Underweight, no period = pimples?

Hey everyone.. not sure if this should be in this forum or Weight gain.. but anyway.

I'm underweight with a BMI of 17.6, 19 years old. I haven't had a period in about 2.5 years - yes I know this is bad but just put it down to the HUGE amount of sports training I do.  However I am trying to fix this problem.  

The problem I'm wondering about is I get pimples constantly around my chin/ jaw line but hardly at all/none on the rest of my face.  I read that this could be due to a hormonal imbalance.  

So im wondering - is this hormonal imbalance caused by me not having periods for so long? 

Has anyone else experienced this - being underweight and getting acne and it improving when you reach a healthier weight?

Thanks so much :)

Hi there!

I'm 'theoretically' underweight aswel (BMI of 17.2), eventhough I don't think I'm that awfully skinny, and I haven't had my periods either for almost a year. I do quite a lot of sports aswel (at least 4-5 times a week) but besides that I do eat properly(very healthy ofcoarse)! Now that you mention your pimpel problem, I have no idea if this has something to do with being hormonally unbalanced but I have some small, strange, pimples on my forehead aswel, which I never had when I still had my period. So, there might be a link!

Does anybody know if there might be some other reasons why my periods are staying out? Can it be stress related? Because I cannot seem to believe it is all due to my 'low weight' since I have girlfriends who are way skinnier than I am, and they do not have this problem!

Thanks a lot,

LN

My best advice for both of you is to schedule an appointment with an OB/GYN or a midwife. The can answer all of these questions ACCURATELY and they can test your hormone levels along with running quite a few other tests. We can't exactly run blood work through a computer screen, you know? A website isn't the ideal place to be asking this. :)

I say this from experience, by the way. I went without a period for 3.5 YEARS, and it took me a while to quit scouring the Internet for answers rather than visiting an actual doctor. Bad idea.

I wish you all the best in restarting your cycles! :)

By the way, please note that my missing my period is now past tense; I got it back last Wednesday thanks to my OB/GYN's help. It took us two months to kick my body back into gear, but it was worth it. My OB/GYN first prefomanred an exam of "that area" and when that turned out fine, I was given an ultrasound to check for ovarian cysts--which I did not have. We finally determined what was wrong when my hormones were tested--my progesterone levels were extremely low and I suffered from estrogen dominance. At first I was given a 10-day trial of progesterone supplements, and when those didn't bring my period back, she put me on one month of birth control. The birth control worked and we're now going to stop the BC to see if my body will keep cycling on its own.

Every case is unique, though, and I'd have never solved my problem by simply searching Google for answers. My doctor HAD, for a while, suggested that I give my body time to adjust after a severe illness that caused me to lose my period due to low weight, but eventually he gave me and my family the okay to look into getting my period back some other way.

Lastly, the pimples that you are getting, in my opinion, hint that something hormonal is going on. You definitely need to tell a specialist about this.

Thanks for the replies :)

I am going to go and see the doctor this week to finally get everything sorted out!

Still interested to see if anyone else has experienced anything similar??

To the first two posters..... If your BMI is under 19 you are very likely to lose your period regardles of how much exercise you do.  Sub BMI 18.5 (there's no 'theoretical' about it) = clinically underweight.   You both need to see doctors immediately and discuss your diet, your weight and your state of health.  Otherwise you're staring down the barrel of a lifetime of infertility, brittle bones and all kinds of other problems.  A few pimples is a walk in the park by comparison.

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