Help! I have amenorrhea?

jessicagrieshaber
jessicagrieshaber Posts: 167 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm 22 years old, 5'5" and 120 pounds. I have secondary amenorrhea due to excessive exercise. I haven't had a period since January of 2013 and am getting really worried.

In the past I have seen my gyno who gave me the progesterone pill and said it would give me my period back. It didn't. They wanted to put me on birth control to bring it back, but the nutritionist at my college (Michigan State) said no. She told me I needed to up my calories, which I've tried to do.

I went for an ultrasound a few months ago to make sure that the lining of my uterus was okay and not causing issues. It was. My doctor said my FSH levels were abnormal but that's just because I haven't had my period.

WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MY PERIOD BACK? I'm getting really scared. I don't want to create health complications in the future.

Replies

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I'm 22 years old, 5'5" and 120 pounds. I have secondary amenorrhea due to excessive exercise....

    ....WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MY PERIOD BACK?

    maybe this is crazy talk, but perhaps you could stop, you know, over exercising? along with maybe...eating more foodz?
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    I'm 22 years old, 5'5" and 120 pounds. I have secondary amenorrhea due to excessive exercise. I haven't had a period since January of 2013 and am getting really worried.

    In the past I have seen my gyno who gave me the progesterone pill and said it would give me my period back. It didn't. They wanted to put me on birth control to bring it back, but the nutritionist at my college (Michigan State) said no. She told me I needed to up my calories, which I've tried to do.

    I went for an ultrasound a few months ago to make sure that the lining of my uterus was okay and not causing issues. It was. My doctor said my FSH levels were abnormal but that's just because I haven't had my period.

    WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MY PERIOD BACK? I'm getting really scared. I don't want to create health complications in the future.

    In the kindest way possible, I think your period is the symptom rather than the cause. Reproduction is a vital life process. When your body feels threatened enough to cut that off, you really need to evaluate what you are doing and what it means to you.

    If you are an Olympic gymnast and are healthy otherwise, you might be able to ignore this until 2016 as long as your doctor agrees.

    If you aren't an elite athlete, it's time to sit down and figure out how best to take care of yourself - and get to the root of why you are struggling with fueling yourself appropriately.
  • misskris78
    misskris78 Posts: 136 Member
    If you are an elite athlete or even someone on scholarship, this might just be a way of life for you... at least for the next few years. Keep talking with your nutritionist and make sure you're getting nutrients you need to stay healthy. If you're not an "athlete" then maybe you should talk to a therapist to figure out why you're exercising so much and what you're hoping to accomplish. Is exercise a means to fight anxiety? It sounds like you're getting the physiological and nutritional advice you need, but the psychological assistance can go a long way as well.

    If none of the above applies, try eating and gaining some weight. I'm 5'5" and 120 would be very underweight for me... but I'm 36. For many, you're probably at an ideal weight.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    I'm 22 years old, 5'5" and 120 pounds. I have secondary amenorrhea due to excessive exercise....

    ....WHAT CAN I DO TO GET MY PERIOD BACK?

    maybe this is crazy talk, but perhaps you could stop, you know, over exercising? along with maybe...eating more foodz?

    ^This.

    I'll just put these links out here just in case.

    http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/find-help-support
    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1575987-eating-disorder-resources
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Simple: Stop excessively exercising.
  • Erilynn93
    Erilynn93 Posts: 256 Member
    Simple: Stop excessively exercising.

    Or at least eat more!
  • j4nash
    j4nash Posts: 1,719 Member
    Go to a specialist.

    I highly doubt anyone on these forums has the expertise to help you. Especially considering it has been over a year and a half and you're so young.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    You should probably try eating more than 1300 calories per day. I know you said you "tried" to increase them, but since it hasn't worked you probably need to increase them some more.

    Also consider cutting down on your exercise if you can't eat enough to support your activity level.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Go to a specialist.

    I highly doubt anyone on these forums has the expertise to help you. Especially considering it has been over a year and a half and you're so young.

    She's gone to several specialists. They told her to eat more and stop over exercising. Going to see another and not heeding their advice won't help
  • jessicagrieshaber
    jessicagrieshaber Posts: 167 Member
    Thanks for being so sensitive with a clearly touchy subject. What is "too much exercise"? That's what I don't get. How many days is considered too much?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Thanks for being so sensitive with a clearly touchy subject. What is "too much exercise"? That's what I don't get. How many days is considered too much?

    ask your specialist
  • Nikkisfitblog
    Nikkisfitblog Posts: 149 Member
    I had amenorrhea last year.

    Not because of a calorie restriction. Or because of excessive exercise.

    But because I was suffering severe stress and anxiety and I wasn't until I had a attack when driving did get help and receive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this treated the cause and the symptoms such as amenorrhea fixed themselves in time.

    Get help! This is not embarrassing. Its only embarrassing if you go any longer without getting treatment.
  • VBnotbitter
    VBnotbitter Posts: 820 Member
    If your doctors, your nutritionist and pretty much all the random internet strangers replying all agree that you need to eat more and exercise less then maybe that's the answer.

    I looked back on your diary and you are logging consistently low calories, you don't vary what you eat and it looks like you have a very tight control over your diet. You are recording some high calorie burns on most days. If you use the report feature run yourself a report on your net calories over the last 30 days or so. This will be a pretty good demonstration on how low you intake really is. You will be missing out on essential nutrients your body needs to repair. Amenorrhea will just be a visible symptom.

    Now you need to be honest with yourself about your self controlling behaviour, your resistance to advice to change and consider going to get some help and counselling.

    Good luck

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