5 Reasons Your Period May Show Up Early or Late for the Party

While some women could set the international clock by their menstrual cycle, many women don’t have that luxury. Why doesn’t your period stick to its schedule? How do you know when to freak out and when to just chill and let your cycle work it out?

Many things can cause a menstrual cycle to tilt off its axis; let’s breakdown a few of the possibilities. Surprisingly, many of the reasons for an early or late period are the same.

You’re a young whipper-snapper

If you are a pre-teen or a teenager, worry not. Some girls experience Red Dawn at 11, and others as late as 16. When your period is just starting its 40-year stint in your lady bits, it takes a little while to show up, get into a groove, and then even out. Stay calm and like the Girl Scouts say, always be prepared.

Medication Connection (especially contraception) – it rhymes!

Birth control methods, like pills or the Mirena IUD to name a few, can alter your hormones. Other medications which also can affect your period are antidepressants, antipsychotics, corticosteroids, and chemotherapy drugs.

Your hormones are the chemical messengers of the body and handle everything from hunger to reproduction. When you add a medication (which is something the body doesn’t naturally make) to the mix, they must sort things out before they can start working properly again.

Blame the scale

Those pesky hormones are back at it again! When you experience excessive weight loss, the hypothalamus won’t release estrogen to make the process get moving. When you have sudden weight gain, an overabundance of estrogen is present in the body which can cause ovulation to put on the breaks like a 15-year-old seeing their first stoplight. The best advice is to move towards a healthy weight to get the factory functioning again.

S.C.R.E.A.M. (Stress Completely Runs Everything Around Me)

Stress affects every receptor in our beautiful bodies, including the hormones. Basically, we are put into fight-or-flight mode, and our body shuts down less critical processes, like baby making, to keep us safe. Need ways to decrease stress? Check out these tips.

PCOS and other hormonal issues

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome is a condition where female sex hormones are out of balance. It can cause a lot of things you do not want like acne, weight gain, painful periods, and cysts on your ovaries. Thyroid disorders, which affect your metabolism, can also through your menstrual cycle into disarray. Then, there is good ol’ Perimenopause which is basically the movie trailer for menopause. These all can cause an early or late period.

The best advice? Take care of yourself and be observant of your body and mind. If you are concerned about your period’s erratic arrivals, give your doctor a call.