Irregular Periods After Provera: Causes & What to Expect

Question
I'm 23 years old. I was on the patch for about a year, then me and my husband decided to have a baby. So I stoped using the patch last september 06, and din't get a period after that. I went to my ObGyn in December to find out why I wasn't getting my cycle. My doctor put me on Provera 10mg for 10 days, he said that the reason why I wasn't getting a cycle it was because of my hormones,he also told me that If I didn't get a cycle then there will possibly be pregnant, but I had my cycle on the 8th day. So I figure I wasn't pregnat, but I haven't had a cycle since then. I had a blood pregnancy test done in 6-11-07 it came back (-), then I had another one done on 7-23-07 and it also came back (-). But I feel some movement in my stomach. I don't know what to do anymore. The doctors I've been with believe the test result and ignore my symptoms. They  also don't want to prescribe me anything to get my cycle, at least thats what it seems like. Do you think I should go back and take another blood test done and wait 48 hours and do a second one, like u advise the other writer. Please help me make my decision. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear Alma,

It sounds like you are getting qualitative blood pregnancy tests, which give a positive/negative result. A quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG) gives an actual level of hCG in your bloodstream as a result. The movement in your stomach can be many things but is often air moving within your abdominal cavity or the twitching or spasming of a ligament or tendon. If that is your only symptom, I would suspect that you are not pregnant. But if you want to be absolutely certain, you can request the serum beta hCG test. Any amount over 25 mIU/ml would be considered positive for pregnancy.

There are many various causes for amenorrhea (absence of periods) - pregnancy being just one. Others can be:
-Hormonal abnormalities, which cause fluctuating levels of the hormones needed to support menstruation
-Emotional or physical stress / Depression
-Rapid weight loss or gain
-Change in diet
-Low body weight
-Obesity
-Frequent or strenuous exercise
-Cysts or tumors in the ovaries
-Thyroid or Pituitary dysfunction
-Certain medications or drug use
-Menopause OR Premature ovarian failure (menopause before age 40)
-Occasionally stopping birth control pills or other hormonal birth control

The general recommendation is always that if you miss three consecutive periods and pregnancy is not the reason, you should see your doctor so that a cause can be determined. If your doctor is ignoring your symptoms, my advice would be to seek another opinion.

I hope this information has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda