Expert: Pat G - 2/3/2010

Question
i had an abortion in august ....haven't had vaginal sex since then but ive had anal and now my period is 2 weeks late. ive also been taking medicine called doryx for my acne but the doctor said there is no way it can affect my period. i don't know what to do and i was wondering if having an abortion will affect my menstral cycle.

Answer
Hello, eleni,

It is possible that when having anal sex, some semen could be deposited on the outside of your body, and there is a remote possibility that you could get pregnant from that. You should test for pregnancy.

Anal sex is dangerous and you really shouldn't do it. It causes injury to your intestines, and can lead to nasty infections, including HIV. It can cause you to develop bowel incontinence. Anal sex will cause many tears in your rectum and intestines just above the rectum. You should look for another way to express affection. Oral sex can also cause disease. Personally, I could never figure out why any woman would enjoy either, and I don't know if you are enjoying it or not. But your partner really shouldn't be putting you at risk like that. If he doesn't have any more respect than that for you, you really deserve someone better.

Abortion does affect a woman's menstrual cycle. If you are asking if your abortion in August just now caused you to miss a period, I'd have to say that if you were regular before that, it wouldn't tend to do that. But there are other things that can cause a woman to miss a period, including stress, poor diet, and too much exercise. Highly trained athletic women tend not to have periods. Poor diet means you aren't getting any animal fat. You need animal fat to make the hormones necessary to cause periods. If you eat a vegetarian diet for awhile, eventually your body will be depleted of the fats needed; your body will make hormones for awhile to replace what you're not getting, but that won't continue indefinitely. You can get animal fat from meat, milk (and cheese), and eggs. If you want to talk in more depth about nutrition, we can do that.

As for the doryx, your doctor is probably right. Ask him for the prescribing literature, and read it for yourself. But it's not necessarily a good idea to take it. For one thing, it's an antibiotic, and it will wreak havoc with your intestinal flora, which will cause all kinds of problems. For another, it could make you more prone to get infections from "superbugs" in the future: bacteria that are not easily treated with antibiotics. We can also talk about alternatives that can help with acne if you want.

Please don't consider having another abortion. It is dangerous, and the more abortions you have, the more likely you are to have a serious long term injury. If you are pregnant, please find another alternative. First, have yourself tested to see if the pregnancy is viable. After that, please find an organization in your area that can help you with the problems you face. You can find one near you by going to this web site:

http://www.pregnancycenters.org/

You deserve better than abortion and anal sex. Please take care of yourself, and let me know how you do. Feel free to ask other questions.