Girls who lost their period?

To all the girls out there who may have went a little overboard with dieting and then ended up losing their period- how long did it take you to get your's back? (Starting from when you began to eat more calories.) I'm still waiting for mine and I'm getting kinda impatient.

A little more info: I used to eat 1200-1400 calories a day and powerwalked for 1 hour on the treadmill for 5 days a week.

For the past month I've been eating between 1750-1800 calories a day (Sometimes I'll have a cheat day on certain Sundays) and doing 30-40 minutes of powerwalking on the treadmill 6 days a week. I REALLY hope that this will make a difference! I've successfully maintained my weight after months of constant losing. I now weigh 102 lbs and am 5'3. I cannot afford to go to the doctor right now so I'm trying to do the best I can. I also started to take a multi vitamin everyday just incase and 90% of the foods I eat are healthy whole foods (the other 10% is reserved for dessert each day!)

About 2 months.

Edit : 2 months fromt he time I added lots of healthy fats.  I didn't get it for about 5-7 months before that.

I still havn't gotten my period for about 4 months or so since I lost about 30 pounds. I've been to the doctor and I'm now taking Medroxyprogesterone 10MG. I take one pill a day for 10 days and it's supposedly supposed to start my period. This is only the second day I've taken it so I havn't seen results yet, obviously. I'm interested to see if it works.

Oh okay I think I started eating 1700-1800 calories a day in the middle of December. Before that I was always eating 1200-1400 BIG MISTAKE and working out 60 minutes/ 5 days a week. I now work out 30- 40 minutes 6 days a week and have successfully maintained my weight. So maybe I just need to be more patient. I also started taking a multi vitamin last month too.

It took a loooong time for me. This was about 5 or 6 years ago now. I was back to a healthy weight after being anorexic, but after about a year, I still hadn't gotten my period. My doctor put me on birth control to jump start it. I don't reccomend this... I was scared to go off it for years in case my body couldn't have a period on it's own, I dramatically increased my chances for breast cancer, I gained so much weight I am now "slightly overweight" for my body type and height, and all the weight has gone to my thighs.... a distribution that was not typical for me before the b-control. I suggest just to make sure you're getting enough healthy fats... I think minie13 is right about that being the key... And try your hardest to be patient, I know it's hard... But I think it's better than the alternatives, good luck!!

Yeah I don't plan on going on birth control. A couple of years ago my doctor put me on it to clear up my skin  and my body felt crazy! I guess I was just assuming that my period would be back in a month lol. But I'll be patient, at least I have been able to maintain my weight which was a struggle I was going through for months.

After losing mine for a year, it took me about 3-4 months to get it back. I had a very low BMI though.

To get it back I ate about 60g of fat a day, if not more. I had a serving of peanut butter (2 tbsp) in the morning, nuts as a snack, and another serving of peanut butter as a night snack. I'm only being specific because being a vegetarian, the rest of my diet has like zero fat. :P

So see if you like nuts, nut butters, olive oil, olives, seeds, or avocado, stock up on them, and eat them every day. You should be getting 20-30% of your calories from fats in order to get your period back - aim for 30% to speed it up. Remember, the faster you get it back, the less damage is done to your body. Good luck!

I'm confused about those of you who have gotten your period back by eating alot of fats, whether healthy fats or not. Did you gain alot of weight to get your period back?

Sorry but what is so good about having your period back?
Wouldn't it be alot better to not have it, so its not so gross and stuff. i'm just wondering.

I got it back pretty much just after I hit a healthy weight again.

^ And not having a period is a sign of sickness, and malnourishment within your body. Regardless of wheather or not you think a period is "gross" it is not "a lot better" not to have it just because its an inconveience. 

I had to gain a lot of weight to get it back.  I was about 95 pounds before and didnt have it for about 1.5 yrs. and now I have it at like 120 lbs.  Even eating enough fat didn't do it for me, it only came back a couple months after gaining weight.  Even tho I hate it, I still want kids some day so I know its good..

jessicaleighh it depends how underweight you were. Like for me, I gained 20-25 lbs, but then again at my lowest weight I was 97 at 6'0"... even at the weight I'm at now, I'm still considered underweight.

