home Audience 12 Can the menstrual cycle change? The menstrual cycle: how it happens in phases. Video: How menstrual irregularities manifest themselves

Can the menstrual cycle change? The menstrual cycle: how it happens in phases. Video: How menstrual irregularities manifest themselves

Irregularity of the menstrual cycle is sometimes faced by any woman. Its duration can be lengthened and shortened, the duration and intensity of monthly bleeding are also not constant. These processes are influenced by many factors, so irregular periods are not always evidence of serious malfunctions. reproductive system. In some cases, such failures can be symptoms of the development of pathology, so the dynamics of the cycle must be strictly controlled.

Do irregular periods indicate the presence of the disease

The female menstrual cycle is a complex of monthly changes in a woman's body that occur throughout her life. reproductive age providing the possibility of conceiving a child. These processes are regulated by a complex neurohumoral mechanism with the participation of:

cerebral cortex;
hypothalamus;
pituitary gland;
gonads;
peripheral organs and tissues - uterus, fallopian tubes, mammary glands, etc.

The cycle consists of three main phases, during which corresponding changes occur in the ovaries and in the endometrium of the uterus. Reproductive female function is carried out by following processes flowing in these phases:

Follicular. The production of luteinizing (LH) and follicle-stimulating (FSH) hormones increases, under the influence of which follicles mature in the ovary. Its duration is from 5 to 8 days.
ovulatory phase. It lasts about three days, ends with ovulation. This is the moment when a mature egg leaves the dominant follicle, ready for fertilization.
The final phase is called the luteal. During this period, the corpus luteum actively produces progesterone, which ensures the preparation of the endometrium of the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg. If conception occurs and the egg “takes root” in the uterus, pregnancy occurs. If pregnancy does not occur, the corpus luteum is destroyed, the level of estrogen and progesterone drops sharply, and this is a signal for the resumption of production of LH and FSH, to the beginning of a new cycle. Its first day is considered the day of the onset of menstruation, during which the uterus is cleared of the remnants of the excess endometrium of the previous cycle.

The normal length of the cycle is its duration from 21 to 35 days (28 ± 7 days). The duration of menstruation is normally from 2 to 6 days (4 ± 2), the volume of blood loss is from 20 to 60 ml. The indicated ranges are normal, plus a one-time deviation of 3-5 days is considered normal. Violations can be indicated by regular cycle shifts of 6 days or more.

At reproductive age

Irregular menstrual cycle in reproductive age is the result of three main groups of factors. This impact external environment, diseases of the organs of the reproductive system or systemic failures in its work, as well as failures caused by taking medications. separate group changes in hormonal levels after pregnancy, childbirth, caesarean section, lactation period, miscarriage, abortion, unsuccessful IVF, in the premenopausal period. The main reasons for shifts in the dates of monthly bleeding include:

External - climate change, nervous exhaustion or chronic stress, dietary changes.
Physiological - hormonal disruptions. The first symptoms of such disorders are weight gain and hair growth in uncharacteristic places.
Diseases of the organs of the reproductive or other systems - the ovaries, uterus, liver, gallbladder and adrenal glands. Pathological disorders interactions of the pituitary and hypothalamus, the process of blood clotting, endocrine disorders, hormone-dependent tumors, oncological diseases, deficiency of vitamins and other compounds that are significant for metabolic processes, the consequences of bad habits (smoking, drug addiction, alcoholism).
Taking hormonal contraceptives, antidepressants, glucocorticosteroids, anticoagulants and other drugs.

Teenagers

Unstable periods in adolescence, at the stage of puberty of a girl, are more a natural phenomenon than a deviation. The hormonal background is unstable, the body needs time to tune in to the changes taking place in it. From the moment of menarche (the first menstruation) to the stabilization of the cycle, on average, about a year passes, that is, from 17 to 11 cycles. With a girl’s passion for a variety of diets and the associated weight jumps, the likelihood of irregular bleeding increases. Puberty is characterized by juvenile uterine bleeding.

With menopause

During the period of preparation of the body for menopause, which occurs after 45 years and ends the reproductive period of a woman's life, the menstrual cycle is disrupted due to a serious hormonal adjustment organism against the background of the depletion of the supply of eggs. The process is accompanied by acyclic and cyclic, abundant or scanty irregular bleeding due to hyperplastic processes occurring in the endometrium of the uterus. In some cases, such conditions require medical correction, the use of hormone replacement therapy.

