When Normal Menstrual Cycle come off as Abnormal.

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(Edited)

Almost every woman experiences menstruation, even if sometimes we feel irritated by the sight of blood and the symptoms that accompanies it, we know that we still need to go through the cycle. Usually, the menstrual cycle could be as short as 21 days or as long as 40 days. It is a complex process usually controlled by a variety of different glands as well as the hormones secreting the glands. The entire menstrual phase consists of four phases; the Menstruation phase, Follicular phase, Ovulation phase, and Luteal phase.

The menstrual cycle is a preparatory pregnancy stage for the body, rather than getting pregnant, the hormone sends a signal to the uterus to shed lining, and the shed lining becomes your period. Once the period begins, the cycle begins again. The measurement of a periodic cycle range from the first day of the period until the next day of the next period. The average age for a period to start is, 12-13 but it can also start at the early stage of nine or at a late stage of 16.


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The stages of Menstrual Cycle.

I mentioned earlier that, there are four basic stages to the menstrual cycle process, let's dive into that a little bit.

Menstrual Phase: The menstrual phase is the period phase, during the menstrual period, the uterus lining sheds blood/flows blood out of the vagina. The period process does not contain just blood, it also contains mucus and some cell types from the uterus lining. The normal strength of a period lasts for three to seven days. In order to avoid embarrassment and staining of surfaces, women use items like tampons, sanitary pads, period underwear, and menstrual cups to absorb the period. Regardless of how slow the flow is tampons and sanitary pads have to be regularly changed at least every 12 hours.

Follicular Phase: This phase begins on the first day of the period, lasts for around 13 to 14 days, and then ends in ovulation. There is the pituitary gland, this gland is present in the brain and it releases a hormone that will stimulate the production of follicles on the ovary surface. Normally, it is only one follicle that will get matured into the level of an egg, this can happen during the 10th day of the menstrual cycle and during this phase as well, the uterus lining gets thickened as a preparatory stage for pregnancy.


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Ovulation Phase: At this stage is when the egg gets matured and gets released from the ovary, it moves along the path of a fallopian tube towards the uterus, this process happens just once every month, precisely two weeks before the next menstrual cycle, ovulation can possibly last for 16-32 hours. The possibility of getting pregnant is five days before ovulation and on the day of ovulation too, once there is a release of an egg, it takes up to 24 hours to survive. If the sperm gets to the egg during the process of survival, pregnancy occurs.

Luteal Phase: After the process of ovulation, cells in the ovary release progesterone and a little amount of oestrogen, this causes the lining of the uterus to get really thick, and thick enough for the preparatory stage of pregnancy. It happens that pregnancy does not happen, the corpus luteum dies, the level of progesterone drops, the uterus lining sheds, and this birth the process of menstruation again as the period cycle starts all over again. 1

This should be the normal process of the menstrual cycle, but there are periods when the menstrual circle does not go as planned, it comes with certain complications, let's check out some of the complications associated with menstrual periods;

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): This is an emotional or physical feeling experienced by some women leading up to a menstrual cycle period. During a menstrual period, the symptoms ease up a little, there is actually one free week without these symptoms before the symptom returns again.

Some women experience this emotional and physical symptom in the path up to menstruation.

  • The symptoms of PMS can actually affect the quality of life lived.

  • The symptom of PMS can impact life quality.

  • PMS symptom does not occur during menopause or pregnancy.

  • Women who have PMS are actually hypersensitive to their normal cyclic hormones.

The symptoms of PMS can be physical or emotional; physical symptoms of PMS are;

  • Extreme tiredness.
  • Serious weight gain.
  • An increased appetite.
  • Craving for food.
  • Tenderness of the breast.
  • Acne.
  • Feeling clumsy.
  • Constipation and diarrhea.
  • High sensitivity to sounds, touch, and light.
  • Feeling tired.
  • Migraine and headache.

Asides from physical symptoms, emotional symptoms could also include;

  • Confusion.
  • Mood swings.
  • Drop in sexual urge or increase in certain cases.
  • Angry outbursts or irritability.
  • Memory lapse, difficulty concentrating.
  • Feeling of loneliness.

There are certain factors that contribute to the visibility of PMS, these symptoms are;

  • Family history.
  • Stress.
  • Cultural/social environment.
  • Lack of adequate physical health.
  • Smocking.
  • Lack of proper psychological condition.

