Ladies...ptsd And Menstrual Cycles

[EvenStrongerNow]

So, I haven't had a menstrual cycle for 7 months :eek: Yes, I know I need to see an OBGYN. My insurance will be good March 1st and I've already done the research and made an appointment for around then.

The last time I went without one for this long was during the trauma--in 2010, I didn't have one for 9 months. The gynecologist that I saw then was getting ready to measure FSH and all of that to make sure my pituitary stuff was good, but at the time, I lost work and insurance because of health issues.

So, I was wondering, with all of the memories of my 2008-2011 trauma surfacing over the past well, 5 months or so, is it possible that my lack of a menstrual cycle is a somatic experience of some sort?

I'm really worried. I am choosing not to freak out. It's just that I worry about my ability to conceive with this going on. I would be heart broken if anything happens reproductive wise.....infertility or something like that...

Anyway, I guess I just needed to vent as well as receive a little bit of support from the ladies. Thanks for reading.

 

[EvenStrongerNow]

I'm trying very hard not to Google at the moment :(

 

[Echo]

@StrongerNow - in the days when I had no sign of PTSD, my periods could stop for months because I was stressed. Then they started again as if nothing had happened. Yes, get it checked out, if your GP recommends it, but don't get even more stressed about it. It is probably nothing major. Fingers crossed.

 

[katarata]

Been there... Almost a year without and still very irregular. I think it has to do with the stress. I try not to worry about it and never went to see a doctor (mentioned it to my psychiatrist though). My hormones are just a complete chaos (as well as the rest of me haha)... I actually started taking some herbs and it helped me!

Try not to worry too much about it, I'm sure it's just a symptom of all the stress you're going through right now.

 

[EvenStrongerNow]

I googled, even though I've read stuff before, it still makes me :cry:

I am 29, I've had issues with ovarian cysts and ruptures since I started having menses at age 14. After my first one, they had to induce my menstrual cycle with pills.

I had an emergency surgery in 2009 and experienced a morphine blackout. I had a 6cm cyst rupture on my left ovary and I was bleeding internally. I had regular cycles after that until none for 9 months in 2010.

I can't help but be brought to tears. What if my body is going into menopause? I want to be a mother so badly. My mom had the same issues. She had us in her early 20s. She had a hysterectomy at age 34 because of fibroid tumors.

What if it's too late for me? I'm so scared :(

 

[franciemarnie]

Odds are you aren't going thru menopause. I too would not have my period over the years due to stress as well as being underweight sometimes.

Get checked out gurlfriend! I am sure it's the stress but knowing for a fact will help ease your mind.

 

[Jules0408]

Have you looked into poly-cystic ovarian syndrome? It could be a possibility. My cousin and I both have it, she has gone a year without it. I was a little easier, once every three months and then it just kinda...vanished (the pcos not menses).

 

[Echo]

@StrongerNow - I've had fibroids for years, so I know a lot about them, unfortunately. They wouldn't stop your periods. People generally have surgery if they are flooding, i.e. don't stop bleeding. Mine aren't in my womb (they are out on stalks leading from the womb wall), so I was told they wouldn't stop my carrying a baby. The same goes for fibroids in the womb wall. If they are in the womb itself, they can make things harder, but they don't necessarily make it impossible to conceive. Not all surgeons suggest surgery anyway; they can do more damage than the fibroids themselves ever do. They tend, in the UK at least, now to only do surgery on women who don't want children or who are past child-bearing age.

I also want to say that there are many ways of dealing with ovarian cysts. Only some require surgery. Some discharge themselves naturally, and some respond really well to nutritional changes and complementary therapies. Even if there is something wrong, don't be pushed into something major as a response, until you have found out all your options. People are sensitive to your wish to have children, so keep mentioning this. Sending you lots of good wishes.

 

[EvenStrongerNow]

I do an organic, non GMO whole foods diet. The docs told me before that I could do a low dose birth control to dissolve cysts, but I don't want the crazy hormone shifts that result. I've tried it before. They basically told me that nothing else can be done since it's a hereditary condition.

Perhaps, there are new options now as that was 5 years ago or maybe I wasn't asking the right kinds of questions back then.