How can irregular periods be treated?

Q: I am a 30 years old unmarried woman who has always had regular periods. But now I am getting periods twice in a month. Last month I got my period again after 14 days of completion of one cycle. Is there any serious problem? The doctor suggested taking multi-vitamin tablet and Triquilar pills for 3 months. For the last 4 months I had regular periods but now again it has started. Please advise.

A:There can be many causes of irregular periods such as hormonal imbalance, PCOD (Polycystic Ovarian Disease), thyroid dysfunction etc.. Since you have consulted a gynaecologist and I presume tests were done to diagnose the problem. If there is no disease then low dose contraceptive pills (OC) such as Triquilar generally are effective. You can safely use another OC such as Divacon or Ovral-L for another 3-4 months or even longer to regularise your menstrual cycle. There is no hard and fast rule regarding duration of treatment. It is not clear from your enquiry whether you are married or not; and if married whether you wish to use an OC for prolonged periods. In any case you need not worry since there cannot be any serious problem.