Amenorrhea? How to re-gain period back.

alechua

My guess is exercise expenditure.

i don't know if this will give you hope (or just confuse the issue more), but I lost my period for almost two years due to low weight. once I restored some weight, my period returned normally. And, I was very fertile afterwards. I guess what I am saying is even though you are missing your period now, it doesn't mean your fertility is screwed. But it is something you want to correct very soon because long-term effects could be very dramatic.

Hi! How many pounds have you gained before your period came back?

rosemary98

that is difficult to say, because when i was at my lowest weight (around 93), i started on hormonal birth control again. That gives you a withdrawal bleed each month but isn't a true period. I know that i got my period back when i was 112 because that is when i went off bc and there it was. also, at 108 i got pregnant six weeks after going off the pill (no period, but i think had i not been attempting pregnancy--my period would follow). obviously, my ovaries were working just fine. I also never exercised, so I didn't have that component at play.

Dragonwolf

I have only had two periods in the last year. I went to the GYN multiple times about it and they were unable to find any reason for it. They put me on hormone pills twice, did blood work, did an ultrasound and could find no reason.

She said having no cycle can increase your risk of cancer, but that was the only negative mentioned and she pretty much gave up on looking for anything wrong, which was fine with me because I wasn't paying for any more dr visits.

I don't over exercise or under eat. I'm still 10-15 lbs over my goals weight. I have no idea what it is, but I was hoping this thread would give me some ideas.

Did they test your fasting insulin level (not just glucose, insulin is a different test), and your androgens, by chance? Hyperinsulinemia and androgen imbalances (estrogen dominance, too much testosterone, etc) can cause amenorrhea, and aren't uncommon among women.

Dragonwolf

Really would want to build muscle now, but that would mean losing fats right?

No, and even more, it will mean gaining scale weight (this is not a bad thing, scale weight change does not equal fat weight change). You build muscle by eating a slight surplus and doing strength training, not by eating at a deficit and doing HIIT cardio. The two are pretty much opposites (save for some advanced timing stuff), and while a newbie, former couch potato will gain some muscle when first doing HIIT, it tapers off rather quickly as the muscle built meets the demand of the training.

Also, if you're looking to build muscle, ditch most (if not all) of the HIIT stuff and look into plain old strength training (see also the following books: Starting Strength, Convict Conditioning, You Are Your Own Gym, New Rules of Lifting). HIIT is great for burning fat, if you have any to burn, but does little for building muscle. Trade it for a good strength building program and you'll be able to gain the muscle you want.

And remember the number on the scale, by itself, means nothing. If you start doing strength training, your weight may go up. This is not a bad thing. Muscle has mass, just like everything else. However, muscle is more dense than fat, so make sure to take measurements of various parts of your body, such as thighs, hips, chest, and waist. In women, especially, your measurements should trend downward, even if the number on the scale stays the same or goes up (women don't build as much muscular bulk as men do).

I'm somewhat confused. I've been reading comments that by gaining muscle you effectively lose more fats in the long run. I know that by gaining muscle you'll weigh much heavier and so what I plan to do is to reach a 110lbs then start building muscle, so in case that my weight increases due to muscle increase, it'll go somewhere 115-120lbs. But right now, my body doesn't seem to agree, I'm down to 120lbs and missed my period. Right now, I just want my period back.

Muscle can help burn fat, because it requires more energy to operate. However, it still takes energy to build muscle.

Think about it this way:

When you're maintaining weight and body composition, you're eating enough food to fuel your body for everything it needs. It neither stores fat nor burns what it has stored, and muscle building is minimal, due to lack of resources.

When you're losing weight, you're eating too little food for the food alone to fuel everything your body needs, forcing it to break down tissue to use for fuel. Ideally, the tissue it breaks down is fat, but if your diet doesn't have adequate protein, or you're doing a lot of heavy endurance cardio (marathons, etc), then it will more likely break down muscle for fuel, and if you don't consume a lot of carbs, then it will use up the body's glycogen stores until they're depleted and move on to either fat or protein depending on the above circumstances.

When you're gaining weight, you're eating more than what your body needs for everything, and thus, it stores the excess. The caloric need for strength training isn't an exact science, so gaining a little bit of fat is considered a good thing, because it means the body is adequately fueled to build muscle.

What you may be reading is that people's body fat percentage goes down. This isn't necessarily because they're losing fat, but because they're increasing their muscle mass.

For example, if you weigh 150lbs, and 100lbs is lean body mass (LBM), and 50lbs is fat, you have a body fat percentage of 33%. Now, let's say you've gained 20lbs of muscle and 5lbs of fat (this is unrealistic, but makes the math easier). You now weigh 175lbs, with 120lbs of LBM and 55lbs of fat, or 31% body fat. So, even though you've gained 25lbs, your body fat percentage has gone down.

It's never too late to start strength training, even if you are in a caloric deficit. By strength training now, you'll retain the muscle you have, instead of losing it due to eating at a caloric deficit. So start your strength training now and stop worrying about the number on the scale. Yes, that means you'll go from 120 to 125ish if you do a full "bulk" phase (eating at surplus and focusing on strength training), instead of 110 to 115, but that's okay. You're already having hormone issues for one reason or another, and dropping more weight, especially without regard to whether it's actually fat or not, is only going to exacerbate the issue.

alechua

Just an update, I regain my period back! I increased my calorie intake and include healthy fats like nuts and drinking soy milk, I don't know if that helped me regain,. I'm just so happy!!

geekyjock76

Congratulations. When you admitted to eating significantly less than first indicated to lose weight as rapidly as possible, it was obvious the reason you lost your period was due to not netting enough as supported by the study I gave you. Again, I am happy for you.

FitForLife81

I haven't had mine in quite sometime either. I am 5'3" and 110lbs but I eat over 2000 calories a day so I know it isn't that. I have an athletic body fat percentage so I think this is the reason it is missing!

I have since started a hormone cream to balance my hormones!

healthnewlife

i'm 5'3 and i lost my period when i was about 125lbs and i am 106 and do not have it! my doctor told me my insides looked fine. she gave me pills but i dont like pills

allysonflorence

try a natural progesterone cream emirita is a good one

alexandriax03

Never taken it but I was in nursing school so I know about the drug… Some people experience side effects- others don't. The main side effects are nausea, fatigue, hot flashes, dizziness, PMS.

rita27ny

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TigerBite

Get your hormones (all of them, complete panels on everything) checked ... Being hypothyroid can cause amenorrhea ...

DancingMoosie

Really would want to build muscle now, but that would mean losing fats right?
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No, you want to eat at maintenance or above to build muscle. If you eat above maintenance, you will actually build muscle and fat, assuming you are lifting heavy;) This is called a bulk. Anyway, you should probably cut back on strenuous cardio until you see your doc. Maybe replace one of those workouts with something like yoga. If you really want to build muscle, though, replace your cardio with some heavy lifting.

allysonflorence

This happens to a lot of women who work out vigorously. It should only be a concern if you want to get pregnant and at your age hormones is a nono.

beagle1983

I know at one point, my periods had stopped. I had other symptoms that went along with low iron. I started taking iron supplements, and within days my period returned, and other symptoms had basically gone away. This may not be the case, but could possibly be something to consider.

Heather8789

I'm dealing with this everyday and every month. I really need some people here for support. It's so sad. I'm drinking parsley tea. I'm on Provera and many more things to get my period back.