Not again....amenorrhea :(

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littleburgy
littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I was worried this would happen. Now I fear it has and I'm pretty angry and upset about it... I think my periods have stopped because of low body fat/over exercising. The reason I say this is because I went through this before (in college, many many years ago). Last time, I saw a gyno, had to gain some weight and they gave me some hormones to "kickstart" it.

It's only been this month that it's been really, really, really late but I feel I've probably gotten thinner than I should have. It wasn't something that I intended to happen, I don't know if it's just my build, but I tend to have low body fat naturally and I probably should have set my goal weight at a higher goal than I did. I just really enjoy fitness and being in shape, but it frustrates me that I seem to lose my periods so much easier than other active women do.

Has anyone had this happen and been able to resolve it without having to go to the doctor and take hormones again? Can this just resolve itself naturally if I gain a little back and cut down on my exercise? I had been exercising several days a week and have felt great but I can't just go around without periods. Brittle bones are not my thing.

Reason I am reluctant to see a doctor is because it's a much more tedious and drawn out process getting any kind of specialist treatment in the UK than it was in the US and getting time off work is a pain in the butt. I also have hypothyroid but I recently got tested without any report back of problems and don't believe it to be pregnancy.

If I have to see a doctor I will, I will try to gain a little back and cut down on training. But just wondering if anyone else has been able to resolve this without medical intervention.
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Replies

  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    How many calories are you netting over a five day period? What's your bf percentage, weight and height? Although very low amounts of fat mass can cause disruption of LH pulsatility and ovarian function, chronically assuming low energy availability - net calories - is the leading cause. A.B. Loucks has done a lot of research on the topic including this one:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12519869/
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
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    Net calories have been 1700-1800. I would eat up to about 2200 on days I'd work out. I had been at the gym 5-6 days a week, 1-2 hours.

    I'm 5'8" and last time I went below 145 pounds I lost my periods. All I know is that when I was at 130 in college, my body fat when I got a hydrostatic test at the university I was studying at was 5.6%. I honestly had no idea I was that low at the time. I don't have the same testing available since I've moved overseas since then and the caliper test wasn't as accurate, so I'm not sure what my percentage is now. I keep a really busy work schedule so I haven't had the resources or even know how to get it tested because I'm in a different country. Last time they had me gain weight up to 145 pounds to get my periods back. So I had been hoping that being at that weight again would be fine. I'm so angry at myself for not stopping when I was at 150 to be safe, I could have avoided this.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Talk to your dr. You are not eating that low and 1-2 hours of exercise per day do not excuse this. It sounds more probable you have some other hormonal issue. Irregular periods are very common and there are several reasons for this.
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
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    I suppose if I need to see a doc I will. I'll wait a few days and give them a call if it doesn't resolve soon. It's just that my cycle never gets weird unless I try to get super fit, it was fairly regular before I decided to lose weight and exercise more.

    I'm not sure what to do in the meantime. I was so pissed off today I didn't bother to log anything.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Talk to your dr. You are not eating that low and 1-2 hours of exercise per day do not excuse this. It sounds more probable you have some other hormonal issue. Irregular periods are very common and there are several reasons for this.

    I agree with this. Premature ovarian failure (POF) and thyroid issues often go hand in hand, so it could be that. It could be a hundred different things. Make an appointment with the doctor. A full blood test of your FSH, thyroid. etc. will probably reveal the answer.
  • aplhabetacheesecake
    aplhabetacheesecake Posts: 181 Member
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    I lost mine shortly after they started due to not managing my type 1 diabetes properly. As soon as I got back on track they came back.... I was neither too small or big in my teens

    Fast forward a few years, I went on the pill and faithfully got a period every month, but coming off the pill they disappeared. I am also hypothyroid, and apparently my levels are fine, tested every 3 months) It took a whole team of specialists to tackle the fact that I am already, at 32 in ovarian failure.
    So please, get checked out sooner than later
  • freddi11e
    freddi11e Posts: 317 Member
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    I'm 5'5 and when I went from 125 to 113 my period stopped for almost 2 years. I had to gain my weight back to 120 to get it back... i'm pretty bummed about it.. now i'm at 120.... i refused the kickstart hormones, and just ate more to get it back. now i'm introducing exercise, so i'm hoping i can just build muscle instead of lose pounds so that i'll be thinner with my period :)

    So ironic tho, it came back right when I started dating, but for the two years I was single I didnt have it... funny how that works.
  • caroldavison332
    caroldavison332 Posts: 864 Member
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    When you hear hoof beats, look for horses and not unicorns.

    If your periods stopped the last time your body fat was this low, changes are you are experiencing the same thing.

    Our bodies stop ovulating when our body fat is too low or too high because it presumes that we are not healthy enough to carry a baby so it doesn't produce eggs. .

    If I read correctly you posted that your BMI was 6.5. I hope that one of us is mistaken. According to BMI charts this is how you would rank:

    Weight Status

    Below 18.5 Underweight
    18.5 - 24.9 Normal
    25.0 - 29.9 Overweight
    30.0 and Above Obese
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
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    If I read correctly you posted that your BMI was 6.5. I hope that one of us is mistaken.

    My BMI is and was "normal" (5' 8", 130 pounds), but my body fat percentage when I weighed 130 pounds in college was 5.6%... I was like a gymnast. At the time I thought "but 130 shouldn't be that low" though I did get a lot of the funny looks and comments about being too thin so they put me up to 145 pounds and that did the trick.

