amenorrhea

Hi,Actually,I didn't get a period till I hit 127....and even then, only sporadically ...I was anorexic, the lowest was about 92, then the doc said he'd hospitalize me, and I stopped...stayed 100-110 for the rest of hs, then in college, without a scale, I couldn't exercise like I had (though I did!), and the weight came up to 118 or so by about 20 years old...and it was hard to handle to tell you the truth as I look back. I had alot of emotional turmoil too, and that was a big factor. And the deep desire to have children forced me to look the other way with angst as little by little the weight crept up... I never decided to gain weight, I think my death wish just wasn't strong enough! So,I always worked out,but as I became a professional, it became more sane. And by 30 the vestiges of anorexia were gone..a loving marriage and secure profession I am sure were essential.

As a professional, I'd tell you to back off on anymore than 20 minutes of cardio 3-5 x a week, no serious lifting....and get into some yoga, the body fat, per my obgyn pals needs to be in the 20 plus range to store the hormones to nourish a womb in simple terms.

We hold hip/thigh weight for a purpose, and nuts like us have distorted it in our quest for that lean hard look...don't quit an eat junk...eat healthy, get your dairy, believe it or not, it IS good for you, get some soy products, yams - all estrogen enhancing, and relax and nourish your soul and cut yourself some slack..When your MY age and it comes on in spite of you, you can go back to slamming your body into bionic shape....although by then, it may not be as essential to you as it is now :).......

love,michelle
 
Hi!! Thanks so much for all of your shared experiences. I feel like sometimes I can commit to eating better and exercising less, then it becomes very difficult emootionally for me. It is so nice to hear that you are doing so much better now, and have healthy children. I was hospitalized in HS, but his go around is not as severe, gues I never relly recovered mentally, my weight has fluctuated through the years at my heaviest about 135#, looking back I looked huge. Well, thanks again, and any aditonal infor or resources you use or used would be appreciated. Best of luck to all of us women struggling with this area. Take care, KIm
Kim
 
I think I've had about 2 periods in 10 years and I'm totally healthy. When I was on the pill it was a very very light period at first and then just stopped. A few years ago I switched from the pill to the IUD and I did have a cycle in between and then 2 cycles the first two months on the IUD. No cycles since then. I'm 40 now.

If your doctor says you are healthy, then I would not worry about it.

Colleen
 
The only problem is, you really need your period 4 or more times a year for the estrogen protection of bones and heart...and that's from peer reviewed research, NE Journal from several years ago.... Every woman has a different set point where her body will be healthy enough to carry a child, i.e. you'll get your period...the Pill is an artificial cycle, not the natural brain mediated feedback mechanism. If you want children,you're going to have to bite the bullet and let your weight come up. (of course this is barring thyroid problems etc)...believe me, its usually as simple....and as difficult as that....I'm with you....not in your shoes, but I sure remember being in them. If having kids is not an issue for you, then big deal, but if you want kids, gotta give yourself that layer....AND osteoporosis and heart disease are silent, and the menstrual cycle protects we women until menopause.....
 
Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share some good news. I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago, again, to try to follow up and get an answer to this problem. She did some blood work (which I don't have the results of yet) and she gave me 5 days worth of Progesterone to take, which when finished is supposed to induce menstruation.

I had already tried the 5 days progesterone thing back in December near when this whole thing started, and it did absolutely nothing.

Well, I just woke up this morning and I have my period for the first time since last November. Now, I know that it's due to the progesterone which I just finished 2 days ago, but still, that didn't work last time, so something has changed for the better. I'm still left with a lot of questions, like will it come on its own next month, what does it mean that it worked this time, etc, but I am just feeling so happy right now that something is moving in the right direction.

I wanted to thank everyone again who replied to this thread and gave advise. It's really nice to feel the support :)
 
I haven't been watching this thread closely, but Colleen you should have your uterus checked out if you've only had 2 periods in the past 10 years. The uterine lining should be shed at least several times a year. From what I understand, you can get endometrial cancer from the buildup.

I've dealt with amenhorrhea on and off forever. I didn't get my first period without meds until I was 33 years old.

Erica
 
Progesterone causes what is called, "withdrawel bleeding", its not an actual period..its an effect when the progesterone is withdrawn....they did it with me in my early 20's after years with no period...weight thing, but at 125 finally, I thought it would start again...nope....fit girls with low body fat do not menstruate regularly...its your body fat girl...as hard as that is to accept. With me, I had to double the amount of progesterone to get the "period".....by the time I hit nearly 128, I'd get 4 periods a year....so the one and only time in my life I didn't use birth control, right after one of my 4 annual periods, safe right? Wrong, she's 15! So don't assume you're NOT ovulating...but you're not building the endometrium. You need 4-6 periods a year for optimal female health so they say....and with everything else ruled out...its the BMI - at 22 bmi, you're period will eventually come back, probably within a year....sigh....I feel for you, sure remember how it feels.......
 
