Absent Periods?

Hi I'm 16 years old and I don't think I was completely anorexic but I was a control freak about what I ate 1200 or less until about May when I realized I was way too skinny.

I started 'watching my weight' in July and that is when I got my last period. (I'm 5'4 and I weighed 112 then) I didn't become a control freak until December or so but didn't get a period from July to December either althogh I was cutting down on food and I playedvolleyball during the fall.

I haven't had a period since and I'm extremely worried. I weighed around 90 pounds at my lowest weight and now I'm 100 and eat healthy and normally but I'm still waiting for my period to come!

So what should I do? Well there really isn't much to do food wise since I eat like a pig now and don't seem to gain that much weight probably because I'm pretty active. 

Well its probably because you lost the weight then. My weight is fine now (still underweight, but its mostly fat and it isn't any extreme) but I havn't gotten my period in nearly two years. My doctor says I need to go on birth controll, so I'd suggest you try that.

I was in the same boat as you, i'm also 5'4 and used to weigh 115 pounds untill i becam e overally excessive about my weight and dropped down to about 98 pounds. I stopped getting my period for about 5 months then i told my parents about it. I started maintaining at about 105 and went to an endocrinologist who put me on birth control about a month ago, and i got my period back about a week ago :D

Birth control induced periods aren't "real" periods because you're not ovulating, but they do offer most of the health benefits because the estrogen and progesterone have been replaced.

When you get your period depends on body fat and your own body. You can be 130 pounds and lose it if your body fat is too low, or if your body just shuts it down unusually quickly. Some peopleat 5'4" do menstruate at 100 pounds. I've never, ever had a period at this height and anything under 115, and normally I lose it in the low 120s, but I've kept my body fat a little higher (it's on the low end, but still well within a safe range now) so I'm okay at 121. (Lowest I've ever menstruated was 100 pounds, but I was 5'0" then. 1986.)

Lots of exercise can cause a loss of a period as well.

Don't add more exercise, make sure you're not anemic, and get your body fat tested. If it's under 14% you will probably need to raise it up. Otherwise, you can wait awhile and see if it comes back, if not, maybe gain just a few pounds at a time, and see when it returns.

yeah- I'm almost 22. I got my first period when I was 16...and It's never been normal. I'll have my persiod every 3 months if that....

The doctor said it was a hormone inbalance. . .and i refuse to take birth control...

Do you think that if you had a hormonal imbalance they'd make you take a stronger pill than birth control?

WHo knows....

They did put me on some other pill to regulate my period that wasn't birth control..but that was at a special doctor and it got too expensive.

I'm very much in the same boat, and am concerned because I'm in the process of gaining weight (up to 113) in the hopes that the period will return.Bbut if it doesn't at that weight, then I'm going to be forced to gain even more...which I really don't want  (or otherwise need). I'd like to try the birth control route, but my parents would never allow me to "fake" it like that.

By the way, I got my period at age 15 at 102lbs, gained up to 120 (still mestrating normally) then quickly lost down to 115, then 110 and finally 108,  Haven't gotten my period since I lost weight, but I *hope* that it just because of the shock to my system of restricted diet and intense exercise - not that I need to be that heavy to get it.

I'm in the same boat too. I'm sixteen and recently I went from 145 down to about 121 lbs. I stopped getting my period a while ago and even though I'm back up at 125 it's hasn't come back.

Is there anything I can do besides gain the weight back or go on birth control that would get me my period back?

I'm glad that you girls brought this topic up!

I'm seventeen and I've been lost period about half a year since I started to "watch my weight".

May I know what the worst would happen if a girl lost her period over such a long while?

Make an appointment with your gyno ASAP. It is very UNHEALTHY to miss periods. You are basically starving yourself.

well okay you might not be STARVING yourself but missing periods is a HUGE RED FLAG that something is NOT RIGHT. Go to the doctor's.

Is it really unhealthy?? Or is it unhealthy to actually have your period every month... The average woman isn't regular unless they go on some type birthcontrol...

hey,

i love this site, i now know that i am not the only one who is out there going through this..

i have completely lost my periods, i am 171cm and weight 45kg, i eat no more than 300 cals a day and my doctors diagnosed me with anorexia a week ago

i know it is so unhealthy not to eat less than 2000 cals a day but my body just couldnt handle that at the moment, if my problem could be cured by eating heck i would be eating! but its a psycological problem!

i have read alot of books on this and the root to a eating disorder is issues you may have had before, like low self-esteem, being picked on, a partner dumping you..it all comes from something!

at the moment i am trying to eat a little more and get out of this cycle before i have to be hospitalized maybe you should do the same..write a diary and think to yourself why you think you might be doing this to yourself..tell someone you love and trust and seek help hun before its all too late!

