Amenorrhea Assessment Questionnaire

Questions Your Doctor May Ask - and Why!

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques to assess the symptom: Amenorrhea. These will include a physical examination and possibly diagnostic tests. (Note: A physical exam is always done, diagnostic tests may or may not be performed depending on the suspected condition) Your doctor will ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to openly share any pertinent information to help your doctor make an accurate diagnosis.

It is also very important to bring an up-to-date list of all of your all medical conditions, medications including dosages, and names of numbers of any specialist you see.

Create your printable checklist by answering questions that your doctor may ask below:

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Have you ever menstruated?
Why: differentiate between primary and secondary amenorrhea.
If never menstruated, is there a family history of delayed puberty/ late menarche?
What is has your general health been like?
Have you had any recent significant stressors?
Do you ever diet very restrictively or intentionally vomit after meals?
Why: may indicate anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Do you do intensive exercise?
What medication do you take?
Why: Specifically looking fro medications that can cause amenorrhea, E.g. oral contraceptive, certain anti-psychotic medications.
Do you use anabolic steroids?
Do you use marijuana?
Why: can cause galactorrhea and thus dysfunctional periods.
When was your last menstruation?
Why: Gauging an exact time course of how long you have been amenorrheic is very important.
What are your menstrual cycles normally like, and how long are they?
Why: What is "normal" for you is essential knowledge for your Health Professional before they begin to further assess your situation.
Is there a possibility that you could be pregnant?
Why: This is extremely important to test for and ask about. If you are pregnant then your Health Professional can talk with you further about that and what it means for you. If you aren't pregnant then your Health Professional can continue to formulate a correct diagnosis and appropriate management plan.
Have you ever menstruated?
Why: It is important to know this, as the causes of your Amenorrhea may be very different if you have never menstruated.
May I perform a genital examination?
Why: This is a very sensitive and important examination to perform, however it cannot occur without your explicit permission and comfort. Your health professional may perform this examination to both assess that you have a normal level of development, and that no disease is present.
Have you been experienced any abnormally high levels of stress recently?
Why: Stress (both physical, psychological and social) can be a cause of amenorrhea.
Have you lost weight recently or changed your diet? If so can you tell me about that?
Why: Weight loss and dieting can cause amenorrhea in some women, particularly when there is a drastic weight loss or an extreme diet is consumed.
Do you exercise, and if so, how much have you been doing recently?
Why: Large amounts of exercise can result in amenorrhea.
Have you been pregnant or given birth recently? If so can, were there any complications?
Why: A complication of post-partum hemorrhage or any major hemorrhage towards the end of pregnancy can result in some a disorder of the pituitary gland (Sheehan Syndrome) which can interfere with normal menstruation and result in amenorrhea.
Have you noticed any milk coming from your breasts recently (galactorrhea) that you hadn't expected?
Why: Some pituitary disorders can result in hormonal imbalances which both cause amenorrhea as well as abnormal lactation, i.e., in the absence of breastfeeding.
Have you had any difficult with your vision?
Why: Some pituitary tumors can disrupt vision by interfering with nerves involved with vision and the muscles which move the eye. At the same time they can cause amenorrhea due to their effects on pituitary hormones. The visual disturbances which may be experienced are "seeing double images" (diplopia), impaired vision in an area of your visual field (visual field defect), or losing the lateral sides of your peripheral vision (bitemporal hemianopia).
Have you been experiencing more headaches than usual, or ones of a different nature?
Why: A pituitary tumor may cause headaches as well as amenorrhea.
Have you experienced infertility?
Why: Some types of pituitary tumor and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome can cause hormonal disturbances leading to both infertility and amenorrhea.
