Irregular Periods: Causes, Symptoms & When to See a Doctor

Question
Hi Dr. Rappaport,
Here is my story. I am 19 years old with no children and I have been having pretty regular periods for a while, about a month apart. I had a period at the end of January and then for no apparent reason accept for maybe the stress caused by college that i was going through at the time , i skipped the month of february and march and had my period at the end of april(30th)...the day before my exams. It lasted the regular 5 to 6 days. Then for some reason I also skipped the months of may and june. When the end of july/beginning of august came around (cant remember exact date...i think aug 1st)I started experiencing brown spotting which has been going on for 8+ days. And I think it got a little lighter today. Ive been sexually active 3 times since my april period and have used a condom each time. Do you know what this might be?
thank you
ps i also went to school during may and june if stress is an issue

Answer
Stress and physical activity (running, gymnastics, etc) can cause irregularities in your menstrual cycle. You have to keep a better record of your periods and should know when the first day of each period is. It sounds like you have irregular cycles and should see a gynecologist and be regulated with birth control pills until you have a cycle that is 28 days (from the first day of your period until the first day of your next period). You should do this, especially if y8uo are sexually active. I would not worry about the brownish staining. That is usually "old blood" that was in your uterus. If you miss a few months at at time, when you do get your period it might be much heavier than before. I would suggest that you start birth control pills.