    I'm comfortable scaling back my training and gaining just a little bit, though now that I'm thinking more about this I will take everyone's advice and talk to a doctor as well, because even when I was losing weight but heavier in the fall, my cycle was all over the place and while I assumed it was just a temporary hiccup, I don't want to be ignoring anything. I went on a trip back home to the U.S. which caused it to be 2 weeks apart around Thanksgiving, and yet 2 cycles later it was really long. And now it's been over a month.

    I appreciate everyone's feedback, it's given me a lot of good insight about this.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I have hit the same issue, only for me, it is highly unusual to skip or stop my periods, and it has not happened since I was 18 (20 years ago) when I was severely anorexic. I usually have to dip below 120Ibs for mine to stop (I am 5'10), so with my currently being 138, I have no idea why mine have stopped. I was training hard all last year... no issues. Even with my bodyfat at 12%, I still got them. Had 2 months off over December and January, due to illness and loss of motivation, and threw myself back into my workouts towards the end of January. Got my last period 3rd February, so not sure what the reason is in my case. Not had my bodyfat checked since last Oct, but I am fairly sure I cannot have dropped below 12%.

    And like yourself, I am netting around 1700 calories, and I usually total 2100-2700 calories a day.
  • JenK71379
    JenK71379 Posts: 8 Member
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    I am 34, I will be 35 in July. I was just diagnosed 1 year ago with POF. Basically premature menopause. Luckily I have 2 beautiful and health children. You should seek advice from a specialist. Being in menopause at such an early age puts me at risk for osteoporosis and heart disease. I also have a VERY strong family history of OSTEOPOROSIS. So I need to be extra careful and use my hormones as instructed. All it takes is blood work.
  • acarmelo1
    acarmelo1 Posts: 76 Member
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    Maybe you are prego?
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I am fairly sure that pregnancy is the first thing anyone experiencing this would consider.
    Certainly not a possibility in my case, unless it is an immaculate conception.
  • Alassonde
    Alassonde Posts: 228 Member
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    Mine stopped right after losing 20 pounds a few years ago, but my doctor said if I didn't care (I'm long past wanting more children) then I shouldn't worry about it. It came back on its own after a few months. I was kinda bummed. It may resolve on its own....
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I did that for many years. I didn't even realize it was because my body fat was low until it wasn't any more.

    I never did anything about it - and had two children. It equalibrated after my first child (even though I was very thin afterwards).

    For ME (maybe not for you), my normal hormone fluctuations depend on my social environment. When I am around other women, I cycle at 28-30 days. When I spend a lot of time alone or in an environment with a lot of men and few women (like when I was in grad school), I cycle at 40-54 days. Any stress between 18-24 days would delay onset of my period for several weeks.

    I also found that intercourse would ALWAYS trigger my period if I was late. No sex, infrequent menstruation. Again, timing was everything.

    Low body fat means you don't have resources for reproduction. Men stop producing sperm. Women stop menstruating. You're at the bottom edge. When I gained weight that stopped being a problem without any other intervention.
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
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    Of course, see a doctor.

    I have a friend who is about 5'7" and when she was younger would go through unhealthy extremes to lose weight which also made her lose her period for long stretches of time. She was never underweight though. Now, as an adult, even when she loses a normal amount of weight in a healthy way, her period will disappear like it used to years ago when she was very thin.

    In my own experience, just having lost 8 lbs in 2.5 months, my periods have gone from heavy flow of 7 days to a heavy flow for 2 days. I'm not complaining. But yeah, any change in body composition and habits is going to change your menstruation. But yeah.. see a doctor :)
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
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    Maybe you are prego?

    Nope. Tested negative and I don't feel remotely pregnant.
    I have a friend who is about 5'7" and when she was younger would go through unhealthy extremes to lose weight which also made her lose her period for long stretches of time. She was never underweight though. Now, as an adult, even when she loses a normal amount of weight in a healthy way, her period will disappear like it used to years ago when she was very thin

    That sounds like me. I lost steadily over the past few months, but nothing out of the ordinary or unhealthy. I was slightly overweight when I first started losing weight, but both times I lost my cycle I was "normal weight". I was able to lose just as easily in my 30s as I did in my late teens. My build is a lot like my dad's, when he'd go on a diet (and that's what it was for him) his weight would just fly off.
  • Love4fitnesslove4food2
    Love4fitnesslove4food2 Posts: 711 Member
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    Yes, by eating more and exercising less. There's really no secret to it.
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
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    Definitely see a doctor. I was all concerned that I had messed up my body with diet/exercise, but it turns out, I'm just post-menopausal at age 42 with few other symptoms. (So I do still face potential boney density issues, but at least it's not because of anything I did.) My doctor ran a hormone blood panel and he said that my results wouldn't be from diet/exercise--just genetics. (Turns out, my mom hit menopause at age 36 with no symptoms.) It doesn't sound like you've been eating or exercising in a way that would cause this, but only a check with a doctor will tell you for sure.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
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    You need a certain amount of body fat to support hormone function, plain and simple, no matter what you weigh.
    You also need a certain amount of body fat to carry out other metabolic processes.
    Welcome to the world of athletes who never get their periods.
    I'm pretty sure you know what to do not to drop below that.

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