Reasons as to why you'd be late for your period (besides stress and pregnancy)

Yes, stress can cause irregularities in cycles.

Changes in your diet? Too much exercise? Have you lost weight recently? I assume you’re not using any kind of hormonal contraception.

Diet is the same. I’m exercising more, yes. No hormonal contraception.

Toss insomnia into the mix. That’s why I am thinking stress.

Are you sure you’re not pg?

Just take a test and rule it out so you don’t have to worry. You’ll know either way, and not have the anxiety of not knowing hanging over your head.

@Dutchess_III I’m a lesbian. Not pregnant.

Eta: I found this. I can see a few reasons here. Nevermind, guys.

LOL! Guess not! Sorry :) I didn’t know!

@jjmah oh… apologies for jumping to conclusions.

Could it somehow be related to how women who live together tend to have their cycles sync up?

@gorillapaws @Dutchess No need to apologize. :)

If your fat percent dives way down you can lose your period, so if you have been dieting or exercising and are very lean that could explain it.

PCOS is another possibility. PCOS seems to be triggered by a sugar/insulin problem, but I don’t believe the relationship is proven yet. It is commonly accepted by reproductive endocrinologists that it does affect ovulation, and cycles.

Which brings me to pituatary or thyroid problems. Do you have an discharge from your nipples? Has your skin been very dry, sleeping habits really screwed up, dry brittle hair that might be falling out more, dry eyes?

Do you have something special planned for after your period was supposed to be over? ‘Cause that always makes mine late… :)

Stress is a definite cause of irregular menstruation, but it can also be caused by hormonal imbalance. Have you changed any medications you may been taking? Started taking different vitamins? Have you noticed anything like fatigue and grumpiness/moodiness? That can be caused by thyroid problems. I’ve been taking Synthroid off and on for years. When I’ve been off it for a while, I tend to be really tired, really moody and I feel overwhelmed by even little things. My menstrual cycle is also very irregular.

I missed my period, for like, 15 weeks back in the beginning of 2009. I kept thinking I was pregnant and tested every day! I still don’t know why I didn’t get my period.
I think it comes and goes just to screw with women.

My period was screwing up a few months ago because of cysts. I was hurting on and off and gaining a little weight. My doctor put me back on BC but it made me turn into dragon lady so I stopped taking it and haven’t had any problems since.
Late periods are the Gods’ way of effing with women and men alike, just as @casheroo says!

@Clair That is probably PCOS, did your doctor bother to run tests, or tell you about the condition? You might be able to possitively affect your cycles, and stop geting cysts by eating a more diabetic oriented diet.

@JLeslie My aunt has PCOS.So I’m familiar with that. I think I need to eat a more diabetic diet anyway. Anytime I eat any ‘normal people food’ I feel like hammered shit. I get extremely fatigued from virtually nothing. But…these tests will have to wait. I am but a lowly college student. Thanks for the info!

You can’t always put things down to PCOS – if you don’t have any symptoms of the syndrome then don’t worry about missing your period and you’ll have it before you know it. I missed it a few when I was a teenager and was told by my doctor to ignore it.
If you are concerned that you have missed your period for too long then go and see your doctor they might just tell you to ignore it and if it continues then they will want to see you again, you could always request a blood test to look at whether or not you have PCOS but missing your period could just be a case of hit and miss.
Last year (age 21) it was found that I had PCOS but when I was a teenager there was nothing to say that I had it. If you are told you have the syndrome (by your doctor or a specialist) then you arn’t alone, I have been told 1 in 10 woman out there have it and most of them are unaware until when they try for children and you’d just be lucky that your aware that you have it.

@Clair Just because you may have cysts doesn’t mean you necesserally have PCOS, In every womans lifetime we all have cysts down there atleast once however they recur for those who have PCOS. You have mentioned that your Aunt has it so maybe you would like to get tested to see if you have it, it can been seen in blood tests so that may be all you have to do. Genrally with woman and PCOS you don’t have to have the cysts to have the syndrome but can still be diagnosed as having it. If you do have one or two cysts they shouldn’t be painful unless they have grown too large and then in which would need to be removed.
I do however have PCOS and was found to have 26 of them (however unharmful) after I had, had a pregnancy scan to see whether I had them or not (a weird feeling when youve never been pregnant).

@silvermoon What’s weird? Do you mean you had an ultrasound? Women have those all of the time pregnant and not pregnant for many different reasons.

@JLeslie I hadn’t experience one before but for me their other test option was out of question and I deffinatly wasn’t going to have that one. Out of the ultrasound experience came the thoughts of “im going to pop” because I had drunk so much water and how exactly did a pregnant woman handle a scan having drunk water ontop of having a belly, she must feel like shes about to explode.

@silvermoon I see, you had to drink a bunch of water. So, I guess they were looking for more than just possible cysts? Many times we can just get a transvaginal with an empty bladder. Depends what they are looking for. I have had fertility problems, been evaluated a number of different ways, many tests, have been pregnant 5 times, and done fertility treatments and my ovaries and uteris have always been evaluate by ultrasound, without drinking water, transvaginally.

@JLeslie I was going near a TransV and they did kind of suggest it would be better not to if I hadnt been “sexually active” before and I didn’t really like the idea of it. I found out I had PCOS pretty fast, all very scary for me and i’m still pretty shocked that I have something – thank goodness I had my mum and grandmother take turns at going to appointments with me (made it all less nervewracking).

@silvermoon Oh, you are not sexually active. Well, that would explain why you might be more uncomfortable with all of it. You are 21 and still have your hymen intact? Transvaginal no water is much more comfortable if you ever have to do it again if you are no longer a “physical” virgin. I lost my hymen years before I had sex.