Any other ladies lose their period?

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liftforjoy43
liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
edited March 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
If you're a guy and uncomfortable then I'm sorry but I need some advice from other ladies.
I recently went to a gynecologist because I have not had a regular period for two years+ and I always shrugged it off as not important(no mood wings, cramps sounded grrat) but now I'm being told I should be more aware of it due to future health problems.
Problem is the gynecologist wasn't much help. All she advised me to do is to exercise less and gave me pills so it could come back

My background info: I'm a runner (always been a runner) and run 7-13+ miles each day, 5 times a week averaging about 45-55 miles. I'm 5'0 and pretty underweight and I know this is most likely the reason for no period but now I'm a bit stuck as to how much I should reduce my training and if I should gain back some weight?
The gyn wasn't helpful like I said so if any ladies out there could possibly give me advice/suggestions on what would be helpful or what you would do in my situation is appreciate it! Thank you
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Replies

  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    cmh308 wrote: »
    If you're a guy and uncomfortable then I'm sorry but I need some advice from other ladies.
    I recently went to a gynecologist because I have not had a regular period for two years+ and I always shrugged it off as not important(no mood wings, cramps sounded grrat) but now I'm being told I should be more aware of it due to future health problems.
    Problem is the gynecologist wasn't much help. All she advised me to do is to exercise less and gave me pills so it could come back

    My background info: I'm a runner (always been a runner) and run 7-13+ miles each day, 5 times a week averaging about 45-55 miles. I'm 5'0 and pretty underweight and I know this is most likely the reason for no period but now I'm a bit stuck as to how much I should reduce my training and if I should gain back some weight?
    The gyn wasn't helpful like I said so if any ladies out there could possibly give me advice/suggestions on what would be helpful or what you would do in my situation is appreciate it! Thank you

    Amenorrhea is a sign that you are severely underweight, malnourished, over exercising, and generally putting too much stress on your body. Follow your doctors instructions to gain weight and cut back your exercise.

    They werent much help. All they said was to "exercise less" with no specific details. I'm just asking for suggestions as to how much?
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    cmh308 wrote: »
    If you're a guy and uncomfortable then I'm sorry but I need some advice from other ladies.
    I recently went to a gynecologist because I have not had a regular period for two years+ and I always shrugged it off as not important(no mood wings, cramps sounded grrat) but now I'm being told I should be more aware of it due to future health problems.
    Problem is the gynecologist wasn't much help. All she advised me to do is to exercise less and gave me pills so it could come back

    My background info: I'm a runner (always been a runner) and run 7-13+ miles each day, 5 times a week averaging about 45-55 miles. I'm 5'0 and pretty underweight and I know this is most likely the reason for no period but now I'm a bit stuck as to how much I should reduce my training and if I should gain back some weight?
    The gyn wasn't helpful like I said so if any ladies out there could possibly give me advice/suggestions on what would be helpful or what you would do in my situation is appreciate it! Thank you

    Amenorrhea is a sign that you are severely underweight, malnourished, over exercising, and generally putting too much stress on your body. Follow your doctors instructions to gain weight and cut back your exercise.

    They werent much help. All they said was to "exercise less" with no specific details. I'm just asking for suggestions as to how much?

    When was the last time you had a week off runnung?

    A few months ago
  • amyteacake
    amyteacake Posts: 768 Member
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    I suggest listening to your doctors advice. They're the best person to know about what you should be doing. Exercising less and eating more is the best option for you as losing your period isn't a good thing - unless, you know, you're pregnant.

    As others have said, slowly start to up your calorie intake by at least 100 calories for around 3 weeks and see if that helps. As for you training, maybe cut down the mileage, or how much training you're doing per week. Like cut it from 5 to 4/3 days a week
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    What is your current bmi?

