What Are the Causes of Irregular Periods Every Two Weeks?

Almost every woman experiences irregular periods at some point in her life. Menstrual irregularity can be caused by a variety of things that affect hormone levels, including diet changes, pregnancy, stress and illness. Ongoing irregular periods, however, particularly periods that occur every two weeks, can be an indicator of more serious complications.

Stress

• Stress can alter hormone levels and also interfere with sleep and diet, further throwing hormone balances out of whack. This is one of the main culprits in causing more frequent, irregular periods.

Diet and Exercise

• Just like stress, diet and exercise alter the number of calories feeding vital body functions and hormone production. When hormone production is altered, the menstrual cycle can speed up or slow down, leading to more or less frequent periods.

Menopause

• While menopause ultimately leads to an absence of periods, it can initially have a lot of different effects on your body, including more frequent periods.

Birth Control

• Birth control deliberately alters hormones in the body. Birth control usually causes skipped periods or light bleeding between cycles, but can sometimes cause women to have periods every two weeks for a short period of time.

Ovarian Cysts

• A cyst is a collection of fluid that develops on the ovary. While many women develop cysts, most go away on their own and are not an issue. Cysts that don't naturally flush away within a few menstrual cycles begin to grow larger. Large cysts can cause abnormal, frequent bleeding and pain, which lead many women to believe that they are getting their period more frequently. Large cysts can cause damage to the reproductive system and need to be removed surgically.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Inflammatory bowel disease, which affects the colon and intestine, can sometimes cause bleeding similar to a period, leading women to believe that they are having more frequent periods. Inflammatory bowel disease can be treated with anti-inflammatory medication.