Pathological causes of irregular menstruation cycle

The cause of irregular periods may be in violations of the reproductive and related systems, various diseases and unhealthy conditions. In women of different ages, pathological reasons irregular cycle include:

During adolescence. Irregular menstruation may arise due to endocrine disorders, pathologies of the development of the organs of the reproductive system, exhaustion of the body, psychological trauma, deterioration in health, inflammation and infectious diseases genital organs, due to bad habits, diets, early onset of sexual activity and promiscuity.
During the reproductive period. Diseases in which violations of the monthly cycle are a symptom are hyperprolactinemia, polycystic ovaries, malignant and benign tumors ovaries and uterus (fibroids, cancer, cystomas), inflammation and infection of the reproductive organs, endometriosis, adenomyosis, endometrial hyperplasia.
During the climax. Dangerous pathology, which can develop during premenopause against the background of hormonal changes - this is hyperestogenia. Due to failures in the hypothalamus-pituitary gland connection, the risk of endometrial hyperplasia, the development of estrogen-dependent tumors and other dangerous side effects increases.

Classification of menstrual irregularities

For different types violations of the monthly cycle have a medical name and description. The classification is based not only on the degree of regularity of monthly bleeding, but also on their intensity, duration, and other characteristics. The main types of menstrual cycle failures are the following conditions:

Oligomenorrhea - bleeding occurs every 3-4 months.
Amenorrhea - the absence of menstruation for several cycles in a row.
Opsomenorrhea - the discharge is scanty, the duration of bleeding is no more than 2 days.
Menorrhagia - the duration of menstruation is greatly exceeded (up to 10 days), bleeding is severe.
Hyperpolymenorrhea - the cycle is normal, bleeding is very strong.
Dysmenoria - menstruation is accompanied by severe pain in the lower abdomen or lower back, the cycle is regular.
Algomenorrhea - menstruation passes with a pronounced pain syndrome, monthly irregular.
Proyomenorrhea - a short cycle;
Metrorrhagia - uterine bleeding between periods.

Dangerous symptoms

Irregular menstruation becomes a reason to see a doctor if it is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms:

The interval between periods is either getting longer or shorter every month.
The duration of the cycle does not fit into the normal interval for more than 3 months in a row.
Cessation of monthly bleeding in a woman of reproductive age in case of non-pregnancy.
The length of the cycles varies from period to period, long ones are replaced by short ones.
The woman cannot become pregnant.
There are intermenstrual bloody issues or bleeding, strange color, consistency, with an unpleasant odor.
At different periods of the cycle, there are severe pain in the lower abdomen.

Diagnostics

If, after a visual examination and an initial questioning of the patient, the doctor suspects that irregular bleeding is a symptom of a pathology, he prescribes a series of tests and secondary laboratory tests to help identify or confirm a preliminary diagnosis. The methods used include:

Blood and urine analysis, general, biochemical.
Tests for reproductive hormones and hormones thyroid gland.
Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, pelvic organs, adrenal glands.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
Hysteroscopy (a method of visual examination of the uterine cavity using special equipment).
Histology.
A swab for testing for infections, inflammation, sexually transmitted diseases.

How to restore a regular cycle of menstruation

The treatment regimen is selected depending on the age of the patient, the type of abnormalities identified in her, the general clinical picture diseases. Therapy is carried out in several main stages, depending on the accompanying symptoms. With severe uterine bleeding before the appointment of hormone therapy (treatment with the use of oral contraceptives taken according to the usual scheme), the following activities are carried out:

Gynecological curettage for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.
Antianemic therapy.
Restoration of circulating blood volume.
Treatment concomitant diseases(hypertension, diseases of the thyroid and pancreas, adrenal glands, etc.)
Vitamin therapy (especially in adolescence).

Medical therapy

Treatment of menstrual cycle failures, characterized by irregular menstruation, is carried out by the method of complex drug therapy. Within its framework, the following groups of drugs are prescribed:

Hormones. The goal of therapy is the normalization of hormonal levels. To stop bleeding - Vikasol, Dicinon, Aminocaproic acid; then Novinet, Marvilon, Mercilon, progesterone analogues Duphaston or Utrozhestan, Norkolut, antiestrogenic agents. Before use, you must carefully study the instructions - schemes for taking many hormonal medicines associated with the phases of the cycle. The duration of therapy depends on the diagnosis.
Medicines to stimulate the formation of follicles (with diagnosed infertility) - Pergonal, Choriogonin.
Iron preparations - with diagnosed anemia varying degrees expressiveness.
B vitamins, folic acid, ascorbic acid(in adolescence, during the establishment of the cycle after the first menstruation).

Folk remedies

Recipes traditional medicine for the treatment of anomalies of the female monthly cycle can only be used with the permission of the attending physician, in the absence of contraindications. traditional healers for irregular bleeding, the following plants and methods for their use are recommended:

Cinnamon. Milk from cinnamon relieves the intensity of uterine cramps during menstruation. It is recommended to drink 1 glass per day (250 ml of milk requires 1 tsp of cinnamon), starting a week before bleeding and until it ends.
Turmeric. Mix with honey, aloe juice and coriander (proportion: 20 g of honey, 1 tsp of juice and each spice are dissolved in a glass boiled water) are taken once a day for 3 tbsp. from the luteal phase to the onset of the next period.
Ginger. Ginger tea(for 250 ml of boiling water 1 tbsp chopped ginger root and 1 tsp honey) normalizes irregular bleeding.
Sesame seeds. Two tablespoons of crushed seeds, mixed with any vegetable oil, once a day, 1 tsp. Contain a plant analogue of estrogen.

