Oligomenorrhea Questions

I'm 30, I was diagnosed with Oligomenorrhea (infrequent period/irregular cycle). I have had blood tests and ultrasounds and thank God everything came back normal. My GYN put me on a low dose birth control for 3 months. On the end of the 3rd month my period came by itself before the last pill (Dec). It didn't come after that and I called for a consult and was put on the 10 day Progestin pills to bring on my cycle for some blood tests. My cycle never came. My husband and I did have unprotected sex during this time. I have taken a pregnancy test and it came out negative. Could I be infertile? I was heavy and have been losing weight (diet and gym not unhealthy ways *smile*) could that be a factor? I would love to have a baby and i hope I don't have fertility issues. No woman in my family has any fertility problems.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
If you have oligomenorrhea, you have a "mild" form of infertility.  It is necessary for ovulation to occur in order for women to have regular cycles, so typically, no period means no ovulation.  No ovulation, no pregnancy.  I say this is a "mild" form of infertility, because it is often easily treated.  For many women, simply losing weight will improve their cycles and fertility.  For others, it may be necessary to use some fertility medications such as Clomid/Femara and/or Metformin.
You may wish to consider starting Metformin, because sometimes it can not only regulate cycles, but also help with weight loss.  There are some side effects that you will definitely want to discuss with your doctor first, but it works well for some women.
IF you do decide to give it a try, remember that regular periods often means normal fertility, so if you don't want a baby now . . .

If not, you're already on the right track with weight loss, and exercise.
Good luck!
Dr B

[SadConfused1]

I had a few more questions if you don't mind answering them...If all my test came back normal, and nothing was found during my 4 ultrasounds, could it really only be my weight that caused my oligomenorrhea? or is there something else? Also do you have any idea on what could have cause the progestin not to work and my cycle not to start after the 10 days of pills? I feel like i waited too long, and now i may never get pregnant and have a family because of my ignorance. I came to this forum for a 2nd opinion, and then maybe I'll go back to my GYN with the info i get here, I was also reading about "natural" ways to try to regulate your cycle, do you know anything about natural methods and how well they work?