Amenorrhea

Hi. I am 19 years old, 116lbs and 5'8''. Since June 2007, I did not have ANY periods. NONE! Before that, I stared getting lighter and ligter periods and now I have not had ONE for the past year.. and I am very concerned. I have been to the obgyn and they did blood tests and everything came back normal. Before June 2007, I started exercising more. Over 10 month period, I did lose about 10lbs from exercising 60 minutes a day on the ellipitical. I track my calories and eat about 1600 a day. I think I am not eating enough to give my body enough energy to regulate my periods. I am very VERY concerned about this issue. I do NOT want to take BC pills and I do NOT want to gain any weight. I am currently NOT losing any weight and have been this weight for 1 year. I heard of new studies saying that body fat has nothing to do with Amenorrhea... rather it is the calorie intake. I think I need to exercise at a lower intensity and keep my diet the same because if I eat even more, then I feel very bloated and uncomfortable. But what are your opinions and tips? Any will be appreciated.

 

Actually, bodyfat DOES have to do with ammenorrhea, it just isn't the final say.  If you are very lean BUT are well nourished, yes, you CAN still get your period.  BUT, it is very individual.  Some people need to be at a higher bodyfat% and some can be a little lower.

That said you are underweight for your height.  You are also undereating for your activity level.  The only way to fix this is to a) eat more and b) lower the intensity of your workouts.

Why do you want to stay underweight?  Honestly, just lowering the intensity of your workouts isn't enough.  Trust me...I have had this problem for years and had to do infertility drugs to conceive my son.  You are really screwing around with your  hormones by continuing to do what you're doing.  You feel bloated probably due to your food choices (try higher dense foods...my guess is you are too low fat and need to add some oils, nuts, etc) or a history of restriction.  

Unfortunately, the only choice you have is to eat more, gain a little weight, and make sure your fat intake is high.  

I would definitely cut back on the intense cardio exercise, and increase your fat intake. But the reality is that you are underweight and probably aren't going to get a period until you gain some healthy weight...just a few pounds.

Well there is two reasons or maybe it's both for the cause of amenorrhea....

ONE: You are underweight and your body fat percentage is too low (this does tie in with amenorrhea)

TWO: You are exercising way too much which is stressing the body out.

I had lost my period for TWO years. I did not get it back until I gained weight and cut down a bit on the exercise.

Think about it most female atheletes do lose their periods...and there is a reason for it. To regain it back you need to do as suggested and even when you do gain enough to get it back that usually means you need about 5 more pounds on you from that to be at a healthy weight. If you want children down the road now is the time to start working to get your body back in a healthy state. Good luck.

I lost mine for about 6 months about 2 years ago after losing about 30 lbs.  I wasn't underweight or had too low of body fat.  But I finally went to the gyno and she gave me some birth control pills and I got mine back about 2 weeks later.  I quit taking the pills and my period went back to being normal.  I suggest going to see your doctor.  He/she will most likely be able to help figure out why you lost it and provide you help.

this case of amenorrhea is exactly what happened to me and what is happening again because i didnt care enough. Low body weight can be enough to take away your period. I have enough body fat, but my weight is just a few grams under the normal BMI for my age and height....sadly I wont get my period until I up those pounds and eat more (Im currently eating 1800 calories, and doing only 30-40 minutes exercise each day)  Even now I need to eat more and you are way taller than I am...it takes 1600 for me to eat on completely sedentary days...and maintain! so you MUST have more food.. Try adding healthy fats like everyone said. Fats like olive oil, and the ones found in nuts, can really help u. Try adding olive oil to salads, or to cook your meats with, or even on veggies...Olive oil has worked wonders with girls. Why fat? because estrogen, one of the primary hormones in menstrual regulation needs fat (and is the primary reason of why women have more fat than muscle or tend to gain fat easier), IS low on women who have a low BMI (body weight) and low body fat %.  Once you get your estrogen sorted out, by gaining some weight (fat AND muscle) estrogen levels go back to normal and usualy this means that a after a few weeks of being at a normal level, the period comes back naturally. Since oyu were doing too much cardio for that amount of calories, you did most likely lose a lot of good muscle on you..so I suggest cutting back completely from cardio (do only 20 minutes at the most) and dedicate 30 minutes a day to strength training like yoga or pilates. They're fun and gentle for women, but tough enough to build long lean muscles.

Good luck

hopefully we both get our periods back (i lost mine just 2 months ago)

take care

-xo

Just take the meds until you get your period back. I just had to do that after losing my period for 6 months

It took two cycles actually - the progesterone  and a month of Yaz. I had stopped using BC while having GI problems, problems which make it very difficult to process fatty foods. So I was told to cut fats out of my diet, and while I hadn't lost a ton of weight, I did lose my period.

You'll get it back if you take the pills, and then you can skip taking hormones afterwards. If you do not get your period back, your OB/GYN will make you take estrogen so that you do not end up with bone damage from not making any of your own estrogen.

Original Post by quest89:

I do NOT want to gain any weight

Then you can pretty much forget about it. You're currently underweight, and you can read as many "studies" as you want, but the truth is that you don't have enough estrogen, which is made from abdominal fat. If you keep having attitude like "I do NOT wanna gain weight", "I do NOT wanna stop exercising", etc., then you're not gonna get it back.

Your health should be more important to you than your looks, and if you think you'll look fat at a normal BMI, then you have many more issues than just a missing period.

I'm sorry if I seem rude, but like you, I lost my period a while ago, and I refuse to go on BC since it's just artificial induction - it's not like your body is working, you're just pumping synthetic hormones into it. I tried some herbal stuff for a while that worked in a very very poor manner (I got literally one drop a month), and the only thing that seems to be solving it is increasing body fat.

Many girls have been in your situation, and sure, we all like being told "oh, maybe you should eat a handful of nuts or a tablespoon of oil every day" or something that just touches the issue, but lets face the facts - you need to have more fat on your body and there's no way around it. Besides, you're underweight! It couldn't hurt to gain some anyway.

Good luck

Haven't had mine since March.

I haven't had mine since september of '05 and Im at a healthy weight right now.

having your period is an excellent indicator of health, if you dont have it, something is wrond, whether youre underweight, malnourished, or oeverexcercising, all not healthy and means you should considar getting some assistance!

think of your future, take care