There is no certain cure for PMS. However, there are certain lifestyle changes that can help manage the condition appropriately. PMS can be managed through;

  • Hormonal treatment.
  • Dietary adjustment.
  • Intake of supplements.
  • Change in lifestyle.
  • Therapy.
  • Regular exercise. 1

Menstrual pain (dysmenorrhoea): This is a term used to describe painful menstrual cycles. There are two classes of dysmenorrhoea;

Primary dysmenorrhoea is a menstrual pain type without a major cause. The lining of the uterus produces a substance that is hormonal-like in nature, this makes it possible for the muscle of the uterus to strongly contract, which creates intense pain and reduces the flow of blood to the uterus.

Secondary dysmenorrhoea is caused by reproductive disorders like endometriosis, fibroids, and adenomyosis.
The treatment for endometriosis is; hormonal therapy, surgery, and even a combination of both in some cases. 2

Abnormal menstrual bleeding: Bleeding more than usual or having a prolonged menstrual cycle is called ''abdominal bleeding''. Usually, a woman would pass 40 ml of blood during the entire period of her menstrual cycle, when the bleeding process is prolonged over a long time, the bleeding will become more excessive than normal. Some of the symptoms accompanying abdominal uterine bleeding include;

  • Extreme fatigue.
  • Experiencing viganal bleeding even after menopause.
  • Bleeding that lasts for more than eight days.
  • The moment you need to adjust your daily routine because of your menstrual cycle.
  • The need to wake up in the middle of the night to change sanitary pads or tampons to avoid getting the bed stained.
  • Pain felt in the lower abdominal region.

The determination of the exact cause of abdominal uterine bleeding is often impossible, some of the known causes of the condition are;

  • Ovulatory dysfunction.
  • Consistent miscarriage.
  • Hormonal disorders.
  • Infection.
  • Some type of medication.
  • Fibroids.


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The treatment for abdominal uterine bleeding will be greatly dependent on the cause of the condition. It can be treated through one, two, or a combination of these processes.

  • Medication.
  • Dilation and curettage (D&C).
  • Treatment of underlying condition. 3

Amenorrhoea: This is a complete absence of the menstrual cycle. Normally, children, pregnant women, and women who have attained menopause, no longer have any business with the menstrual cycle, but the minute you do not fall within that category and you are not seeing your menstrual flow, definitely, something is wrong. The complete absence of periods may be a result of a problem with the reproductive system. There are two classes of amenorrhoea;

  • Primary amenorrhoea: This happens when a child at fourteen years has not started to notice any sign of menstruation as well as any other sign of sexual development like the growth of breasts and public hair. In other cases, periods have not started at 16 even after the development of other sexual organs.

  • Secondary amenorrhoea: This happens when there is a stop of periodic flow for around three months or even more without any clear reason behind it.

Primary amenorrhoea is often a result of a genetic or anatomical abnormality. Although not so common, can also be caused by;

  • Enzyme deficiencies.
  • Imperforate hymen.
  • Stress.
  • Availability of low energy.
  • Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
  • Transverse vaginal septum.

The reason behind secondary amenorrhoea are;

  • Weight loss.
  • Extreme exercise.
  • Emotional stress.
  • Some types of medication that can be used to treat mental health problems.

The treatment for amenorrhoea is highly dependent on the cause of the condition, the treatment could be as simple as getting a healthier body weight by reducing the amount of exercise if extreme exercise is the cause.

  • Weight loss, if excessive weight gain is the issue.

  • Hormonal therapy, this method will usually bring back regular periods but will not treat the main cause of the condition. 4

Conclusion.

While some people enjoy a swift ride during their menstrual cycle, other people have to deal with some type of complication every time when it has to do with their menstrual cycle, it remains a safe option to constantly speak with a medical expert, the moment you figure out any sign of a problem.

References.

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/menstrual-cycle

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/premenstrual-syndrome-pms

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/menstruation-pain-dysmenorrhoea

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/menstruation-abnormal-bleeding

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/menstruation-amenorrhoea

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and I also have a youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.



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6 comments
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Thanks for the read. I experience this PMS. It's like I have just a few days break in a cycle and that is exhausting.
If it's not any bother, you might need to edit and correct the 'Abdominal uterine bleeding' to 'Abnormal uterine bleeding'.
I guess it was a typo.

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Normal menstruation is stressful enough, let alone when it comes with complications. It's not an easy one.

Thanks for sharing. There is alot to learn from this content.

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I tell you, friend, it can be really stressful and annoying.

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