a healthy menstrual
cycle. Once healthy menstruation is restored fertility flows naturally
from this. To that end the study “The Treatment of 25 Cases of Post
Artificial Abortion Blocked Menstruation by Quickening the Blood &
Transforming Stasis” by Sang Hai-li found in Blue Poppy Recent Research
Report looked specifically at how effective Chinese Medicine is at
starting a woman’s period after experiencing secondary amenorrhea.
This small study looked at 25 woman from the ages of 22 – 38 who had
had an abortion at 50 days gestation. They had not had a period from
2 – 4 months since the abortion. This study showed that Chinese Medicine
is extremely effective at getting the menses started after experiencing
amenorrhea. After different variations of the formula Sheng Hua Tang
where taken 92% had normal menstruation return and the other 8% had
menses return with light menstrual flow.
Study2
Another study “Hypothalamic-Central Nervous System Amenorrhea
(From “Experiences in the Treatment of 98 Cases of Hypothalamic-Central
Nervous [System] Amenorrhea with Li Chong Wan ” by Gao Ting-she &
Wu Xing-cai found translated in Blue Poppy Research Reports shows
not just how well Chinese medicine starts the periods of woman experiencing
amenorrhea but also how it helps them achieve pregnancy as well. This
larger study looked at 98 women between the ages of 22 – 36 who had
experienced amenorrhea from 3 months to 2 years. Of these women 86
had done hormone controlled cycles for 3 months. The women were all
treated with variation of the Chinese herbal formula Li Chong Wan.
For this study cure was defined as the start of normal menstrual within
1-3 months of treatment and the cycle remaining normal after the woman
stopped taking the herbal formula. Using these criteria 62 % of the
women were cured and of these women 68% conceived on their own after
6 months.