Have you noticed any increased sweating or change in shoe/ring size?
Why: The hormonal imbalances which can cause amenorrhea as a result of a pituitary tumor can also cause an excess amount of growth hormone (acromegaly) to be secreted. This may be noticed by shoe, jewelry, or clothing sizes, as well as the shape/size of the nose/jaw.
Have you been feeling more lethargic than usual, experienced any loss of libido, or noticed any increased hair loss?
Why: Along with amenorrhea, these can all be signs of hormonal imbalances caused by pituitary tumors.
Have you recently felt that you have had weight gain, more bruising than normal, unusual muscle weakness (myopathy), "stretch marks" (striae), or depression?
Why: These can all be signs of Cushing Syndrome/Cushing Disease which can be caused by Pituitary Disorders which can additionally cause amenorrhea.
Have you found yourself craving water (polydipsia), or needing to urinate more than usual (Polyuria)?
Why: These can be caused by a pituitary disorder which interferes with the hormones regulating how your kidney processes water, as well as your menstrual cycle and thus causing amenorrhea.
Have you experienced any facial pain, nasal congestion or anything odd coming from you nose (nasal discharge?
Why: These can all be symptoms of a Pituitary tumor which can result in amenorrhea.
Have you experienced any sweats, Palpitations, hot flushes, mood changes, mood swings, anxiety, or insomnia? These can be a signs of Premature Ovarian Failure which can include amenorrhea as one of its symptoms
Have you experienced any vaginal dryness, painful sexual intercourse (Dyspareunia) or urinary Tract infections?
Why: Along with amenorrhea, these can be symptoms of the premature menopause experienced in premature ovarian syndrome.
Have you ever been diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?
Why: This can include amenorrhea as one of its symptoms.
Have you noticed any changes in your voice or the distribution of hair on your body?
Why: These can be signs of hyperandrogenism and hirsutism, both of which can cause amenorrhea.
Have you ever undergone any gynecological procedures, including any abortions/terminations?
Why: Some gynecological procedures can sometimes cause the walls of your uterus to adhere to each other and form scar tissue. This is called Asherman's Syndrome and may be a cause of amenorrhea. It is also important to know if you have undergone any gynecological procedures as some of these may temporarily or chronically influence your menstrual cycles, e.g. cervical stenosis secondary to some cervical procedures may cause temporary amenorrhea, but a hysterectomy should mean that you will no longer experience menses.
Has anyone in your family ever had breast cancer or ovarian cancer?
Why: These are cancers which can be inherited and can be the result of problems in the same gene/s. Ovarian cancer can cause amenorrhea.
Do you take any medications, including the contraceptive pill? Some medications can cause hormonal imbalances which can result in amenorrhea, even for some time after they have been ceased. These can (but not always) include the oral contraceptive pill, other contraceptives, steroids and phenothiazines
Do you suffer from any diseases or chronic illnesses?
Why: Some chronic diseases such as renal failure, can cause amenorrhea.
Galactorrhea (breast milk production)
Why: may suggest prolactinoma, pregnancy, post-natal period, certain drugs.
Headaches?
Why: may indicate pituitary or hypothalamic tumor.
Defects in peripheral vision?
Why: may indicate pituitary tumor.
Pregnancy symptoms
Menopausal symptoms
Weight loss
Are there any symptoms of masculinisation?
Why: e.g. hirsuitism, deep voice, temporal baldness, acne (suggesting adrenal or ovarian tumor or polycystic ovarian syndrome).
Cushing-like symptoms?
Thyroid symptoms
Why: both low thyroid and low thyroid function may cause amenorrhea.
Are there abnormal or absent sexual characteristics
Why: e.g. no breast formation, no pubic hair - may suggest Turner's syndrome, Simmond's disease or other pituitary disorders.

Conditions listing medical symptoms: Amenorrhea:

The following list of conditions have 'Amenorrhea' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

Select from the following alphabetical view of conditions which include a symptom of Amenorrhea or choose View All.

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Conditions listing medical complications: Amenorrhea:

The following list of medical conditions have 'Amenorrhea' or similar listed as a medical complication in our database.

» Next page: Types of Amenorrhea

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