Amenorrhea (no period) experiences?

I have no experience with amenorrhea as a result of weight loss.

That said, in this situation, I would calculate my body fat percentage ( http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/ ) to see if low body fat is a culprit.

Also, ask about a bone density scan when you see the endocrinologist -- bone density declines as a result of menopause, and if you've gone into early menopause you might need to compensate for that. Is there any family history of early menopause?

I would leave it up to the doctor to diagnose.


But maybe it's all the exercise. I heard that alot of female athletes don't get their periods because of all the activity level? Not sure if it's true or not but maybe that has something to do with it!

I'm on the other end of the spectrum mine caused from obesity. Never been blessed with a kid.

Just a thought but sex hormones are composed from cholesterol try some vitamin D supplements and make sure you are getting at least 30% of fats into your diet.

What does the composition of fat look like in your diet?

Oh nvm I see you are getting a D supplement. How many IU are in there? Out of curiosity why are you following such a low fat diet? Why not add a whole egg into there? Some nuts? Maybe start looking at the full fat yogurts.

Honestly, I don't really ever focus on the macro breakdown of my diet but I was starting to wonder if maybe the low level of fat in my diet might be the culprit as opposed to the amount of calories. I think I will try to increase the fat in my diet. Right now, I was just eating what I liked, not picking it because of the fat content.

Of course speak to the endo! But I was just thinking wouldnt have to be much either. Add some nice quality nut oils to your veggies, a half an avocado, nuts, beautiful pieces of cold water fish like haddock or salmon. If you enjoy dairy maybe try the 2%. Whole eggs the yolk is loaded with B vitamins and cholesterol which may not hurt. Smart Balances makes a really nice spread that has a great mix of poly and mono fats.

In the past year since losing weight I have experienced very odd fluctuations with my period.... Last year I bleed for an entire month, got on BC to see if that would fix it... It didn't, I just continued to bleed for another 3 months. Once I finally stopped the BC my periods instantly went back to normal and were clock work (which was a huge relief after bleeding for 4 months!!)

However this year my periods are becoming more and more irregular, sometimes being late for upwards of 10 days most months. I don't have a complete loss of period, but I have been a little worried at what my body is doing. My period symptoms are changing too. I will go to the doctor if this persists, but it is frustrating since I used to have periods that would come every 27 days no matter what! Now it is a guessing game!!!

I think it may have to do with environmental factors, because the months where my period is over a week late I have had to deal with a death, midterms, finals, vacation, etc. But stress never affected my periods before :frown:

I've had an amenorrhea episode too...started several-ish years ago during college. I'm 5'4" and prior to some weight loss was about 140. I remember deciding after one reallly indulgent xmas break that I was going to be "really healthy" in the new year. I'd always exercised in college (started at the end of high school) - it was usually about 30 mins of elliptical treadmill most days of the week and I walked around a (very hilly) campus quite a bit. However, during my healthy phase I was pretty much doing 1 hr of intense elliptical work 6 days/wk and decided that I would eat 1800 cals/day. I think the 1800 was loosely based on something that I had in my head from a few years of on-and-off reading of magazines like Shape/Self/etc. I had one "cheat day" a week where I DID eat whatever I wanted. I remember getting down to about 123. I think I stayed close to 125 for the last year and a half or so of college-I remember my period getting realllly irregular (we're talking completely skipping a month, 6 wks apart) a few months into my new, intensive routine. I don't remember the exact date that the complete disappearance happened, but it lasted for 6-8 months. Yikes!!

The funny thing is, I KNOW (and knew then) that that is hardly a dangerous BMI for my height. In retrospect, though, I think my body just *likes* to be a little bigger than that; perhaps even more importantly, it seems that it doesn't respond well to intense cardio like that and needs probably 2000ish or more calories/day if that level of cardio (especially with an active lifestyle) is approached.

