Amenorrhea (no period) experiences?

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  • zrmac804
    zrmac804 Posts: 369 Member
    From my experience, I had it for about 2 months and absolutely freaked out (I really do get pretty intense periods...). I found it was when I had changed my diet drastically and also started exercising more. I guess my body was just adjusting?

    My tip: wear a white skirt. The first time I have worn a white skirt in years, and they finally came out of nowhere! Even better? Dad had to point it out *face palm*

    So true. you can always rely on Murphy's Law! :embarassed:
  • tinypastels
    tinypastels Posts: 32 Member
    Exact same boat here. Been PCOS since puberty but I'm afraid its ovarian failure. I also looked into Hypothalamic Ammenorhea, which categorizes it in two ways. Either you are underweight, or your body has a different "ideal" weight. This can happen if you were overweight during puberty, or perhaps for a long time otherwise, so even though you're healthy, your body doesn't want to consider it as healthy until you're overweight again. If I were in that situation, I'd take the healthy weight over the period. But I KNOW hormones SUCK! I'm actually taking Provera right now, and even though everyone else hates it, I'm feeling wonderful, like I've been lacking progesterone THAT much! And whats fascinating, when I took another kind of progesterone and felt awful so its really trial and error.
  • jett254
    jett254 Posts: 64 Member
    I'm seeing the registered nutritionist on Tuesday so I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to say, while I wait for the endocrinologist appointment.

    In the meantime, I've upped the healthy fats in my diet - added almonds, avocado, starting cooking with some healthy oils, eating higher fat yogurt.

    I don't mind not having a period, but my hormones are all out of whack and there are health consequences of not having a period (e.g. bone density issues among other things). There is no point in working so hard to live a healthy lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise if in fact, what I'm doing is causing health problems. However, I strongly feel like I am eating enough and not over-exercising so it is stressing me out. I'm optimistic that the lack of enough healthy fats may have been my issue but I'm anxious to hear with the nutritionist has to say.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    I've been like that from the start coz of high testosterone levels. Been to 3 OB gynes who told me that it must be PCOS and gave me pills and metformin but to no avail other than I now use metformin as part of my maintenance for type 2 diabetes. Aside from that I also have a beard which I shave everyday.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    Do you know your body fat percentage? I have experienced something similar, and it was due to low body fat. I was dancing competitively, teaching dance after my training, dancing in a couple shows a week, and running to stay as light as possible for my partner (lifts). It was an intense training schedule on top of a physically demanding job that caused the loss for me. According to my doctor, this is common for female athletes.

    Apologies if the body fat has been brought up prior to my post, I skimmed the responses after the original.
  • ashlbubba
    ashlbubba Posts: 224 Member
    Make sure you see that Endo.. my husband had some reproductive issues, obviously not amenorrhea, and was diagnosed with a Prolactinoma (a pituitary tumor) -- which sounds a lot scarier than it is in most cases... Amenorrhea is a symptom of this too.. and your pituitary gland is responsible for most of your body's hormones.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    Seriously, have they given you an ultrasound, MRI or anything. Not getting a period is serious. Don't let them push you aside. Get an ultrasound first, at least. :heart:

    Can you elaborate on what "a while" means?
  • cng31183
    cng31183 Posts: 126 Member
    My only advice is to stay away from google. I had it a couple years ago and the doctor was never overly concerned but ran some tests anyway. Then I googled it and got myself all worked up while waiting for the test results. Turned out it was caused by rapid weight loss and it returned after 5 months.

    ^^ this. When I was really really heavy I skipped for a year. Googled it and wound up in tears. Turned out to be hormonal: my body decided I wasn't healthy enough to support another life. Dropped 30 lbs and it came back.
  • scarrletti_girl
    scarrletti_girl Posts: 479 Member
    I looked on webmd because i havent had my period in over a year and they have some helpful things on here, so most of what these ladies are telling you are a possibility.
  • jett254
    jett254 Posts: 64 Member
    Hi everyone,

    Just to update - I met with a registered nutritionist yesterday who agreed/confirmed that (1) I'm still a healthy BMI, (2) I'm not over-exercising, (3) I'm not undereating at 2000+ calories per day and (4) the most likely problem if my hormone imbalance issues are indeed due to lifestyle is that my healthy fats were too low. She recommended I get at least 25% of my diet from fat or ideally closer to 30%. I'm making those changes now. I'll still be seeing an endocrinologist in a few weeks as well.

    I appreciate the support. I hope this issue resolves quickly!

    Jen
  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
    I know this happens a lot with professional dancers, I majored in dance and teach now. Glad you met with professionals but here is an article from Dance Magazine with some tips on how to resolve the issue, thought you might be interested

    http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/February-2013/Your-Body-The-Bone-Bank
  • jett254
    jett254 Posts: 64 Member
    I know this happens a lot with professional dancers, I majored in dance and teach now. Glad you met with professionals but here is an article from Dance Magazine with some tips on how to resolve the issue, thought you might be interested

    http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/February-2013/Your-Body-The-Bone-Bank

    Thanks - that is helpful! I'm definitely taking this seriously and trying to do most if not all of the things mentioned in the article. I know that I've added having avocado to my sandwich at lunch, having nuts and a hard boiled egg for a snack instead of carrots and a laughing cow cheese, and I've switched to full fat yogurt instead of fat free yogurt. I'm trying to use more healthy oils and have almond butter too. I'm going to grab some hummus at the store today. Crossing my fingers that these changes make a difference!
  • Squirkie
    Squirkie Posts: 135 Member
    I've had this experience where it lasted for 6 months. At the time, I was in the doctor's range of what is the ideal weight/BMI. Everything felt and seemed right - I actually enjoyed being "free". However I recognized that it was 'not normal'. I went to the doctor and all my bloodwork was fine however the doctor did state that if it did not start within the following month, they would prescribe a medication to cause it to start. Luckily for me, it started within that time frame. All that to say, you are doing the right thing. Go to the doctor and follow their instructions and try not to worry about it. It is probably from your workout routine and if all your tests are fine, it should not cause concern. Every woman's body is different.

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