Secondary amenorrhea occurs when a woman who has been having normal menstrual cycles stops getting her periods for 6 or more months.
Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or in menopause are not considered to have secondary amenorrhea.
Amenorrhea - secondary; No periods - secondary; Absent periods - secondary; Absent menses - secondary; Absence of periods - secondary
Women who are taking birth control pills or who receive hormone shots such as Depo-Provera may not have any monthly bleeding. When they stop taking these hormones, their periods may not return for more than 6 months.
You are more likely to have amenorrhea if you:
Other causes include:
Also, procedures such as a dilation and curettage (D and C) can lead to scar tissue formation that may cause a woman to stop menstruating. This is called Asherman syndrome. Scarring may also be caused by some severe pelvic infections.
In addition to having no menstrual periods, other symptoms can include:
If amenorrhea is caused by a pituitary tumor, there may be other symptoms related to the tumor, such as vision loss and headache.
A physical exam and pelvic exam must be done to check for pregnancy. A pregnancy test will be done.
Blood tests may be done to check hormone levels, including:
Other tests that may be performed include:
Treatment depends on the cause of the amenorrhea. Normal monthly periods usually return after the condition is treated.
A lack of menstrual period due to obesity, vigorous exercise, or weight loss may respond to a change in exercise routine or weight control.
The outlook depends on the cause of amenorrhea. Many of the conditions that cause secondary amenorrhea will respond to treatment.
Call for an appointment with your primary health care provider or women's health provider if you have missed more than one period so that you can get diagnosed and treated, if necessary.
Lobo RA. Primary and secondary amenorrhea and precocious puberty: etiology, diagnostic evaluation, management. In: Lentz GM, Lobo RA, Gershenson DM, Katz VL, eds. Comprehensive Gynecology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2012:chap 38.
Bulun SE. The physiology and pathology of the female reproductive axis. In: Melmed S, Polonsky KS, Larsen PR, Kronenberg HM, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 17.