Females: Your Period / Question
Published: December 10, 2002
Dear TeenHealthFX,
I am a 20-year-old girl and I have never started my period. I know this is not normal, but I am very small. I am only 4'2"; and 67 lbs. I have scoliosis and respiratory problems. Due to my scoliosis this has stunted my growth. My question is, my mom wants me to take medicine to make me start my period, but I don't really want to because I have gone 20 years without it and I am fine without all the extra worry on top of every other problem I have in my life in relation to my medical problems. I know that I will never have children because I am too small physically. So I want to know if I am too young to have a hysterectomy? I will probably eventually have to have one, so why not go ahead and have one before I ever start? I hope you will answer my question. Thank you.
Signed: Happy Without A Period
Dear Happy Without A Period,
Technically, you are not too young to have a hysterectomy, as more than three-fourths of all women who have a hysterectomy are between the ages of 20 and 49. However, you are at the very young end of that range- most women who have hysterectomies are past childbearing age and have some type of problem that cannot be solved by non-surgical means. TeenHealthFX is not sure whether or not hysterectomy can be an elective surgery (elective surgeries can be done without any underlying medical pathology and simply at the request of the patient). While it is true that after a hysterectomy you will not be able to become pregnant, hysterectomy is not an appropriate birth control method. Your concerns about having a hysterectomy should probably be discussed with your doctor, since he or she is more familiar with your medical conditions and future prognoses.
Having any type of surgery has risks involved, which is why most physicians avoid surgery if possible. After a hysterectomy, side effects may include:
TeenHealthFX understands that you feel like having your period might be an inconvenience added on top of your other medical problems. However, your period actually does have some positive effects, mostly due to the cycling hormones associated with it. Without estrogen, your body is at risk for developing weak and brittle bones (osteoporosis), which can be very damaging later on in life. Menstruation is a normal part of being a female. Chances are, your mother wants you to get your period so that you can be more like your peers and experience womanhood as best you can. If you are really against getting your period, you should make a list of the reasons why you do not think artificially inducing menstruation is a good idea and sit down with your mother and doctor to discuss this. Allow them to make their case for why they think you should do it, too, and then all of you should be able to come to a conclusion that is agreeable. Ultimately, it is your body, but your doctor knows the medical benefits for having your period, while you are mostly focusing on the emotional ones for not. Communicating with one another is key to coming up with a plan that you can deal with.
Good luck.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted. 