Hi!! If you do not mind sharing how long it took you to agin weight and what your BMI ws when you started to gain. My therapist and the fertility specialist both feel my lack of periods are due to my weight. I am anxious about gaining but am wiing to do it, my husband and I are ready to start a family. thanks so much. My BMI right now is 18. All help is appreciated, what to expect, how much to eat, exercise, how you felt, comments made, time span, and additional changes that took place? Appreciate this so much!! Take care, Kim Hope this is not too personal, but I could relly use some guidance from the experienced.
 
I believe my BMI was around 21 or 22 when my period came back - to a whopping 4 times a year....there ARE some girls who can have bmi of 18, still menstruate, have 9 lb babies effortlessly etc...you and I are not those girls...I didn't gain wain intentionally, as I remember, I stopped weighing myself, and the weight slowly came on...add some healthy grains and yogurt to your diet to beef up the calcium and folate, get some olive oil into you, yams a few times a week (supposed pre-curser to estrogen)...and start alternating some workouts with some low impact.

Boy, I sure remember how you feel!
 
Thanks for all of your encouraging words. i am trying but still very hard. My husband gets upset with me at times, and I can not blame him. I do eat sweet potatoes often, do they have to be yams, aren't they the same thing, just cooked differently? What was the time period you gained up to the weight when your period came back? i am getting anxiuos about getting pregnant. Again thanks, take care.
Kim
 
I was around 127 and it took several months before I got one period, then only sporadically....and it was around 130 (I'm 5'5) before I got more than 3 or 4 a year.....in a natural rememdies class I took - for medical people, based on peer reviewed research, so it was a medical model class...yams contain estrogen precursers...and anecdotally, 5 out of 5 of us got pg taking Wild Yam Root from GNC...however, the class I took warned against doing that -I forget why,it was many years ago...I couldn't bring myself to consciously gain weight,but I avoided a scale, and weight creeps up. I guess subconsciously, my desire for motherhood outweighed my nutty thin obsession...funny thing is, once I got to a higher weight, my sanity kind of came back. Maybe try working out 4 times a week just for an hour...yoga on the other days, quit running - don't know what it is but running, the best fat burner of all, seems to kill the period even in heavier girls...I lament my figure change, at 45 (teaching yoga and turbo kick) -got curvier in spite of it all, and my hubby said my figure looks better than it did when I was 25! Most guys are far less critical of us than we are..Kim,its ok,if you gain weight and have kids, just console yourself that you can be a workout maniac again in a couple years and give yourself permission to nuture yourself so your body can nurture a baby. HUGS!!!
 
Thanks for the inspiration. This message came tonight, just when I was feeling down today about running out of time to do my " planned" workout. yes, you are exactly right. Just amazing how the messages we need at times end up right at that time. Thanks for the sunday evening blessing. i am going to look up the yams claim, sounds interesting, was going to try chasteberry tea, but has some side effeccts and can not take while pregnant so not doing that. Did you get pregnant after you had a period, were you menstruating when you took the class? You have been such a great help. Thanks again. Take care, and have a great week!! Kim
 
Hi,

I have a similar problem that has been going on for the past 2-3 years... I recently saw my ob/gyn again, who prescribed me Progesterone to induce a period to take 4 times a year. Going so long without menstruating can cause endometrial cancer. He said that if Progesterone hormone therapy works, that means that your body is producing estrogen on its own, but not the hormone progesterone, which causes the lining of the uterus to shed. If the progesterone was not working at all, no estrogen is being produced in your body. Without estrogen, the lining of the uterus does not build-up at all.

On another note, ONE WEEK after my doctor's appointment, I got my period for the first time on my own without the help of birth control or progesterone since I was 16!!!! (I am 23 now). I also gained 10 pounds in the past year, so that might have helped. But it was so coincidental... I had not even filled the Progesterone presciption yet. =) =) =)

P.S. If your body is producing estrogen, then you are not at risk for osteoporosis because estrogen is what keeps the bones from becoming weak... not progesterone.
 
>I haven't been watching this thread closely, but Colleen you
>should have your uterus checked out if you've only had 2
>periods in the past 10 years. The uterine lining should be
>shed at least several times a year. From what I understand,
>you can get endometrial cancer from the buildup.
>
Thanks Erica, but I've been checked out by my ob/gyn :)

Colleen
 
As I remember, I had to double up on the progesterone to get the withdrawel bleeding ....the 10 lbs certainlhy helped....
 
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