The menstrual cycle is a reproductive mechanism running in the body of each healthy woman fertile (childbearing age), which ensures the ability of a woman to conceive and bear a child.

The stability and regularity of this cycle affects the general well-being of a woman, her condition, activity and mood.

How does this happen

The functioning of the menstrual cycle depends on the central nervous system and hormonal levels - the balance of sex hormones - progesterone with estrogen, which are produced by the ovaries. Depending on the hormones produced by the ovaries, hormones of the main gland appear - the pituitary gland, but if there are few female sex hormones, then the pituitary gland stimulates their greater production, this also happens in the opposite case.

The pituitary gland, in the framework of stimulating the normal menstrual cycle (MC), acts in three directions:

stimulates the release of the follicle, the maturation of the egg in the first half of the MC;
stimulates the release of the egg and the production of progesterone in the future, if conception has occurred;
promotes the production of prolactin - to provide for the baby breast milk after childbirth.

The pituitary gland is affected by the central nervous system (nervous system) and its department, which corrects work endocrine system- hypothalamus. It is in the hormones that inhibit or inhibit, depending on the need, the production of gonadotropic pituitary hormones are not located and are constantly produced. At the head of the entire hierarchy is the cerebral cortex.

ovarian cyst

Often, due to a violation of the maturation of the follicular component, the accumulation of fluid in the cavity, benign education- cyst.

It can often be diagnosed in fertile women. The cyst may disappear and reappear on its own. The disease occurs in 70 percent of women. Ovarian cysts are classified according to the zone of occurrence:

follicular;
cyst corpus luteum;
paraovarian.

If the cyst does not go away within 1-2 cycles or does not disappear after childbirth in pregnant women, it must be removed surgically.

Crashes in the cycle, why they happen

We can observe irregular cycles in most women. Few can boast that menstruation begins on the same day of the month. Why is this happening? First and obvious reason: Ideally, the menstrual cycle lasts 28 days. Therefore, if menstruation began on January 6, then after 28 days they will come on February 3-4, and then on March 1-2 and March 31-April 1. After all, each month has a different number of days, and the cycle can normally be delayed by 1–2 days. On average, it is calculated that the cycle can be from 24 to 35 days. For many women, the cycle changes every month.

Another reason is violations in the body of a woman. This includes nervous experiences, malfunction of the pituitary gland, ailments hormonal system, infections, inflammations, bad habits, excessive physical activity, weight lifting, taking certain drugs, blood diseases, exacerbations chronic diseases, oncology, etc. The cycle can be affected by unsuccessful surgical interventions about gynecological problems, as well as trauma and damage to the uterus, diseases of the appendages, hypothermia.

What types of violations of the MC are

Since the mechanism of the functioning of the cycle is triggered by different departments in the body, the classification of MC disorders is based on where exactly the regulation is disturbed. There are cycle failures at levels:

If violations occur in one of the listed departments, the MC also fails. After stressful situations, severe fright or prolonged nervous tension the pituitary gland suffers, not releasing the right amount of the hormone for the cyclic maturation of the egg. Ovulation is absent - menstruation also does not occur.

If the function of the hypothalamus is impaired, the ovaries can reduce the production of estrogen, so the maturation of the egg will not occur within this cycle. Perhaps a failure in the MC is associated with damage to the ovaries up to their fibrosis, as a result of which there is a decrease in the number of follicles ready to create an egg during the menstrual cycle. The follicles are laid individually during the prenatal development of the fetus.

How to determine that the MC has failed

MC violations are divided into complete absence menstruation - amenorrhea and the presence of meager allocations non-menstrual type at odd hours.

Another intermediate failure is observed if the intervals between regular menstruation have changed, the intensity of bleeding has increased or decreased, and irregular menstruation has appeared.

Main clear signs failures:

the volume of secretions changes - hyper- or hypomenorrhea;
the period of discharge was shortened - if earlier menstruation took place within 7 days, now this period has been reduced to 3-4, for example;
the period of allocation has increased;
the usual rhythm of menstruation was disturbed - menstruation appears twice a month, then there is a 90-day break.

Hypomenorrhea - the scarcity of secretions occurs due to a decrease in the activity of the pituitary gland and sclerosis of the ovaries. menorrhagia - prolonged heavy menstruation accompanied by pain and blood loss, lasting up to 2 weeks. Such phenomena occur during the formation of the cycle in adolescence and during hormonal extinction in pre menopause. At fertile age, such failures occur from chronic diseases of the uterus, fibroids and the presence of polyps.

