Hi, I am 41 years old and went off the pill 8/15/15. My period has not been regular and now I am on 40 days of not having it. As I wish I were pregnant, my test at home says negative. I have an appointment with my OB on Wednesday. Outside of perimenopause which can be the case, is their anything else she should look into?
Hello, and I hope I can help you today. There are a few potential causes of irregular periods when women come off the pill. The first is that your natural cycle may be irregular, and you may still ovulate, and the irregular cycles are just due to discontinuation of the pill. In that case, you will usually resume regular cycles by 6 months off the pill if you previously had regular periods. The second possibility is that certain medical conditions, such as thyroid dysfunction or an excess of a hormone called Prolactin, can cause irregular periods. Your doctor should test for these conditions as part of your evaluation. Lastly, there is also perimenopause, which can be tested via blood hormone levels. So I recommend you see a GUN doctor for an evaluation... because there are multiple possibilities for why you are having long cycles. I hope I was able to adequately answer your question today and that my advice was helpful. Best wishes,