Wow, I really wish sometimes I didn't get my period when I was struggling with E.D. instead mine wouldn't come for 2-4 months but when it did it more than made up for the missed months.  I would go on my period for anywhere from 4-7 weeks! it sucked!!!

I looked into BC but I'm really against medication for many reasons.  I finally decided that I would just wait it out, when I started dating my current bf about a year and a half ago something in my body clicked and i'm on a perfectly normal 28 day cycle every month!  I had almost 6 years of out rageous periods but now I'm just over a year of completely normal ones! YEAH

my advice, if you feel BC is good for you go for it! Just be careful and look closely at all of your options, also because of your weight conscious past I'd be careful going on BC because many women suffer from weight gain after going on "the pill".  Personally I found it was best to just wait and naturally I got to where I am today.  Good Luck!

-Laura Mae

"Is it really unhealthy?? Or is it unhealthy to actually have your period every month... The average woman isn't regular unless they go on some type birthcontrol..."

YES, IT IS UNHEALHTY NOT TO GET YOUR PERIOD EVERY MONTH! The average woman DOES have a monthly cycle!! It is HEALTHY to menstruate EVERY MONTH!

Please made an MD appointment ASAP and get educated on your reproductive system.

"Is it really unhealthy?? Or is it unhealthy to actually have your period every month... The average woman isn't regular unless they go on some type birthcontrol..."

lol ofcourse it's unhealthy not to have your periods every month!

and no not every woman with regular periods are on birth control!! I''m 23 have NEVER been on birth control and I'm totally fine, so's my mum who have never taken them and still has regular periods at age 55!!...the ONE time I WAS using birth control pills my skin broke out in a horrid rash all over my arms and legs!!

This is a good, but difficult topic.  I have been trying to recover from anorexia for the past three years.  It has been a struggle and the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  At my heaviest, before the eating disorder I was 127 lbs.  From the eating disorder, I lost a lot of weight quickly.  In 2005, I dropped down to 76 lbs and had to be hospitalized. I've been to one treatment center 12 times and another one once. Every time I gain some weight back but, I can never keep it on.  I lost my period when I got to about 103lbs.  I haven't had it for three years now.  I was discharged from the hospital in October and I'm now 5'4 and weigh 86lbs. This is the longest I've gone without going into the hospital.  I'm kinda nervous about not getting my period back but I'm soo afraid of getting it.  I don't want to be a woman for some reason.  It's just so scary.  Does anyone feel this way? 

slittlepeace I'm also kind of scared of getting my period again. Im not anorexic or anything but I recently lost some weight and havn't had my period for the past several months. It's wierd, but it makes me feel powerful, like I'm completely in control of my body and I can defy nature.

I have guy friends with too much time on their hands who tease me about being "such a girl" or "hormonal". I guess I'm kind of ashamed of hormones and stuff and it makes me feel kind of superior to know that I'm less of a "woman" when I don't get my period.

I realize that this is a problem though, and I'm trying to re-evaluate the way I think about this stuff.

odalisque,

I completely hear and understand everything you are saying.  It's almost exactlly how I feel.  Also, for me it feels like by not having my period I'm accomplishing something. But, It's not really a good thing to accomplish. lol. I applaud you for realizing that there is a problem with these thoughts.  I know this too, but it doesn't make it any easier to stop the thoughts.  after three years without it, I'm really not ready for it.

you could try slowly bringing up your weight by another 10 pounds or so to between 110-112...just do this by eating lots of healthy foods...and if u're active u probably need to eat even more...my sister who is obese also stopped her periods for about 6 months, and they returned just with her losing around 6 pounds...on the other hand many obese or underweight people get regular periods. its different for different ppl i guess, but if someone's period has stopped than its definately a sign that something is wrong and needs to be taken care of. i wish u all the best, and take care. people who don't have periods actually age alot quicker, and going years without a period can make u look alot older than u are.