Any violations of the cycle require attention and timely consultation with the attending gynecologist.

When a girl reaches the age of 12-14 years, her first critical days begin. This suggests that the body is physiologically ready to give new life. Regular menstruation ends at the age of 50-55, followed by menopause. This whole process is divided into cycles, which are called menstrual cycles. These periods have very strict time frames, but sometimes, which entails a number of diseases and simply unpleasant situations. But first things first.

Menstruation is the process of rejection by the body of the functional lining of the uterus. This happens if the egg is not fertilized during the period of ovulation. A normal menstrual cycle lasts 21-35 days. The regulation of this period is carried out by the nervous system - the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. There is a certain influence thyroid, as well as the adrenal cortex.

The first menstruation in girls occurs in different ways. It depends, oddly enough, on the climate in which they live: the warmer the living conditions, the faster the body matures, therefore it is known that in many Scandinavian countries the first critical days come at 16, and the menstrual cycle can last up to 35 days. Failure for a few days on the background of stress is quite normal phenomenon. But what if such a failure happens regularly? Than it is fraught and how it to treat?

Causes of irregular menstruation

After a girl has her first period, her periods will be completely irregular for 8-10 cycles. During this period, the body is restructured and a healthy menstrual cycle is established, which ranges from 21 days to 35 days. In adult women, menstruation is more stable, so it is much easier to track their violation and identify pathology.

Infection

Most often, the cause of the violation of the cycle are infections that affect the pelvic organs.

Possible signs of a pelvic infection include:

Irregularity of menstruation (delay for 5-7 days or more);
prolongation of bleeding time (more than 7 days);
painful menstruation;
pain in the lower abdomen outside of menstrual bleeding;
increase in body temperature.

If you notice that your menstrual cycle has changed or periods have become inconsistent, contact your doctor who will conduct an examination and prescribe treatment.

Most often, if the causes of the violation are chlamydia, ureaplasma, mycoplasma or other bacteria, then special treatment get rid of unpleasant discomfort. This is the most common cause of irregular periods, it is quite simple to cure it. There are much more dangerous problems.

Often, the menstrual period can be shifted or lengthened due to gynecological diseases(uterus and its appendages). In this vein, treatment is simply necessary, as this can cause infertility. With inflammation of the uterus, severe pains appear in the lower abdomen, mucous secretions are formed. If you start such diseases, in the future they can manifest themselves in the form heavy bleeding, the menstrual period will lengthen or become completely unstable. In this case, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Both young girls and mature women face this problem. Hormonal failure is often due to the insufficiency of the second phase of the menstrual cycle. But what will cause the unstable release of hormones in the body?

Thyroid dysfunction. We can talk about both its hyperfunction and hypofunction.
Adrenal dysfunction.
Transferred acute and chronic diseases.

Hormonal pathology is often accompanied by a shortening of the time of menstrual bleeding and a long delay in the cycle. If the periods have become scanty and continue to decrease, and the interval between them increases, you should consult a doctor.

When a woman uses contraceptive pills it causes a malfunction of the reproductive system, in connection with which the sperm is not able to fertilize the egg. But, in addition to this, these drugs have a serious impact on the same hormonal background, due to which, against the background of their cancellation, the menstrual cycle can increase up to 60 days. These drugs should only be used after consulting a doctor.

climate change

As already mentioned above, for girls who live in warm countries, menstruation begins much earlier. This indicates that climate has a direct effect on female body. It is for this reason that a change in the climatic zone can cause menstrual irregularities. But in this case, no treatment is needed, the female body very quickly adapts to new living conditions and in a month everything will fall into place.

bad dream

Sleep deprivation is another cause of hormonal imbalance in women. The productivity of the body falls, and it is no longer able to satisfy the female reproductive system in the right amount of vital elements. In this connection, menstruation can be disturbed for a day or two in any direction each cycle. Don't panic about it - normalize it

In this situation, it's quite simple. You just need to have a good rest and schedule a work schedule that will have enough time for sleep and rest. After that, with high probability everything will return to its place.

Diet can affect the menstrual cycle! For example, you decide to go on a diet, you have limited your body from a number of unhealthy fats, cholesterol and other not very useful substances. The body immediately senses this and begins to adjust to hormonal level. This leads to failure. And if we also add physical exercise, then such an imbalance is more than likely. But treatment in this case is not needed, this process is largely adaptive and in a month you will be able to return to a stable menstrual cycle again.

An important point: strict diets and sudden loss weight can lead to amenorrhea. In this case, menstruation will be completely absent. Obligatory consultation of the gynecologist and the nutritionist is necessary.