  • tramaine_21
    tramaine_21 Posts: 348 Member
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    Recovery, Recovery!! Your body needs rest big time! You may not even need to change your diet just reduce your runs to 2xs a week since your running distance is pretty vast. For me, mentally, I feel like i'm not doing enough if I'm not working out 5xs a week, but when I reduce my workouts to 2-3xs a week for an hour I can see the same good results as I did if I workout all week long. AND--my body has a chance to relax. I'm not a Dr, but I hope this helps.
  • ElizabethAN2017
    ElizabethAN2017 Posts: 565 Member
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    Ditto what others mentioned. Also it may be good to get a referral to an Endocrinologist. They helped me years ago. Take care :)
  • DawnEmbers
    DawnEmbers Posts: 2,451 Member
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    Calories and possibly see how your iron levels are doing. Even when I was obese I would skip for months as had iron issues.
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    cmh308 wrote: »
    If you're a guy and uncomfortable then I'm sorry but I need some advice from other ladies.
    I recently went to a gynecologist because I have not had a regular period for two years+ and I always shrugged it off as not important(no mood wings, cramps sounded grrat) but now I'm being told I should be more aware of it due to future health problems.
    Problem is the gynecologist wasn't much help. All she advised me to do is to exercise less and gave me pills so it could come back

    My background info: I'm a runner (always been a runner) and run 7-13+ miles each day, 5 times a week averaging about 45-55 miles. I'm 5'0 and pretty underweight and I know this is most likely the reason for no period but now I'm a bit stuck as to how much I should reduce my training and if I should gain back some weight?
    The gyn wasn't helpful like I said so if any ladies out there could possibly give me advice/suggestions on what would be helpful or what you would do in my situation is appreciate it! Thank you

    Amenorrhea is a sign that you are severely underweight, malnourished, over exercising, and generally putting too much stress on your body. Follow your doctors instructions to gain weight and cut back your exercise.

    They werent much help. All they said was to "exercise less" with no specific details. I'm just asking for suggestions as to how much?

    When was the last time you had a week off runnung?

    A few months ago

    Start there then. Add 100 cals a week for the next 3 weeks so you're in a slight surplus and enjoy the extra food. When your weight becomes stable, increase the cals again.

    Half your mileage if you're not training for a specific race right now?

    Sorry you confused me, do you mean take a week off running or just to half my mileage?
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    What is your current bmi?

    I think it's 15-16?
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
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    I would run only 3x a week but don't increase your distance to "make up" for not running the other 2 days.

    I would increase calories 100 to 200 calories per day.

    How much fat are you getting daily? Did your Doctor talk to you about fat affecting hormones?
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    What is your current bmi?

    I think it's 15-16?

    No wonder you lost your period, you are severely underweight. If I were you I would be cutting down the running for a while and making a serious effort to gain.

    Oh trust me Im definitely going to make sure to gain more weight. The thing is I want to be able to continue running whilst gaining. Not afraid of gaining at all plus I love the extra food lol
    I was thinking maybe cutting it down to 4 days a week and maybe run at an easy pace for just an hour? I normally like to run over the hour but that may sound a bit excessive?
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    mochapygmy wrote: »
    I would run only 3x a week but don't increase your distance to "make up" for not running the other 2 days.

    I would increase calories 100 to 200 calories per day.

    How much fat are you getting daily? Did your Doctor talk to you about fat affecting hormones?

    Does 4 times a week for about an hour, maybe more sound excessive? And I have no idea about the exact amount but I do eat alot of almonds, peanut/almond butter, walnuts/pecans,chia seeds, eggs so I think I may take in a good amount? They didn't mention too much about it but that it could help to increase it
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Your Dr isn't concerned about your weight? Just as a point of reference back in the day (not sure if they changed this or not) the bmi requires to be diagnosed with anorexia was 16.5 so higher than what you are now. Not sure how you can run so much with such a low weight. You really should focus on your health and getting up to a healthy weight as being that underweight is very dangerous.
  • liftforjoy43
    liftforjoy43 Posts: 33 Member
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    Your Dr isn't concerned about your weight? Just as a point of reference back in the day (not sure if they changed this or not) the bmi requires to be diagnosed with anorexia was 16.5 so higher than what you are now. Not sure how you can run so much with such a low weight. You really should focus on your health and getting up to a healthy weight as being that underweight is very dangerous.

    No she was but all she advised me to do is exercise less and gave me pills to bring back my period for a while. My labs were not too bad either. As for my weight, I've never been one to weigh myself. Just this recent checkup, I was weighed for the first time in a while and have been now keeping an eye on it so I can start gaining
  • BeccaLoves2lift
    BeccaLoves2lift Posts: 375 Member
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    Could you run for only 30 minutes 4x a week? I think that would be a good amount. And increase your calories by 100-200 per day to start.