Balancing Irregular or Missing Periods

Your menstrual cycle is more than just a monthly event; it’s a window into your overall health. The symptoms you experience each month can reveal vital information about your body's well-being.

A typical, healthy cycle occurs every 24-35 days, with 3-7 days of bleeding. You should see around 25-80mL of blood, a cranberry-red color, minimal discomfort, and no clots larger than a pea. Ideally, your period should arrive without any dramatic symptoms and follow a 12-14 day luteal phase (the time between ovulation and bleeding).

But what happens when your cycle goes off track?

Understanding Irregular and Missing Periods

When a period doesn’t show up for more than 90 days and pregnancy, breastfeeding, or medications aren’t the reason, it’s called amenorrhea (a missing cycle). On the other hand, irregular cycles happen within 90 days but vary wildly in timing, flow, duration, and intensity.

Ovulation is the key player in a healthy menstrual cycle—your period is just the result of this process. However, bleeding caused by hormonal birth control is different because it doesn’t involve ovulation, due to the influence of synthetic hormones.

If your period is missing or irregular (and you’re not on hormonal birth control), it’s likely because something is disrupting ovulation. Factors like stress, illness, poor nutrition, and conditions such as PCOS or hypothalamic amenorrhea (HA) can all play a role. In some cases, this can occur as the body recovers from hormonal birth control, known as post-birth control syndrome. Essentially, your body may feel it lacks the resources or environment to support ovulation, even if you're not trying to conceive.

The TCM Perspective: Restoring Harmony

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a balanced menstrual cycle represents harmony within your body—specifically in the flow of qi (energy), blood, yin, and yang. TCM practitioners analyze the different phases of your cycle and any symptoms you experience to pinpoint where imbalances might lie.

For instance, if you experience headaches, irritability, and insomnia before your period (common PMS symptoms), it could indicate liver qi stagnation. Dark, clotty periods may signal blood stasis. In TCM, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and lifestyle changes are used to restore balance, whether it's by soothing liver qi or invigorating the blood to reduce stagnation.

Your Path to a Balanced Cycle

Helping my patients achieve regular, balanced cycles is one of my top priorities. To see meaningful results, I recommend consistent acupuncture treatments—weekly or biweekly, depending on your symptoms—for at least three menstrual cycles.

Ready to get started? Book a Free Discovery Call to explore what your personalized treatment plan could look like.