It has already been said above that menstruation can be knocked down for several days stressful situations and there is nothing to worry about, but depression and constant worries can lead to much more serious problems, and a change menstrual period will be just one of them. Delays are possible up to 60 days. In such a situation, proper treatment is the only way out!

anovulation

If it seems to you that 40 days is a very long cycle, then, fortunately, you are not aware of such problems as oligoovulation (rare ovulation) and anovulation (complete absence of ovulation - egg maturation). This is very serious illness which requires medical intervention. With such a pathology, the normal cycle is disrupted, and natural attack pregnancy is almost impossible.

The cessation of menstruation can be a sign of pregnancy. Each menstrual cycle, the uterus “recovers” before ovulation, preparing the body for possible procreation. If fertilization has taken place, the uterine mucosa no longer needs regular renewal, and therefore menstruation stops. After childbirth, the menstrual cycle will gradually recover.

Violation of the cycle in girls is a very common phenomenon and absolutely natural. The fact is that at a young age, the hormonal background is just beginning to be established. The menstrual cycle either increases or becomes shorter, but already during the first year after menarche it becomes stable, after which it is easier to make a women's calendar.

Diets

Women who undergo extreme diets and begin to lose weight rapidly also begin to suffer from irregular cycles. Such sharp drops vitality very harmful to the female body. But not only diets are to blame, but also rapid weight gain. In this case, the menstrual period may become shorter or, conversely, longer. To avoid this outcome, use only those diets prescribed by a nutritionist, play sports and eat right. The ratio in this case plays essential role. Interestingly, in the fair sex, who suffer from anorexia, menstruation stops completely due to severe exhaustion and weakening of the body.

This term is more familiar to mature women. At the age of 45-50 years, the body is no longer able to regenerate so rapidly, this also applies to the uterine mucosa: the menstrual cycle has become longer, and menstruation passes without copious discharge. In this case, we can assume that the failure of menstruation in adulthood is the first sign of menopause. This also applies to women with early menopause.

So, it's worth summarizing. Exists a large number of diseases and disorders that cause an increase in the menstrual cycle, its reduction or instability. It makes no sense to talk about methods of treatment, because thousands of gynecologists from all over the world say that diseases of the female body must be dealt with under the supervision of doctors, no self-medication, and even more so traditional medicine. All medicines should be prescribed by a gynecologist after a thorough examination of the patient.

Factor	Causes	Symptoms	Consequences	Danger level on a 10-point scale
Violation of the cycle without obvious symptoms	Infection	–	Transfer of infection to other organs, infertility	5
Violation of the cycle, lengthening of the menstrual cycle	Fatigue, heaviness in the body, nausea, changes in other organs	decline female function, dryness and increased sensitivity of the genitals	7
Breaking the cycle	–	Decreased sexual function, feeling of dryness in the bikini area	3
Breaking the cycle	Change of climatic conditions		–	1
Breaking the cycle	Heaviness, drowsiness, fatigue	–	2
Breaking the cycle	Unbalanced diet	Heaviness in the body, fatigue	The appearance of unpleasant odors, itching and rashes	4
Violation and lengthening of the menstrual cycle	stress and depression	Decreased activity, drowsiness	–	3
	oligoovulation and anovulation	Pathological secretions.		10
Violation of the cycle or its complete stop	Inflammation of the uterus and its appendages	Pain in the lower abdomen, fever, unpleasant odors, copious discharge	decrease in female function, infertility.	8
Cessation of menstruation	Pregnancy	Drowsiness and fatigue, toxicosis	–	1
Breaking the cycle	–	–	1
Increased or decreased menstrual cycle without the cause of diseases	Sudden weight gain or weight loss, anorexia	–	–	3
Cessation of menstruation	Hot flashes, sweating, insomnia, mood swings	–	2

Now you will know why the menstrual cycle fails, what to do when this happens to you. So if your periods regarding menstruation have changed, you should not panic yet, you need to study all the symptoms in detail, and it is best to immediately consult a doctor.

The menstrual cycle is a physiological process that serves as an important indicator women's health. The beginning of menstruation indicates that the girl has reached reproductive age and is ready to conceive a child. And with age, there is a fading of the reproductive function, which is reflected in the nature of menstruation.

Many women are anxious about their periods and worry about any changes in their frequency or duration. And this is absolutely correct, since deviations in the cycle, as a rule, indicate certain problems in the body. Irregular periods occur at any age: in young girls and women after 40 years. But everyone is concerned about the same question - why is this happening and what needs to be done to normalize the cycle? Only a doctor can answer it after a complete examination of the patient.

Menstrual disorders are a common complaint modern women. This is facilitated by many factors that require careful identification and competent correction.

Causes

The menstrual cycle is highly sensitive to various factors and is very sensitive to changes in a woman's body. The causes of menstrual irregularities can be very different, but largely depend on age. For young girls who have just begun menstruation, some deviations from the generally accepted norm are not critical, and, moreover, are considered quite physiological. The same can be said about women after 40, who begin to show age-related changes in the functions of the reproductive system.