Toward the end of the 6-8 month period, I was pretty freaked out and went to my doctor. All of my tests (hormones, thyroid, electrolytes, etc) were normal. She basically wanted me to "wait and see" if my period returned after a few more months. However, I found it interesting that she told me that some women have a hypothalamus that is more sensitive to any perceived form of stress and thus will stop menstruating more readily than others. It could have been that my body was sensing the "new" calorie restriction (thinking I ate 2000 or a little more a day before??) and more intense exercise as a stressor and that the whole hormone loop was disrupted.

By this point, I 1) wanted my period back! 2) was kind of sick of allll the cardio 3) was realizing I was more hungry more often than I would like to be-which was creating binge-like periods on my "free" days and 4) was loving yoga more and more-it was doing great things for my body-sculpting and giving me definition that the elliptical never gave. Sooooo....with these realizations, I scaled back the cardio. I work 3 12hr shifts/week and exercise on my off days, now doing roughly 2 days/week with 30 mins of elliptical and 2 days/week with pretty intense hour-long vinyasa yoga classes. Unlike during my more restrictive college days, I NEVER push myself to do elliptical + yoga in the same day. For a while, and frequently now too, I eat closer to 2000. My period actually finally returned/became quite regular when I was around 130-135. I'm now slowwwwly coming back down to 130 from 135 and my period just came-right on time. My tiny weight loss this time is NOT going to be accomplished through crazy cardio-but just through more mindful eating and little tweaks in my daily habits.

I realize that I have probably rambled on a LOT, but all of this has taught me that not having your period is NOT okay, and your body is probably trying to tell you that you are doing something it doesn't like! I think it took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that I was NOT meant to be 125 or 120, and that is totally okay! (Conversely, I have realized that my body/mind don't really like to be 140ish, either). You don't have to "let yourself go" - maybe just creep up your calories a little with healthy foods or relax your exercise routine a bit (extra rest days?). I can honestly tell you that I now am more comfortable with my body that I ever have been, I really LIKE most of my exercise (yoga in particular has been a godsend-my core actually has some muscle!), and I have a healthier and more balanced relationship with food :-)

Good luck to you!

I was amenorrheal back in the mid-90s when I went off of the pill and started trying to get pregnant. Longest period of no period was 119 days which wasn't very helpful to our goals. It never did go back to normal until after my son was born in 98 and doctors and nurse practitioners, male and female alike, were NOT very helpful like you said. Just said it's normal, happens sometimes, nothing to worry about. Here take some prenatal vitamins, won't hurt and you'll be healthier when you do get pregnant. Yeah OK, whatever. I'll take the vitamins but that doesn't solve the essential problem. I guess we just finally hit the "magic day" by accident to conceive our son cause we just stopped trying after a while. When my period returned after that pregnancy though, everything was back on a normalish schedule. Best thing I have come up with for an explanation is that it had something to do with going off the pill after being on for a few years. So that's MY experience with it.

That being said, it sounds like your case might be different than mine. I am 5'2" so not much taller than you so the healthy weight range for us is pretty similar and I can safely say that at 100 lbs., you are riding the line of being unhealthy on the low end. I ran your numbers and your BMI does come out underweight. "Ideal" weight calculators peg your healthy range as 100-132. So it's good you don't plan on losing anymore weight. You say you feel fine and healthy except for the amenorrheal thing and reduced sex drive....but your doctor told you some of your lab tests are cause for concern. SO if I were you I would try to head for a weight more in the mid range of healthy and see if that doesn't clear things up in the cycle department because I have read that heavy exercise or athletic training that results in a very low body weight and body fat % can disrupt the menstrual cycle. Plus, do whatever your doctor recommends regarding your abnormal tests. If that doesn't solve your issue, your doctor will best be able to advise you on how to proceed and maintain your health.

I'm also not underweight as I'm 5'3" and about 121 lbs. I exercise most days of the week, but only for about 30 minutes. My period started going wonky pretty early on in my weight loss journey and I haven't had a period in a little over a year. I am a runner and my period seems to have disappeared completely around the same time I started running.

