What could be the reason for delayed periods in a sexually inactive person?

Question

Hello doctor,

My periods have been regular until this month. But now my period is late by six days. I have not been sexually active for five months now. What could be the reason?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understand your concern.

It would have been helpful if you had sent some more information like your age, any medications, any investigations, weight, height, etc. Not getting periods for up to seven days is normal. A further delay in the periods can be due to the following causes.

A sudden increase or loss in weight.
Any sort of physical or mental stress. Being very happy, sad, or anxious, a planned long trip, and awaiting the arrival or departure of someone are a few examples.
Check your thyroid profile and serum prolactin on an empty stomach in the morning. It can be a possible cause for no ovulation leading to no periods
If your age is between 18 to 35, hormonal imbalance can cause ovulation not to occur once in a while.

I suggest you have any of the combined oral contraceptive pills like tablet Novelon (Desogestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol), tablet Ovral G (Ethinyl Estradiol and Norgestrel), tablet Duoluton L (Levonorgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol), tablet Dear 21 (Levonorgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol), or tablet Intimacy Plus 3 (Desogestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol). You can take one tablet twice a day for 10 days. You can throw away the 21st pill. If there are inactive pills in the pack which are the last seven pills of different colors you can discard them. You will have periods within seven to ten days, no matter what the cause is except for pregnancy.

Kindly consult a specialist, talk to them, and take medications with their consent.

I hope this has helped you.

Thank you.