However, irregular periods can be the result of not only physiological changes, but also various pathological conditions. And if in young girls such violations are mainly of a functional nature, then for women after 40 years, organic causes of menstruation instability are more typical. Thus, we can distinguish the most common factors affecting the regularity of the cycle:

Stress, neurotic reactions.
Physical and mental fatigue.
Starvation, malnutrition.
Obesity.
Endometriosis.
Tumors, polyps of the uterus.
Diseases of the ovaries.
Endocrine pathology.
Infections of the reproductive system.
Taking certain drugs (contraceptive, antihypertensive).
Bad habits (smoking, alcoholism).

This is far from full list conditions that are able to cause changes in the nature of menstruation. The cause can be almost any disease that is characterized by pronounced impact on the body's metabolic processes.

It is possible to determine why a woman has an irregular cycle during a medical examination and additional diagnostics.

Symptoms

Cycle disorders are manifested by a change in the frequency of menstruation, as well as their nature. Can be various options such dysfunctions, which is determined by the violation of regulatory mechanisms at various levels - from the cerebral cortex to the uterus - provoked by the underlying disease or other condition. Therefore, to find out the cause of irregular periods, it is necessary to consider the main symptoms of the pathological cycle. These include:

Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation.
Polymenorrhea - an increase in the duration of the cycle.
Oligomenorrhea - a decrease in the duration of the cycle.
Proyomenorrhea - frequent discharge.
Opsomenorrhea - infrequent menstruation.
Hypermenorrhea - heavy periods.
Hypomenorrhea - scanty bleeding.
Algodysmenorrhea - painful menstruation.

In girls and women after 40 years intermittent cycle may manifest the same symptoms, but the causes may be radically different.

endometriosis

Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological pathology in which endometrial cells develop outside the lining of the uterus. More common in young age than women over 40 years of age. This is due to the fact that in the active reproductive age, the concentration of sex hormones responsible for the growth of the endometrium is higher. The disease is characterized by the appearance of:

Algodysmenorrhea.
Smearing discharge between periods.
Uterine bleeding.
Pain during intercourse (uncommon).

In many cases, endometriosis is completely asymptomatic, but despite this, it is accompanied by quite serious complications - adhesive disease, infertility, tumor degeneration. Sometimes the disease is disguised as another pathology of the small pelvis, and often without additional examination making a diagnosis becomes difficult.

Half the time female infertility is due to endometriosis. Therefore, during a gynecological examination of women with menstrual irregularities, it is always necessary to remember the likelihood of such a pathology.

Tumors of the uterus

Irregular periods are common with neoplastic diseases uterus: fibromyomas, polyps, endometrial hyperplasia. Quite often, this situation occurs among women after 40 years of age, when hormonal changes are underway, adverse factors accumulate and the risk of tissue degeneration increases.

If the size of the tumor is small, the disease may be asymptomatic, but with an increase in size, the nature of the cycle changes - intermenstrual bleeding appears - at first insignificant, and later more and more exhausting the body of a woman. As the tumor grows, pain in the lower abdomen or lower back may appear, which is aggravated by sexual intercourse. Fibroids often reach a significant size, and uterine polyps in reproductive age can lead to infertility.

A dangerous disease is cancer of the body of the uterus. Most often it occurs in women after 40 years, during menopause. In this case, uterine bleeding (metrorrhagia) is observed, cloudy discharge from the genital tract is possible. As a result of the germination of the tumor on nearby tissues, pain and dysfunction of the pelvic organs are observed.

Women should always have oncological alertness, especially after 40 years. You should regularly undergo preventive examinations and do the necessary examination.

Ovarian diseases

Ovarian pathology is one of the causes of menstrual dysfunction. If there are irregular periods, this may occur due to inflammatory processes (salpingoophoritis), polycystic disease, developmental anomalies (leg torsion, hypoplasia).

Polycystic ovary syndrome occurs in 5% of women of reproductive age and is one of the leading causes of infertility. Along with various menstrual irregularities, up to anovulation, the following symptoms are observed:

Obesity.
The development of hair male type(hypertrichosis).
Baldness, acne.
Enlargement of the ovaries.

Chronic inflammatory diseases accompanied by spotting bloody discharge, pulling pains lower abdomen. Untreated pathology leads to tubal infertility due to the development of the adhesive process.

Having determined why a woman has an unstable menstrual cycle, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment. With adequate therapy, reproductive function can be normalized.

Treatment

It is necessary to treat an irregular cycle of menstruation in a differentiated way - depending on the identified pathology. If the changes are functional and mediated by exposure external factors on the body of a woman, then you can not take drastic measures, but limit yourself general recommendations to improve lifestyle. These include:

In certain cases, this is enough, especially for girls with an asthenic physique, prone to neuroses. However, when organic diseases are detected, it is necessary to carry out therapy aimed at restoring the regular cycle. And it's not always possible to fix the situation alone conservative methods, and have to resort to surgery.