I also agree that you are not underweight. I am 5'2" and I weigh 100 pounds. I also eat around 2000 calories a day (often more). I am 35 and a mother of two (all my hormones are healthy and I don't take birth control). So, I think you should go to your follow ups and gather more info about what could be causing this. Everyone is a little different in terms of what weight is too low for them when taking body composition and frame size into consideration. But, your doctor should know based on evaluating you.

I can't offer medical advice, but you're definitely not the only one to experience this. I'm 5'5" and around 115. I lost 10 lbs over 6 months. Historically, I was around 110 for a decade without any problems and my BMI is near the low end of normal. I upped my training for my second half marathon back in January, but it wasn't anything more intense than I had done before. Apparently my body disagreed, but instead of missing a period I had a period that lasted 21 days (wish I had just skipped one instead!). I called the nurse's hotline and she really scared me talking about all sorts of possibilities. I went to the OB/GYN, ran some tests, and everything looked normal. She put me on birth control, I didn't have any withdrawal bleeding the first month, but I did the second. My next half marathon is coming up at the end of this month, and everything looks to be in order again. Hopefully it will stay that way! Hope you figure things out and know you're not alone!

I have secondary amenorrhea. Without birth control, I'll go about 6 months or so without a period. I've been this way since I was 16. My OB GYN says it's usually caused by being overweight or severely underweight. However, she did mention to me that there is a tribe in Africa that almost all the women have this issue naturally. So, she told me not to worry. It could be caused by weight or it could just be my natural rhythm.

It is possible to become pregnant even in the absence of a period. She told me to take birth control if I'm sexually active. I have a period every month like "normal" now. I'm taking Tri-Sprintec. They can also induce it by progesterone pills if you don't want to take BC.

(Forgot to mention, it can be caused by several other things. I remember she checked my hormone levels, which were fine. Hormonal imbalances can cause it too.)

When I experienced amenorrhea it was due to a pituitary tumor. Make sure you have your pituitary hormones checked!

I am going thru this now. I haven't had my period since August 2012. I will be 44 this June. I am 5'6", 135 pounds and 21.6% BF which is considered "excellent" for my stats, but by no means too low! Last year, August i weighed about 143 and that September (first month without period) i dropped to 137.5. I thought i might be going thru menopause... Saw my PCP who was completely unconcerned and attributed to my weight loss.. Even though my 44.4 pound loss has been slow (since November 2011). She did routine blood work with no noted issues. Im smack dab in the middle for my BMI. I went to my gynecologist who also seemed unconcerned. She did hormone blood work and all came back totally normal. She said i am not menopausal according to my blood work and i have no other symptoms of menopause outside of not having my period.
I do workout hard and strenuous mixing things up, with various forms of cardio such as spinning, interval training, elliptical, boot camps, hiking, running, Pilates, yoga, etc. i work out 6 days of the week and one of those days is usually a light day doing just hatha yoga and light cardio. I also lift weights changing things up every 4-8 weeks from doing low reps/ heavy weight to low weight/high reps and various mixtures in between.
My diet is largely lacto-ovo vegetarian, which i have been since 1988 so this is NOT a new dietary choice. I try to keep my macros at 50% carbs and 25% for both protein/fat. I take a multivitamin daily as well as omega fatty acids, magnesium and calcium with vitamin D.
I think am beginning to think that it could be training too vigorously although i feel capable and able to maintain my workout schedule and do take time off or lighten things up if i feel my body needs it. The other possibility is adding muscle increases testosterone levels... Although my blood work was normal.
I dont mind not having my period, but it is sort of concerning as to why my normal biological function would just come to a screeching halt in a months time. ????

I've experienced the same thing at times of very high stress and/or a big change in routine. (My BMI is in the overweight range) Often it's your body re-adjusting to stress, and it's very true that everybody is different and reacts differently. If you're otherwise healthy, I wouldn't worry about it.

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*