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Amenorrhea Following Oral Contraceptives

From the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.

Abstract

Investigation of the prior medical background of 35 patients who developed amenorrhea following the use of either sequential or combination contraceptive pills for at least three cycles indicated that an antecedent menstrual dysfunction is likely to have been present but not exclusively so. The pathogenesis of such "postpill amenorrhea" is not clear, but the authors' studies point to a disturbance of the pituitaryhypothalamic area. Of the 35 patients, 10 also developed galactorrhea. No specific relation was found between the duration of pill usage (after three cycles) and the occurrence of amenorrhea after discontinuance of the contraceptive. Such amenorrhea is self-limited for most, but not all, patients.