Why is my daughter having irregular periods?

Q: My 13 years old daughter started getting her periods 2 years ago. Since then she has been having irregular periods and acne. I gave her homeopathic medicine, which stopped her periods completely. She got her last period 5 months back. How can her periods be regularised? The allopathic doctor advised birth control pills to regularise this. Is it advisable?

A:When menses start they can be irregular for 6 months to a year, which is of no serious consequence. However since in your daughter’s case the irregularity has gone on for more that 2 years it needs to be looked into. She needs to have an ultrasound scan, hormone estimations of FSH and LH levels. Since there is acne as well, serum testosterone level too needs to be evaluated. If there is any family history of diabetes, that too needs to be checked out. She could be having a prolonged irregularity / chronic lack of egg formation due to hormone imbalance or having a condition called polycystic ovarian disease, or even a thyroid disorder. The treatment will depend on the cause found.