This reminds me to add a few tips about your period and when to give your health care provider a call.
• Your daughter hasn’t had a period or shown any signs of puberty by age 14, including absence of:
– breast development
– underarm hair
– pubic hair
• There’s been a gap of greater than 3 months between periods
• Periods are occurring more frequently than every 21 days
• Periods are lasting more than 10 days
• The flow is so heavy, a tampon and/or a pad is getting soaked through in less than 1 hour, and this occurs for more than 1 day
This is a great video from Hello Flo! Click the image above or watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEcZmT0fiNM
OMG! I’m OMP!!! (On My Period)
I was out shopping with my niece, Katrina, the other day and I noticed that whenever she had the opportunity, she was sneaking over to the closest mirror to check out her back. She seemed worried as she made her way through crowded racks of clothes, but smiled with what looked like relief after a quick peek. Then she’d get back to the serious work of looking for deals and steals. I could tell she was a little preoccupied and suspected that she was worried about something. What could it be? A snag in her sweater? Did her butt look too big? Too small? Was it her hair?
“I was too embarrassed to talk about my periods with my doctor, and since none of my friends ever talked about their periods, I just figured that it was normal to bleed through tampons and pads and everyone was in the same boat.” Carly
If your health care provider doesn’t ask, you might not tell because it may be too uncomfortable bringing up concerns about your periods.
Health care providers often assume that a woman’s periods are normal, unless she brings it up. We aren’t asking, all the time. It’s not ok, but I understand how it happens. There’s lots of things to cover during an annual exam, and many of us have limited time with our patients.
Yes, that’s right, women who are on birth control do not need to have a period every month.But for women who are not using any hormones or birth control, not having a period is definitely something to talk to your health care provider about.
If you’ve skipped more than 3 months, then it’s time to see if you’re pregnant or if there’s something else interfering with the cycle.
For women who are using the pill, NuvaRing or Mirena, skipping periods is not a problem. How is this possible, you wonder? Well, as long as there is balance in hormones, then there is no risk of problems. I’ll explain a little further. (more…)
