Why Did My Period Come One Week Early?

It often takes up to 2 years for a regular pattern to develop in a menstruation cycle. Until the female is out of puberty there can be irregularities in the cycle. The menstrual cycle itself generally lasts for 28 days, but can last anywhere between 24-35 days. After puberty a regular length of time between periods normally occurs. Menstrual bleeding can last from 2 to 7 days with the average being about 5 days.

The menstrual cycle is the process involving the forming of an egg in the ovaries and the lining of the womb to receive the egg, if it is fertilised, to grow into a baby. The lining of the womb is called the endometrium and the egg sticks to this layer if it is fertilised. If the egg is not fertilised then the endometrium, along with blood from where the endometrium detached, slips out. The expelling of the endometrium from the inside of the uterus is triggered by changes in the hormones of the woman.



A change in the balance of hormone levels can also affect the menstruation cycle. The hormones oestrogen and progesterone regulate the menstrual cycle, so if there is an imbalance in their intake then they could change when a period may occur. It is these hormones that are present in the contraceptive pill.

Several reasons your period can be early:

• Change in contraception can affect the menstruation cycle. Particularly when first used, contraceptive pills can cause bleeds, which are generally shorter than normal periods. These normally stop after the first few months of use.
• A hormone imbalance can occur due to many other factors. Some of these could be lifestyle, such as being severely under or over weight, heavy exercise or stress.
• There could also be changes due to age, particularly for women in or just out of puberty, or for those just approaching menopause.

Normal cycle length is 26-32 days. If you got your periods after a gap of 26 days then it is normal. If you got periods before 22 days gap then the condition is called polymenorrhea. It can be due to malnutrition, stress and psychological problems, over activity of anterior pituitary gland causing frequent ovulation, and pelvic inflammatory diseases. If you have polymenorrhea then visit a gynecologist for proper diagnosis and treatment.

If this has only happened once it is nothing to worry about - periods can be very irregular especially in younger women. If you find you regularly have a 21-day cycle you should check with your doctor that all is Ok, but in fact some women do have shorter cycles anyway.

Before I started on the pill, I used to get fairly regular periods, but there wwere times when it would be late or early, but only by around a week. I have discovered that this could be either due to stress un-balancing your hormones and triggering early or late. Also, if you have moved recently into new homes with other women, sometimes your periods can be triggered by the other females in the house getting their cycle. I have a feeling this is all very psychological and stress related. I would reccomend that if you have a 2 weeks or more without a period then get a test, they are simple and easy and sometimes if you ask your doctor they can be free.

You guys are so helpful thanks

It is normal .Don't worry about that.

Not everyone has regular periods

My period finished New Years Day and I can't remember when I started but it was round about the 29th December. It is normal for my period to be this short, and the flow was was normal last month too. I went back to college two week ago, and last week I was getting so stressed about work and college and I had tonnes of assignments to do and I got a period pain then. I looked this up on the net, searching " period pains in between periods" and it turns out that this may be ovulation pain and I figured that this was about right, And today I got the pains back and actually started, it's not as heavy, but there is an awful lot of lining (I think its that, its a very thick substance) and it seems to be thicker this month.