Disappearing Menses!

Disappearing Menses!
Hello Dr.
I have a problem that is already giving me nightmare. Since November last year I have been experiencing menstrual cease of which I do not know the cause.
Normal I do menstruate for five days until last year November when this problem started. I was waiting for it thinking it will come out because I do experience irregular period so after December it dawn on me that I might be having a problem so I ran to a Pharmacist friend and explain to her, she prescribed two menstrogen injunctions and folic drug, after the injunction one week later my period came out with the normal flow of five days. (During this time I never made love with any man so I was not suspecting any pregnancy)
After that I saw my period around 22nd January, 2004 since that time I have not seen it for February and March. I do not know why my period should be ceasing at interval.
Doctor I want to know the cause of this whether is a hormonal imbalance because that was what my pharmacist friend suggested. (WHAT DO I DO)
I await your response. (Please reply me through my mail box not in The Sun Newspaper)
F.J.G;Abuja
Dear FJG,
Well, well well...
Let's tackle this together---shall we?
Okay, what's the major reason a woman will not see her periods? Easy--everyone knows the answer to that--if and when she is pregnant; isn't it? Okay? But you said you had no sex. Well, I've learnt to take that with a grain of salt-- I never believe women who say they did not have sex. Why? Oh, because-- sex is not only when you are penetrated. Too many ladies have had groovy times--genital contact of all sorts and still come and tell you they are virgins--meaning they have not allowed penetration in full--many times a little penetration occurred too -that is if you probe very well--so; always the first place to start is to prove she is not pregnant and just sending you on a wild goose chase. Apart from real pregnancy, there is dead pregnancy --missed abortion--in which the woman has been pregnant in the recent past but the baby had died in her womb but being unknown to her. Only a scan can detect a missed abortion--as we call this condition--or a missed misscarriage . The remedy, after finding out is to do a D&C and the lady will soon resume her normal periods. Following right after that is what we wrote about very recently--Asherman's Syndrome --the lady's D&C doctor has been too over enthusiastic in scraping her womb for the D&C; now there is no more uterine lining to shed!!!. That's number three. Number four is the use of any contraceptive pill; or even of the injectable known as Depoprovera to stop pregnancy. The after-sex pill, Postinor can also cause this. Here, the remedy is to stop the use of these agents and wait for the menses to return to regularity. Number five, is Stress--too much trouble/challenges from every and any source. Let me give some common causes of stress. Some loved one or the other is sick; you have exams; you are an athlete and you have to practice strenuously; you've been jilted or are about to be; you are sick--TB; PID; Anemia and so on. All these are causes of stress or challenges. Number 7 is this --and listen very well. Do you have milk coming from your breasts? If so, you could have the Galactorrhhea--Amenorrhea Syndrome --from pituitary or brain level problems which, fortunately can be easily remedied today by modern medications; Seven is the tampering with the adrenal glands that some people do by self medicating with steroid drugs such as Dexacortin which will cause Cushing's disease, and which we have fully treated in this column before; Seven is --again listen for this is a bit common too--do you have pimples? Are you fat/really big; do you have some facial and excess chest/ abdominal hair rather like a man? It may well be this is the cause of your problem. The condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome makes ladies--just like any other cause of scanty menses to be--infertile or at best subfertile. Weight loss that leaves the woman skin and bones will cause her to miss her periods also malabsorption or celiac disease will do the same because it will cause anemia first. If a woman has a goitre--high thyroid hormones or less (atimes), she can also miss her period.Disappearing Menses!