Pregnancy with Amenorrhea.

Dear Ask The Doctor: Can u get pregnant if u havent been on your cycle for a year?

Dear Arielle:

I understand your situation. Since you ask about not having your cycles for a year, I would presume that you had your menses before.

Secondary amenorrhea occurs when you were previously menstruating, but then stopped having periods. If you're sexually active and otherwise healthy, pregnancy is the most likely reason you've missed a period, however you might already noticed some changes by now.

There are other common causes that might cause your menses to be absent, if you are taking birth control pills or long term contraceptive methods such as Depo Provera or IUD’s.

Low body weight is another common cause as well as excessive exercise and thyroid malfunction might also cause hormonal imbalance that could alter your menses.

A common cause of amenorrhea or irregular periods is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This condition causes relatively high and sustained levels of estrogen and androgen, a male hormone, rather than the fluctuating levels seen in the normal menstrual cycle. This results in a decrease in the pituitary hormones that lead to ovulation and menstruation. PCOS is associated with obesity; amenorrhea or abnormal, often heavy, uterine bleeding; acne; and sometimes excess facial hair.

If this is the case, I would suggest you to consider an evaluation by a Gynecologist to rule out these or other conditions that might be causing your amenorrhea, usually anovulatory cycles are associated with amenorrhea, meaning that fertility might be compromised as well; this could also be treated once the cause of amenorrhea is dealt with. I wish you the best.