Causes for abnormally light period?!
Question: i'm 21 years old, started my period 11 years ago and every month it as always been consistently heavy in the beginning - bad enough to have to change things every hour. my period started monday afternoon and i've only had to change things once and it wasn't even completely necessary (only had light blood and a lil bit of "mucous" - just a lil over half the tampon was used). this is just very unusual for me.
i haven't been through any stress, no medications, change in diet/excercise, never been on birth control.. nothing's changed that would appear to make this month different. (i asked this question earlier and got very little response, or the above was brought up so i wanted to clarify that none of that is an issue).
i don't have insurance so going to a doctor is hard to do unless absolutely necessary, which is why i'm wanting to get opinions beforehand.
Answers: i'm 21 years old, started my period 11 years ago and every month it as always been consistently heavy in the beginning - bad enough to have to change things every hour. my period started monday afternoon and i've only had to change things once and it wasn't even completely necessary (only had light blood and a lil bit of "mucous" - just a lil over half the tampon was used). this is just very unusual for me.
i haven't been through any stress, no medications, change in diet/excercise, never been on birth control.. nothing's changed that would appear to make this month different. (i asked this question earlier and got very little response, or the above was brought up so i wanted to clarify that none of that is an issue).
i don't have insurance so going to a doctor is hard to do unless absolutely necessary, which is why i'm wanting to get opinions beforehand.
Well, thats great, but the obvious question that you didnt answer is whether or not you had unprotected sex, or even protected sex. If the answer is no you have not had sex within the past 3 months then I am inclined to tell you that menstrual changes are normal every once in awhile. There is no fool proof way to predict when it will happen, it just does sometimes. I was once late by 15 days. I wasnt sexually active, and nothing had changed in my life either. Its just the one of the bodys little quirks. If you have had sex in the past 3 months regaurdless of protection, then its best to get a home pregnancy test. It may not be a period, it may be implantation bleeding. Have you had any other odd symptoms like unusually sore breasts? Start out by taking a home pregnancy test first thing in the morning. If its negative then repeat the test in another week or 2 just to be sure. If your next period doesnt arrive, then go to your local free clinic for testing. Alot of them are based on a donation only basis, or a sliding scale. Get a check up and see what a doctor has to say about it. Otherwise you are probably fine.
Your period occurs as the shedding of the menstrual lining ... the lining of the uterus. It is built up during your menstrual cycle under the influence of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone.
The progesterone during the latter half of the cycle tends to have a slight inhibitory effect on the formation of the endometrium (the menstrual lining).
When the hormone levels decline (if no fertilized egg is implanted) then the endometrium is shed - this is the menstrual period.
Causes for a light period are predominantly the causes of development of a smaller amount of endometrium:
Shorter period cycle - less time to build up
More progesterone - this decreases endometrium build up
Less endometrium
A number of conditions could cause these factors to arise:
- stress
- poor nutrition
- hormonal conditions: hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, other hormones
- progesterone only pill or depo provera
- pregnancy
On the other hand ... a light period is hardly ever a problem. The only thing that is a big problem would be pregnancy. If this is a possibility, do a pregnancy test. If that's negative, don't worry too much about it.