Just talk with your doctor and they will give you a good goal weight. Remember, if you gain too much weight, you can always cut back a bit. But the longer you are underweight, the more damage you are causing that may be permanent. So just think about it like that. :)

Strawberrydolly - I also agree its gross and not fun to get your period and would prefer not to... but I just researched the info, and here is the answer to your question:

"In most cases, doctors will induce menstruation in non-pregnant women who have missed two or more consecutive menstrual periods, because of the danger posed to the uterus if the non-fertilized egg and endometrium lining are not expelled. Without this monthly expulsion, the risk of uterine cancer increases. "

Taken from: http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C442611.html

Original Post by strawberry-dolly:

Sorry but what is so good about having your period back?
Wouldn't it be alot better to not have it, so its not so gross and stuff. i'm just wondering.

 Not having your period is a real sign that there is something very wrong with your body, especially if you are dieting - it normally means that the body is struggling to survive on the calories which you are eating, and that the brain believes that your body is in no state to support a baby. It is a sign of malnourishment, and although it is 'gross', not receiving your period can be really worrying if you want to have kids in the future - although people can get pregnant without their period, it is really rare.

 To the OP - I lost mine for 4 months over the summer, and although I have since had 2 periods, they are very irregular - I missed 2 months worth recently. I know it is a nightmare, but if you use the advice of the girls on here, and keep it up for a month or two, I'm sure they'll come back to normal! 

I haven't had my period in over 6 months due to an ED, but I am hoping to get it back because my parents have restricted my dancing and all other exercise until I get healthy again.

So I have a few questions for those of you who have gotten their periods back.  How much fat did you have to eat daily?  And how much weight did you have to gain/what weight were you when you got your period back?  I don't mean to pry, but if you wouldn't mind answering these personal questions I would really appreciate it.

I really don't want to gain any weight but I also don't want to lose bone density or risk ovarian cancer...so...I'm weighing out my options.

Well i never really lost it but because i was a little overweight as a kid the docter said i would get it at about 12.  That year i practically stopped eating and only got it when i was about 15.  I just started eating again but im guessing it can take a while for you body to adapt.

Original Post by jessicaleighh:

I still havn't gotten my period for about 4 months or so since I lost about 30 pounds. I've been to the doctor and I'm now taking Medroxyprogesterone 10MG. I take one pill a day for 10 days and it's supposedly supposed to start my period. This is only the second day I've taken it so I havn't seen results yet, obviously. I'm interested to see if it works.

I have to take the same stuff to get my period (never was regular), and usually it comes on like a week after you've taken it for ten days.

Are there any weird side effects to taking Medroxyprogesterone?  I've never heard of it before.

And any good advice on how to get your period back naturally?

*Also see my above questions.

Thanks in advance.

I only had to gain around 5 pounds to get my period back.. but I also started ingesting a LOT more fat [the percent of calories I ate from fat went from 10% or less to 25%] and started exercising a LOT less [about half as much as I used to]. I also started taking a multivitamin that includes 100% of y DV of iron, which I've heard is helpful in regaining your period as well. Hope that helps!

I have only gained about 1 or 2 pounds and got mine back (from about 90 to 93).  I did the same thing as revolution - added tons of fat, started taking vitamins, and cut back on my cardio.  Its not so much the #on the scale and your weight as it is the amount of calories and nutrients you're getting.  I could have gained muscle weight but kept my fat intake too low and I probably still wouldn't have gotten it back.

If you're looking at options, I suggest looking into a progesterone cream. There is one i used briefly after going off birth control to kick-start my period again called Pro-Gest Body Cream (if you can stop using hormones all together it's definitely better for your body to produce what it needs by itself). It's a natural progesterone cream that is actually marketed for women going through menopause, but it does the same thing as the Medroxyprogesterone at a MUCH lower dosage (much less side effects). To use the cream, each day (after a shower is the best time) rub about a dime's worth into one of several places on your body where the skin is thin and the progesterone will easily enter your system (neck, chest, inner arms, and inner thighs). You put the cream on a different spot each day, rotating through those 4 areas. Do this for 3 weeks, stop for 1 week, you will likely get your period. However, you should probably talk to a health professional before trying this to make sure it is safe for you, and if you are not close enough to a healthy weight it may not work. It should not be a substitute for being at a healthy weight. Also, it may take a few months for it to work (which happened to me, but now i don't use it anymore :-)