Conservative treatment

The basis conservative therapy is taking medicines. Any medicines are used in strict accordance with the approved clinical guidelines and standards for the treatment of pathology of the menstrual cycle. You need to take drugs only as directed by a doctor, otherwise you can increase the imbalance of physiological processes and provoke a deterioration in the condition. As a rule, use such medicines:

Hormonal preparations containing progesterone (duphaston, utrozhestan), antiestrogen (danazol) or antiandrogens (Diana-35).
Hemostatic (dicinone, aminocaproic acid).
Antibiotics - with inflammatory processes(ofloxacin, amoxicillin).
Iron preparations - for anemia (gyno-tardiferon, globiron).

In addition, for many women with menstrual disorders, Spa treatment(balneotherapy). However, with tumor diseases, any physiotherapy is contraindicated.

Timely correction of menstrual irregularities is of great importance. The restoration of reproductive function and the ability to become pregnant depend on this.

Surgery

Operation is important method treatment of various neoplasms. In a benign process, only the removal of the pathological focus is performed, followed by medical support. If the tumor is characterized by pronounced cellular atypia, then it is necessary to use combined treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

uterine polyps and glandular hyperplasia endometrium are treated by scraping. If a fibromyoma is diagnosed, the course of the operation depends on its location and size. In menopause, removal of the uterus (hysterectomy) is recommended. With severe endometriosis, electrocoagulation of the identified foci is performed. In the case of confirmed cancer, it is necessary to do an extended extirpation of the uterus with appendages and regional lymph nodes.

Menstrual irregularities are a common problem among women different ages. Its decision is determined by the timeliness and quality of medical care.

Nature is conceived so that every month the female body is ready for possible pregnancy. What serves as a sign? A certain phase of menstruation, and to find out more precisely the period of ovulation, a woman helps to keep her own calendar, where she fixes the menstrual cycle. Between critical days There are other changes associated with reproductive function, therefore, each representative of the fair sex needs to know the cycle rate, listen to the signals, so as not to miss the beginning of the development of the pathology and not deprive herself of the joy of motherhood.

What is the menstrual cycle

Approximately at regular intervals in the female genital organs occur physiological changes. The beginning of one menstruation (the appearance of discharge) and the entire period until the beginning of the next - this is what the cycle of menstruation is in women. This phenomenon got its name from Latin, in translation from which "mensis" means "month". Bloody discharge is a liquid, more precisely, a mixture of blood, desquamated epithelium of the uterine mucosa, clear slime, so the color can vary from bright red to brown.

Do I need to know the duration of the cycle

If health care is on the list of priorities for a beautiful representative of any age, then there is no doubt: you need to know the individual menstruation schedule. This is the only way to detect violations of the function of the ovaries, the uterine mucosa or the onset of pregnancy in time. Duration together with frequency, volume blood secretions is included in the list of the main characteristics by which the normal menstruation.

When does it start

The period of puberty for each girl occurs individually, in most cases, menarche occurs at the age of 11-13 years. Further, when the menstruation schedule stabilizes, the onset of menstruation can be judged by spotting. From this moment, which occurs at any time of the day, you should fix the beginning of a new period and do not forget to mark the first day in menstrual calendar.

Phases

Gynecology has revealed almost all the secrets of the functioning of the female reproductive system. The work of all the organs included in it is subject to a certain rhythm, which is conventionally divided into three phases. For the full period of menstruation in the body of a woman, the egg matures, then the phase begins when it is ready for fertilization. If conception did not occur, then a corpus luteum is formed, the level of the hormone progesterone drops, rejection of the epithelial layer of the uterus - the phase ends.

Follicular

The beginning of this phase coincides with the onset critical days, and the follicular phase lasts almost two weeks. During this time, follicles grow in the ovaries, they release estrogen hormones into the blood, the latter stimulate the growth of the endometrium (uterine lining). All actions of the reproductive system in this phase are aimed at the maturation of the egg and the creation optimal conditions for her fertilization.

ovulatory

The shortest of all the selected phases of the cycle. With a duration of menstruation of 28 days, ovulation accounts for only 3. Under the influence of hormones, a mature egg is formed from a mature follicle. For a woman who wants to get pregnant, these few days are her only chance to conceive. The onset of the ovulatory phase makes itself felt with slight pain in the lower abdomen. If the egg is fertilized, then it attaches to the uterine mucosa. Otherwise, the work of the body is aimed at getting rid of the corpus luteum.

luteal

Ovulation occurs, but does not end with pregnancy - this means that the middle of the cycle or the third phase has come. The active production of the hormones progesterone, estrogen leads to the appearance of a complex of symptoms known as PMS ( premenstrual syndrome). During the entire luteal phase, and this is from 11 to 16 days, a woman’s mammary glands can swell, her mood changes, her appetite increases, and the body sends a signal to the uterus that it is necessary to get rid of unnecessary endometrium. So one menstrual period ends, and another comes to replace the bloody discharge.

