Late or Missed Period? Here's what to do 

Don't panic!

Unless of course you think you might be unexpectedly pregnant. In which case, panic and pee on a stick!*

Once you've ruled out pregnancy as the cause here are a few things to consider. If it's the first time this has happened don't worry, it's most likely to be just a passing thing, probably caused by stress and it'll come back next month. But even so there are some steps you can take to try and make sure it doesn't happen again.

WHAT TO DO

1. Chill out. Book a massage, reduce your commitments, and take relaxing herbs like Chamomile, Skullcap or Lime blossom. Our Premenstrual Peace Drops, Rested Resilience and Inner Goddess Drops are designed to help you relax.

2. Eat some awesome food. Concentrate on low GI, pescatarian meals for the next month. Avoid refined sugar and carbs.

3. Exercise a moderate amount. If you've recently increased your work out routine it could be the cause of your missed period. The body naturally switches off periods during times of extreme exertion to protect it from pregnancy.

If you don't get your period again for 2 more months it's time to visit your doctor who can run blood tests. They will be looking for hormonal imbalances which might be causing the situation. If you don't have a period for 6 months you might get the label "amenorrhea" it just means lack of periods for 6 months or more. 

SOME POSSIBLE HORMONAL CAUSES ARE: 

• Thyroid imbalance
• PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)
• Unreceptive ovarian syndrome (Collins, 2013)

SOME OTHER CAUSES:

• Underweight bmi
• Obesity
• Excessive exercise (Collins, 2013)
  

The steps I gave to begin with help with these non hormonal causes they just might take a while to kick in. If your tests return to say there is no hormonal cause see a herbalist who can offer personalised advice. I have an ebook about PCOS here and recommend this resource for thyroid stuff. But for a speedier recovery see a herbalist. 

HERBS THAT CAN HELP

Nutritious tonics: Nettle (Urtica dioica), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) or Raspberry leaf (Rubus idaeus). You can find Nettle and Raspberry leaf in Aunt Flo’s Drinking Chocolate.

Relaxants: Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita), Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora), Wood Betony (Stachys betonica), Lemonbalm (Melissa officinalis)

Support circulation: Ginger (Zingiberus officinalis) or Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanica) 

Support the liver: Dandelion root (Taraxacum officinalis rad.) or Yellow dock (Rumex crispus)

I'd recommend choosing one or two herbs from each category and combining in either a tea or tincture. Once you have your blend take 5ml three times a day of the tincture or make a cup of tea 3 times a day. Drink this every day and see what differences occur.

If you don’t know which herb is right for you email me or message me using the pink button in the bottom right corner of your screen or book to see our herbalists.

You can look at some of the herbs listed above on my youtube playlist.

* I just want to add that if you're just a few days late and have stumbled upon this article on Google you need to know that pregnancy tests get more accurate the longer you can bare to wait. This is because the pregnancy hormone HCG rises through pregnancy and if you test too early you might get a negative pregnancy test only to realise a week later that you were pregnant after all. The best time to test is at least 10 days after your expected period. But if you chart your hormones you'll notice that your temperature will stay high for 14 days after your expected period. This is a definitive sign you're pregnant anyhow. But it's good to confirm that with seeing your doctor of course.

LEARN HOW TO CHART YOUR CYCLES WITH OUR ONLINE COURSE.

References

Collins, S. et.al. (2013). Oxford Handbook of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 3rd ed. OUP: Oxford.