Primary Amenorhea Question

stn2003, RN · Aug 15, 2005

excessive dieting or exercise can cause amenorhea in teenagers.

Editorial Team / Admin · Aug 15, 2005

Quick question here, What are some causes of primary amenorhea in an 18 year old patient, if the patient has already had blood drawn and had all hormone levels tested and all came back normal, also had a scan of the pituitary gland/brain, and everything also came back normal on that.

Anorexia, bulemia, excessive exercise, Cushing's dz, cystic fibrosis, chromosomal abnormalities, malnutrition, congenital heart dz, polycystic ovaries, pregnancy...........just a few.

SmilingBluEyes · Aug 15, 2005

I second Iris' post above. MANY causes. Not normal----one should seek medical attention if this continues.

usask8102186 · Aug 15, 2005

Thanks for all the replies..i know its not excessive dieting or exercising...I am the one diagnosed with primary amenohrea and have gone to the ob/gyn who sent me to the endocrinologist...all the tests i have had have come back normal, i haven't had an ultrasound on my belly though, but I did have one of my neck which showed a 1 cm "growth" on my thyroid which she said would be rescanned next month to see if there were any changes. If i take premarin/provera it does induce my cycle but I don't like the side effects and as soon as I stop taking it my cycle also stops. My doctor says I'm a medical mystery...anyone have any thoughts? :uhoh21:

cwhitelpn · Aug 7, 2007

I also have a patient who has this same problem and no one can figure out the reason. If anyone can help it would be appreciated.

usask8102186 · Aug 7, 2007

After a few years of many tests, Doctors found that I have PCOS, and also that I had a severely atrophied right kidney w/ grade 4 reflux. The kidney was removed, and I am now having about three cycles a year, which still isn't normal, but it was more than I was having before my kidney was removed! Any questions, don't hesitate to contact me!

Jo Dirt · Aug 7, 2007

I started my period on my 12th birthday but until I was 20 I never had a regular cycle. I would bleed maybe twice a year. When I didn't get pregnant after I started having unprotected...uh "relations" I went to an OB/GYN (when I was 20) who told me I may have never ovulated in my life and the reason I would bleed a couple of times a year is because the blood would finally build up and kind of spill over. If I remember correctly she said it was not unheard of and shutting my ovaries down for 6 months to a year should get me on track. I took the pills 6 months and I got pregnant the next month. After I had my third child my husband and me decided that was all we wanted for the time being so we didn't really have much going in the way of relations and after a couple of years my periods slowed down and stopped again. I went back to a doctor who told me our bodies are meant to function according to size and I was just too darn fat and losing weight would help. So, I lost some weight (and went on another round of birth control pills for a few months) and as soon as I stopped bam, got pregnant.
They told me if I had not done something about it I would probably have gotten ovarian cancer in a few years.

Confusedamy · Aug 7, 2007

Hi, I'm the patient brought up in the post by Cwhite. I'm now 22 and have been dealing with these issues since I was around 17. I first started having my periods when I was 9 which I know is very early. They were always regular and on time. When I was 15 I started taking Birth control, I stopped taking it when I was 17. When I was 17 I started getting sick a lot and for no known reason at the time I gained about 80 lbs in less than 3 months, I have gone to many Dr's and most have been less than helpful. My peroids stopped before the weight gain, and never started on their own since. I have gone through lots of hormone therapies try to get my ovaries to ovulate with little luck, most treatments work for a month or two but all stop with-in that time period. I am Diabetic, have PCOS, and I have a condition called adult onset of congential adrenal hyperplasia. My newest "treatment" is to simply mimck what my ovaries are supposed to be doing, but it makes me feel like I'm going crazy almost, I'm constantly loosing my train of thought, and can not concintrate on anything, I can't sleep, and am in constant abdominal pain, and am nauseous everyday from it. All of my hormonal treatment is handled by a different DR other than cwhite's office, she's a good friend trying to help me shed some light on this delemia. My husband and I are talking about trying to get pregnant but it doesn't look promising at this time.