What cycle of menstruation is considered normal

unambiguous answer medical science does not give. If we take into account the factor of the duration of the menstrual period, then the duration from 21 to 35 days fits into the concept of the norm. The average indicator of a normal cycle is 28 days. Menstruation (bleeding) lasts 2-6 days, while the amount of blood lost does not exceed 80 ml. Some regularity can be traced in the fact that women in the southern regions have a shorter cycle than those women who live in northern latitudes.

How to calculate the cycle of menstruation

To determine the time interval from the first day of menstruation to the last, you should start a calendar. For convenience, you can choose a paper version or online applications, then you do not have to keep all the data in your head and there is no danger of forgetting something. By marking the dates in the menstrual calendar, it will be possible to calculate the duration of the interval. The middle of the cycle can be determined using an ovulation test or by measuring basal body temperature (insert a thermometer into the rectum after waking up). For a reliable calculation, you need to take into account the data of 4 menstruations in a row.

Menstruation cycle calendar

To plan pregnancy, in taking care of their own health, the fair sex should regularly keep a calendar. A paper insert in a business diary, an online application is a choice based on convenience, but you should definitely mark the days of menstruation, make notes in the table, then determine the duration by calculating the interval: from the first day of the previous period to the first day of the next. The calendar helps to track the regularity, phases of the cycle in women, determine the period of ovulation or "dangerous days" if there is no desire to become pregnant.

Why does my period cycle change every month?

The regularity of the cycle indicates the good condition of the reproductive system, the general well-being of the woman. However, for a number of reasons, deviations can occur that lead to pathology. physiological, emotional condition, difficult situations - all this affects the appearance of irregular periods. The calendar system also leads to a failure in the calculations, when one month of the year is shorter than the other, therefore, when medium duration cycle, the dates of the beginning of menstruation in the calendar will be different.

When and why the cycle breaks

A normal menstrual cycle is more common among women who have given birth. Irregular menstrual periods are common in girls because the production of a normal physiological process takes one or two years. Before the onset of menopause, or in case of a violation of the hormonal background, the menstrual schedule also fails, which changes. The first menstruation is characterized by a short cycle, with hormonal failure or menopause - a maximum or long break.

Types of violations

The regular menstrual schedule for each woman is different, so determine female cycle follows on its own. With noticeable deviations, when there is a delay in menstruation or the discharge has a pungent odor, a more saturated shade, you should consult a doctor. Important symptoms that indicate violations are an uncharacteristic volume of secretions, the appearance pain not only in the middle of the menstrual period, but also at the stage of follicle maturation or in the second half of the cycle.

If the cycle is irregular and accompanying symptoms It is customary to talk about the following possible violations:

polymenorrhea (prolonged uterine bleeding, the cycle schedule is defined as an interval of less than 21 days);
hypermenorrhea (heavy menstrual bleeding);
hypomenorrhea (scanty spotting, reduced production of sex hormones);
oligomenorrhea (the length of menstruation does not exceed 2 days);
amenorrhea (absence of critical days for more than six months);
metrorrhagia (atypical bleeding, in which there is no rejection of the endometrial gland);
algomenorrhea (menstruation, which is accompanied by severe pain).

Treatment of menstrual irregularities

The first thing to take as a rule if you suspect a violation is that self-medication is categorically unacceptable! The danger to life, if the monthly cycle in women has failed, is very high, so you need to contact a gynecologist for help, you may need to consult an endocrinologist, neurologist, therapist, oncologist. A reasonable approach to treatment, when the cycle is restored, pituitary hormones are produced correctly and the secretory phases are working, is a chance for happy motherhood or a way to resist the development of diseases of the reproductive system.

To determine the nature of the violations, to choose an effective treatment regimen, a woman will have to undergo an examination, do an ultrasound scan, donate blood, and during gynecological examination the doctor will take a smear. When the influence of external factors is excluded, the specialist, based on the diagnosis, will offer the patient a treatment regimen, choosing one or more types of therapy:

Surgery(ablation of the endometrium, curettage of the uterine cavity, removal of organs).
hormone therapy. It involves the use of combined oral contraceptives, in addition, GnRH agonists or gestagens are prescribed, which helps to establish a two-phase cycle in which ovulation is impossible.
hemostatic therapy. It is carried out with bleeding, helping to stabilize the functions of the reproductive system and the whole organism.
Non-hormonal therapy. Preparations based on plant complexes, minerals, beneficial acids are prescribed to bring the menstrual schedule back to normal. In addition, nutritional supplements are intended to support the functioning of the reproductive system during the corpus luteum phase, ovulation, fertilization and gradual rejection of the endometrium or support hormonal balance.