Menstruation Disorders: Amenorrhea - Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Amenorrhea is defined as delay of menstruation. There are 2 types of amenorrhea:a) Primary amenorrhea is defined as no period by age 16 andb) Secondary amenorrhea is defined as period beginning at the appropriate age, but later stops for more than 3 cycles or 6 months.Women who have a delay of perio...
Amenorrhea is defined as delay of menstruation. There are 2 types of amenorrhea:
a) Primary amenorrhea is defined as no period by age 16 and
b) Secondary amenorrhea is defined as period beginning at the appropriate age, but later stops for more than 3 cycles or 6 months.
Women who have a delay of period used to think that may be pregnant. In tthis article, we will discuss causes, symptom and treatments of Amenorrhea

I. Causes
A) Primary amenorrhea

1) Delay due to purity characteristic
Some women may just start to have breast tender at age 16 due to nutritional deficiency or genetic passing through form generation to generation causing delay of menstruation.

2) Defects of reproductive system
a) Androgen insensitivity syndrome
The person develops the appearance of a female despite having a male chromosomal pattern and gonadal production of male hormones. However, the person does not have a uterus or periods, pubic and axillary hair are scant, and testosterone levels are high in the male hormone range.

b) Turner syndrome
A common genetic condition that one of the X chromosomes is missing,resulting in absent menses and failure to develop ovaries.

c) Policystic ovarian syndrome
In some women, the uterus develops but the vagina does not, or a setum blocking release of the menstrual blood causing pelvic pain at regular intervals similar to the expected pattern of menstrual periods.

3) Hymen problem (lack of an opening in the membrane at the entrance of the vagina)
Hymen is a membrane that surrounds or partially covers the external vaginal opening. If the membrane is too thick causing puberty, menstrual blood becomes trapped behind resulting in painful pelvis and amenorrhea if the collection of blood may become larger with each month period. Hymenotomy may also be required if the hymen is particularly thick.

4) Problem with the hypothalamus or pituitary gland
As we know, in order to start a menstrual cycle, the hypothalamus releases hormones that stimulates the pituitary gland to release follicle-stimulating hormones and luteinizing hormones. If any steps go wrong, there is no egg being produced by the follicle causing amenorrhea.

5) Drastic weight loss or obesity
Females who are obese often experience amenorrhea as a result of excess fat cells causing hormone imbalance that interfere with the process of ovulation.

6) Eating disorder
Females with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa often experience amenorrhea as a result of maintaining a body weight that would be too low to sustain a menstrual cycle.







7) Imbalanced diet
Imbalanced diet causes deficiency of certain nutrients and minerals, such as magnesium deficiency resulting in imbalance of estrogen and progesterone that interferes with normal processing of the menstrual cycle.

8) Thyroid diseases
Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid releases too many of its hormones causing hormone imbalance resulting in too much thyroid hormone in the bloodstream and over activity of the body's metabolism causing the absence of menstrual cycles. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, a disease of the thyroid gland where the body's immune system attacks the gland causing failure of the pituitary gland to secrete a hormone to stimulate the production of hormones that needs to regulate the stage of the menstrual cycle.


B) Secondary amenorrhea.

1) Birth Control Pills
After years of using birth control pills many women go off the pills hoping to reestablish their menstrual cycle. For whatever reason, some of them can wait months or even years for it to return. Some women may not have any periods at all because they do not ovulate right away because of the following reasons:
a) Luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome.
b) Lower level of progesterone.
c) Delayed ovulation.

2) Improper diet
Diet high in saturated and trans fat causing high levels of omega 6 fatty acid. Without intake of omega 3 fatty acid to balance it out, it causing hormone imbalance in our body. Other causes of improper diet, such as deficiency of magnesium, and zinc also cause excessive level of bad estrogen resulting in absence of menstruation.

3) Anorexia and Bulimia
Women with eating disorders are often severely malnourished causing body reactions by shutting down the reproductive system as a form of protection for the body.

4) Intensive exercises
Fat is important to maintain healthy brain cell function and regulate our body's normal functions. Women with intensive exercise causes low amounts of fat content that interfere with the function of hormone secretion resulting in a lack of menstruation.

5) Hormone imbalance
In a normal menstrual cycle, your body must secrete hormones to ensure your ovaries release only one egg as resulting of normal functions of hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovaries. Any breakdown of the above chain will cause secondary amenorrhea.

6) Emotional stress
Emotional stress reduces endorphin and depresses the hormonal secretion in our body resulting in absence of menstruation.

7) Obesity
Excessive fat accumulation of obese women causes interfering with normal process of ovulation as we mentioned in 5)

8) Premature ovarian failure
Premature ovarian failure caused by sudden decreasing of levels of estrogen that is needed for starting a menstrual cycle which results in early menopause.

9) Polysystic ovarian syndrome
Polysytic ovarian syndrome is the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea. Women with this problem do not ovulate resulting in excessive levels of testosterone and bad estrogen.

10) Weakened liver function
Liver malfunction results in an inability of the liver to detoxify, causing excessive high levels of bad estrogen interfering with normal menstrual cycle.


II. Symptoms
A) Primary amenorrhea
a) Dry vagina
b) Headache
c) Increased hair growth in a male pattern
d) Voice changes
e) Breast size changes

B) Secondary amenorrhea
a) Paller
b) Fatigue
c) Poor Health
d) Decreased sex desire
e) Breast size change
f) Dry vagina
g) Lost of vision

III. Treatments
A) With foods
1. Whole grain
Whole grain contains high amounts of fiber that help to remove toxins from our body and indirectly strengthens liver function, which helps to maintain the levels of estrogened resulting in lowered xenoestrogen in our body.

