Polymenorrhea or Frequent Periods

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Polymenorrhea or Frequent Periods:

Polymenorrhea is a type of abnormal uterine bleeding. Polymenorrhea occurs when the menstrual cycle is less than 21 days long. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish polymenorrhea from metrohhagia; however, bleeding that occurs at regular intervals less than 21 days apart is usually polymenorrhea. Normal menstrual cycles are from 21 to 35 days long. Day 1 of the menstrual cycle occurs the first day you experience any amount of bleeding.

The Normal Period Length:

The average length of the cycle is 28 days and this is the length often used in textbooks.  Normal menstrual cycle length can be anyway from 21 to 35 days. If your cycle length is within this range, and that is what you have every month, then that is  what is normal for you.
                                           If your cycle is 21 days, then in 365days of the year, you will have about 17 periods ( 365/21=17). Similarly, if your cycle is 35 days, you will have  10 periods in a year( 365/35= 10).  We therefore expect that women with normal cycle length between 21 to 35 days should have 10 to 17 periods a year

Frequent Periods:

If your cycle length is less than 21 days, you will have periods more  than the normal number of periods a year. A woman with a cycle length of 17 days will have 21 periods ( 365/17=21).  Therefore by definition, periods occur frequently when they occur at an interval less than 21 days. The medical name is polymenorrhea, meaning many( poly-) menstrual cycles.
The opposite  scenario occurs when there are fewer than the expected number of periods in a year. Those with cycles more than 35 days will have less than 13 periods in a year.This is called oligomenorrhea.

Causes Of Polymenorrhea:

The causes of polymenorrhea overlap with many of the causes of abnormal uterine bleeding or those of  irregular periods. Common, simple causes  include stress, excessive exercise, medications or perimenopause. More serious causes include diseases of the pelvic organs especially those with hormonal disturbances like polycystic ovarian disease.
Two causes worth mentioning are

1. Dysfuncitonal uterine bleeding. This occurs during the extremes of the  years of menstruation, that is menarche and menopause  because of hormonal changes.
2. Short luteal phase. This occurs when the luteal phase is abnormally short and leads to menses occurring fasting than it should. Read more on the luteal phase defect

What Are The Causes Of Irregular Periods?

Many causes of irregular periods are benign, meaning they are easily identified and treated.
In fact many of them are related to subtle hormonal imbalances in the body.

Common Causes:

A missed period is the most frequent cause of an irregular cycle and pregnancy is the most frequent reason for a missed period!

Besides pregnancy however, there are other common causes you should be aware of. Many of the causes of a missed period are those that also cause irregular periods.
These include the following

1. Miscalculation. Yes, be sure you are not making a mistake with the calculation of your next period.
2. Stress.
   The hormones that control menstruation are sensitive to stress whether domestic, occupational or social. Also, an acute medical illness may also be the cause menstrual irregularity. The stress of traveling or even changing the usual work shifts schedules may be the cause.
3. Excessive weight loss. Weight loss is advisable when appropriate but an excessive or rapid loss of weight will cause an illness by itself.
4. Eating disorders. These include the psychiatric diseases anorexia and bulimia.
5. Excessive exercise. This is very common amongst high-level athletes during moments of intense performance.
6. Medications. Birth control pills are a good example.
7. Medical and surgical diseases of the pelvic organs.
   The first missed menstrual bleeding may be the start of the amenorrhea caused by a serious disease of the female genital organs such as polycystic ovarian syndrome.
8. Menopause. When menopause approaches, you may begin to start having some missed cycles.

Practical Problems With Irregular Periods:

The issue of irregular cycles is not only the worry over an underlying disease but the practical inconveniences that that irregular menstrual periods may bring such as

• Embarssements with periods. Periods that are irregular may take you unawares with its practical implications. Extremen hygeienic measures have to be taken to deal with this.
• Unpredictability or uncertainty of pregnancies for women who want to conceive and those who do not. When a woman is expecting to conceive, irregular periods will really be messy to deal with because of the heartaches they might cause after the high expectation of a missed period turns out to be just an irregularity.
• Fertile period problems. Most couples still use the fertile period avidly when looking for a baby. Things become more difficult with irregular cycles.

Polymenorrhea Treatment:

Polymenorrhea cure generally depends on the causes. It is generally treated by improving the overall health condition of the affected woman. If the woman suffers from anemia, this condition is corrected. If malnutrition is the cause, the deficiencies are overcome with change in diet and supplements. This helps in polymenorrhea treatment by overcoming the deficiencies that lead to frequent bleeding. Women under physical or emotional stress are counseled and helped to overcome their stress by meditation. Endometriosis is a condition where the cells of the uterus grow outside the uterus on the fallopian tubes and ovaries. If this is the underlying cause of polymenorrhea, then it is treated and corrected. Women suffering from a chlamydia, gonorrhea or other sexually transmitted diseases are treated for their infection. Once the infection is under control, these women find their menstruation cycle returning towards normal. Some women are prescribed polymenorrhea medications like contraceptive pills containing estrogen and progesterone. Weight management, stress management, reduction in exercise, lifestyle changes, etc. are advised to treat polymenorrhea.

If nothing else works, the doctor may suggest dilatation and curettage (D&C). This is a process where the cervix is opened and the inner walls of the uterus are scrapped. This helps in removal of tissue and treating abnormal bleeding to some extent. This was some information related to polymenorrhea treatment. One needs to speak to a gynecologist for more information and get herself examined for any irregularities with her menstruation cycle. Irregul
arities with menstruation cycle affect women's overall health as well as lead to fertility issues. Thus, make sure you get medical advice for any problems regarding your menses.

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