bodily trauma, absence of period

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

 

ok so about a month and a half ago i was in a car wreck. i broke a lot of stuff and had to be hospitalized for about a month. i lost a lot of weight, broke a lot of good stuff and i haven't had my period in about 2 months. my doctors said sometimes after a bodily trauma, your period can go missing for awhile. i remember vaguely having my period for like one day while in the hospital but that was it and i havent had it since.

so my question is, has this happened to anyone else and when does my body start to get back on it's normal track??

and is there anyway i could have been in the hospital for so long and the doctors NOT known i was pregnant? the paranoid part of me is a tiny bit worried. =\

thanks guys!

Comments

[krasota.livejournal.com]

To add to this, if the OP is in any way worried she's pregnant, an OTC pregnancy test should give her peace of mind at this point.

And yeah, trauma like that can *definitely* send your period into hiding. If a pregnancy test is negative and it doesn't show up in the next month, you might want to visit your doctor to make sure your innards are okay. ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

well, i thought they might test to see if you were pregnant upon being admitted to the emergency room before they do testing. and i had A LOT of random test done since i had a chest tube inserted, mri, broke my femur, wrist, ribs, neck vertebrae.

[mermaiddrowning.livejournal.com]

If you're really worried do get a pregnancy test just to ease your mind. It is very common after trama to not experience a period for a few months. Take the time to focus on your body, your self and your healing. i find writing and meditation to do very healing. I hope you feel better soon and I wish you the best.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

thank you. well, i dont get out much. i cant walk much less drive a car so im in the care of my grandmother and cant get a pregnancy test. =\ im pretty sure im not pregnant though.

[mermaiddrowning.livejournal.com]

In that case, would checking your own cervix be a possibility? I'm sure you already know this but make sure you wash your hands and under your nails very well. Try to use an anti-bacterial soap if possible. If you can try to squat, it shortens the length of your vagina to make your cervix easier to reach. If you ca

n't do that would you be able to put one leg up on the toilet and then try to feel your cervix? Please don't do anything that will cause pain or be difficult for you to do though. Just like when you are ovulating when you're pregnant your cervix will feel very soft, like the inside of your lips (as opposed to feeling hard like the cartilage of your nose), and it will feel slightly open and be a little bit higher up than normal. NOw this isn't always the case, but the majority of the time it's like this. Also, when I was pregnant I could feel it when I felt around in my vagina, towards the top I could that the tissue was harder, more firm, it felt like a ball inside of me so to speak.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

i've actually never heard of this!

[mermaiddrowning.livejournal.com]

Oh and just for clarification, I disucssed the feel of my cervix with my doctor when I was pregnant and she said that the it was fairly common for it to feel this way. It was one of the signs to doctors that a woman might be pregnant.

[mercy-rain.livejournal.com]

You can order them online :)

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

Usually, if your injuries are that bad, they will automatically do a pregnancy test since they know they'll be giving you all kinds of drugs and/or doing invasive procedures and they would want to know if you're pregnant, even if only for liability issues... But maybe they didn't in your case. There's no way to know for sure unless you call the hospital and ask them if they ran a pregnancy test when you were first brought in.

I agree with what everyone else is saying about taking a pregnancy test if you're worried. It's highly likely that because of the trauma your body has sent your period into hiding temporarily. But it's always nice to know for sure.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

yeah my injuries were pretty bad and i was on put on morphine for about a week to keep me sedated so i assume they did a pregnancy test. i can't imagine morphine being very good for a fetus.

[3-black-cats.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what the effects of morphine would be on a pregnancy, especially an early one.

And, sorry, I missed that point about being in the care of your grandmother and not able to buy a pregnancy test. But surely you're having follow up visits with a doctor or two because of your injuries? Ask them if they could run a pregnancy test. It should be easy enough to accomplish as part of a follow up visit.

Good luck!

[aloverstale.livejournal.com]

That's a good idea.

[adina77.livejournal.com]

I had the opposite affect than you. When I was in a car accident my period actually did arrive but gave me the worst severe cramps in the world that i wanted to rip my uterus apart!

Def take a prego test if it will put your mind at ease. Is there someone you trust that could possibly pick a test up for you?

and mermaiddrowning I never heard of that before either!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

eak! well, i had my period 1 week before my wreck which was just my normal scheduled period. then in showed up for one day while i was in the hospital 2 weeks later. i just hope mine doesn't return with a vengeance and try to kill me with killer cramps from hell! thank god i'm armed with good painkillers if it does!

[adina77.livejournal.com]

I wished I was armed with painkillers back then. It would of done me wonders. I also wished I had my period before my accident! Then I wouldn't be in a whole lot of pain.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

yeah they sent me home with nice prescriptions of hydrocodone.

[adina77.livejournal.com]

nice :).

[fadingtogray.livejournal.com]

I would say it is more than likely the trauma, especially the extent of your injuries, and the sudden drastic weight loss. Drastic weight loss alone can send a period into hiding - I have a good friend that was blindsided with divorce papers in the most cruel manner, and she spent the next two weeks doing nothing but crying, stressing and barely eating. She went from a size 14 to a size 4 in this period of time. Her period went missing for nearly 3 months afterwards - I know this because she was afraid she was pregnant on top of facing divorce and asked me to be with her when she tested. She was not pregnant, but her period didn't return for quite some time.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_knivesxout/]

jesus thats awful. yeah i usually weigh about 98 pounds and by the time i left the hospital i was down to about 85 just from the stress and not eating too much. i was under a lot of stress while in the hospital since i've never even broken a bone before much less had to stay overnight in a hospital.

[perfectionalie.livejournal.com]

At least you're out. =D

Trust your doctor. Stress can be a deadly thing. Especially the kind caused by major trauma.

[theycallmebitch.livejournal.com]

My sister attempted to commit suicide by slitting her wrists and jumping off of an overpass (so it's safe to say that it was a PRETTY traumatic experience) in November. She too was in the hospital for a month. Her period didn't return until May. They were able to give her a medication (I'm guessing a hormone, but I'm not sure) to get it started up again. Good luck and hang in there. I know how hard life-altering injuries can be to deal with.