2. Celery seed
Celery seed contains high amounts of butylidene-phthalide which helps to balance woman's natural hormones and reduce emotional stress causing irregular hormone production by cleansing toxins from the liver as well as improving reproduction of red blood cells caused by liver malfunction.

3. Soy
Soy contains high amounts of isoflavones which helps to balance your body's estrogen levels as well as binding the xenoestrogen causing breast cancer and tumors. Soy raises the levels of estrogen if it is too low and lowers levels of estrogen if it is too high.

4. Yogurt
Yogurt contains lactobacillus bacteria that helps to lower incidence of breast cancer as well as preventing the re-absorption of xenoestrogen and enhancing immune effects.

5. Legumes
Legumes and other protein rich food contains high amounts of coumestans that helps to improve metabolism of estrogen in the liver. It also helps to maintain levels of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids as well as cleansing the bad cholesterol in our body, improving blood flow.

6. Sesame seed
Besides containing proteins that are necessary for improving metabolism of estrogen levels in the liver, sesame seed contains lignans that helps to increase levels of phyto-estrogen and reducing the production of estrogen converting into xenoestrogen wich causes breast cancer and amenorrhea.

7. Potato
Potato contains high amounts of steroidial saponins that helps to block the over-production of estrogen by increasing levels of phyto-estrogen, the element which is necessary for normalizing menstrual cycle

B) With Nutritional Supplements
1. Linoleic acid
Linoleic acid is a fatty acid. Besides playing an important role in women fertility and reducing menstrual blood flow, it also helps to stimulate the production of estrogen whichn helps to bring on menstrual cycle. Deficiency of lioleic acid may cause infertility and endometriosis. You can find foods with high linoleic acid in sunflower oil, olive oil, and corn oil. They should be eaten uncooked.

2.Gamma linoleic acid
Besides helping to block the production of prostalandins caused by conversion of high level of estrogen, it also improves the liver metabolism by cleansing the excessive levels of bad estrogen resulting in a balanced level of estrogen and progesterone which are needed to bring on menstrual cycle.

3. Flax seed extract
Besides having power to balance levels of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids that cause hormone imbalance, flax seeds also contain high amounts of phytoestrogenic that helps to balance the level of estrogen and progesterone those are essential to bring on menstruation as well as amenorrhea.

4. Progesterone supplement
Progesterone is a hormone from a corpus luteum, formed by the cyclical rupture of an ovarian follicle. Low levels of progesterone or low levels of estrogen may cause hormone imbalance which effects the menstrual cycle as well as causing absence of menstruation.

5. Zinc
Zinc is important in reproduction health such as growth, and fertility. Zinc deficiency causes anorexia resulting in amenorrhea.

6. Iron
Iron is essential for liver production of red blood cells that helps to improve blood circulation as well as increasing oxygen levels in the bloodstream. Deficiency of iron reduces function of liver to inhibit excessive bad estrogen in our body. Women with absence of menstruation have low levels of iron.

7. L-cartitine
L-cartine is an amino acid having effects on brain chemicals and hormones that control female reproductive hormones. Study shows that women having low levels of hormone in the blood with intake of of L-cartinine helps to bring back menstruation within three to six months with 50% success rate.

8. Vitamin B6
In some women, absence of menstruation is caused by high levels of prolactin production by the pituitary gland. Consuming vitamin B6 will help to inhibit the production of prolactin as well as restoring menstruation.


C) With herbs
1.Schisandra chinesis
Schisandra chinesis is a liver tonic. It helps to bind the conversion of estrogen to xenoestrogen, the bad estrogen that causes breast cancer, tumor and hormonal irregularity as well as absence of menstruation.

2. Angelica root
Angelica root is a woman's reproductive system enhancing herb. It has been used in Chinese medicine in treating women reproductive system diseases caused by hormone irregularity. Besides helping in production of blood after menstruation, it also helps to stimulate production of certain hormones, normalizing a woman's menstrual cycle.

3. Licorice
Licorice contains flavonoids and isoflavonoids that help to regulate the balancing of estrogen and progesterone as well as improving hormonal secretion causing absence of period.

4. Astragalus
Astragalus contains high amounts of isoflavones and polysaccharides that help to regulate the levels of estrogen and progeaterone resulting in a normal menstrual cycle.

5. Ginger
Ginger is an emmenagogues besides increasing blood flow and bringing on a late period. It also has the properties to help women reset ovulation and menstruation suppressed or delayed menstruation, and promote menstrual periods.

6. Chastetree berry
Chastetree berry is said to help bring back menstruation by balancing hormones in the body caused by low levels of progesterone and reducing levels of prolactin causing absence of menstruation.

7. Red clover
Red clover is a phytoestrogen that helps to balance the levels of estrogen and progesterone, the essential hormone for starting a menstrual cycle as well as bring on menstruation.

8. Black cohosh
Black cohosh is a powerful women enhancing herb. It is an auterine tonic belonging to the emmenagogues that helps to provoke menstrual bleeding. When menstruation is delayed, black cohosh is said to get the flow going again.

9. Motherwort
Motherwort is a perennial plant native to Europe and the temperate parts of central Asia. It is a uterine tonic that helps to regulate menstruation, reduce smooth muscle cramping such as menstrual cramps, and stimulate the uterus to bring on delayed menstruation.


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