Why Is My Period Late?

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A late, irregular, or missed period can indicate anything from simple stress to a serious medical condition. Most women usually get their periods every 28 days. However, any menstruation cycle ranging from 21 to 35 days is also considered normal. Sometimes, a slight change in the cycle can occur due to change in workout regime, illness, stress, or minor hormonal imbalance. Moreover, if one is experiencing either onset of the menstrual cycle or menopause, irregular periods become almost inevitable given the changes that the body goes through during these times.

Some of the reasons for late and irregular periods are listed below.

1. Obesity or low body weight

Women who are underweight usually suffer from disordered functioning of the body. For an underwent weight body, it is difficult to keep up with overall process ovulation. Late or missed periods can also be associated with health disorders like anorexia in skinny girls. Therefore, in such conditions, health experts advise women to gain appropriate kilos to regulate the overall functioning of the body. On the flip side imbalance in hormones can also lead to irregular periods in overweight women. More often, obesity in women can point towards other health complications like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) that directly affects period cycles. Therefore, in every case maintaining a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) is suggested.

2. Stress

While uninstalling social media apps like WhatsApp and Instagram may help one to be at peace for some time, stress may lead to a more serious mental health issue by directly affecting hypothalamus- a part of the brain that is responsible for regulating the periods. Moreover, stress can impact both weight loss and weight gain that leads to an imbalance in the menstruation cycle. If you haven’t been taking care of yourself lately add up some meditation and exercise in your schedule.

3. PCOS

During PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) your body starts producing more male hormones or testosterone. As a result of hormonal imbalance, ovaries develop a layer of a cyst and make ovulation irregular.

4. If you are on birth control pills

If you keep going on and off on birth control pills, you may experience a change in your menstruation cycle. Birth control pills are rich in hormones like progestin and estrogen that helps in preventing your ovaries from releasing an egg. Moreover, other kinds of birth control that are either injected or implanted can also cause missed periods.

5. Early menopause

Unlike other women who experience menopause at the age between 45-55, some experience it around their early 40s’. If the periods are being irregular or missed altogether and you are around 40s’ you might be just experiencing early menopause. However, getting a period after a year of menopause calls for an immediate medical checkup.

6. Thyroid issues and chronic diseases

Long-lasting diseases like celiac disease and diabetes can also impact your menstrual cycle and can easily be cured with medical assistance. Moreover, an underactive or overactive thyroid gland could also be responsible for missed or late periods. These issues can be treated with proper medication and periods are likely to return back to normal.

7. When to schedule a doctor’s visit?

In most of the cases, irregular or missed periods are normal and are not to be worried much about but one must seek a doctor’s visit in all cases of unusually heavy bleeding, nausea, bleeding that lasts longer than seven days, high fever, or extreme pain.

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To be a sick fat woman in this world is a curse I wouldn’t wish on my enemy too. Why do I say this? Well, as if being a woman wasn’t enough already, being chronically ill with an invisible disease is the worst thing you can ask for. Because you look healthy on the outside without any visible scars or bruises, so convincing someone, at times even doctors, about your symptoms is an uphill task. Women are seldom taken seriously for their aches and pains as it is. Add to all this a fat body and voila- that suddenly becomes the reason for all your problems. As if thin people never fall sick?

I was recently diagnosed with my pain as being obese. And what did it turn or to be? A viral infection. Yes. Well, being diagnosed as fat for my symptoms is not new. I have been a victim of medical fatphobia for years. It took me years to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan for my fibromyalgia from doctors. What can you expect anyway from a disease that cannot be seen or detected through various medical tests? Conclusion- must be her weight. Also, after childbirth, women do experience backaches and joint pains, right? Wrong!

Being fat is a condition. It is not a disease. There are practically zero diseases that affect only and only overweight people, though risk factors may be higher for them. But there is no disease that affects only fat people. However, the most annoying thing here is when the doctors immediately jump to a conclusion seeing the body size as the root cause of everything before asking or taking into account the lifestyle, medical conditions, and history of the patient. So basic, right? Oh, how many times has this been overlooked? Health and weight are two different things. A fat person can be healthy and a thin person can be sick and vice versa.

Fat people already know that they are fat

Not everyone is overweight because of a sedentary lifestyle or overeating. Chances are that medical conditions like PCOD, insulin resistance, thyroid, pregnancy, and even side effects of certain medicines can lead to weight gain. While many find it easy to shed weight for many others it is not an easy thing and they may have spent years trying to lose weight through diets and exercises without much result. But the whole point is, when you go to a doctor for a problem, they have to treat you, provide relief and find the cause of your complaint regardless of your size.

“I was wrongly diagnosed by several doctors for years until in 2019 we found that I had grade 3 spondylolisthesis. Medical Fatphobia is one of the biggest problems in the world where doctors assume that everything wrong in a fat patient’s body is because of their weight. I couldn’t even get up from my bed for about 2 months in 2014 but yet not a single doctor asked me to get an MRI and just blamed the situation on a pinched nerve because of my weight. Had the issue been diagnosed properly back then itself I probably wouldn’t be suffering as much now.”

It wasn’t until last year when she met a few top spine surgeons of the country who thankfully did not focus on her weight. “In fact, one doctor in Mumbai told me that any other person with the grade 3 spondylolisthesis would have been on a stretcher by now but because I am a dancer, my core muscles are quite strong and are able to hold my body and spine. Doctors cannot generalize and treat someone on the basis of weight alone”, says Tanvi Ravishankar, a model & social media influencer who goes by the name The Chubby Twirler.

Doctors cannot dismiss a patient in excruciating pain saying “Your pain is because of obesity, lose 10 kgs and you will be fine”. This is exactly what was told to me. The red rashes on my legs were dismissed as varicose veins when they were due to some virus. And if you thought that how can doctors be like this, well here are a few more instances to tell you how deep-rooted medical fatphobia is.

Fatphobia has no place in medical industry

Your size shouldn’t decide the care you deserve. Everybody has an equal right to a fair diagnosis and healthcare and medical professionals need to drop this bias and stop pushing obesity as the cause for everything. Of course, not all doctors fat-shame or are fatphobic. It is for some truly wonderful doctors that I can say am living a good quality of life despite my many medical problems. But fear of being judged for your size should not be the reason anyone should have to refrain from seeking medical care for themselves or go around doctor shopping just to find someone who will treat them for beyond their size.

Also Read | This Big, Bold & Beautiful Influencer Is Smashing Body Stereotypes