Dude, where's my period?
October 14, 2011 9:31 AM Subscribe
Dude, where's my period? Or, does anyone have any experiences to share of what most probably is exercise-induced amenorrhea?
My periods have disappeared. It took me a while to notice but last time I had to shell out for tampons was around April and given that I'm a lesbian in early thirties, I am definitely not pregnant and most probably not menopausal. However, googling around on the Internets suggests that I probably overdid it with exercise and possibly stress - it's no fun working for an organisation that is being restructured to the point of being restructured out of my own job and I used exercise to cope and became quite obsessive about it. My BMI is 21 but my relationship with food at the moment isn't great, either. So I am now waiting to hear from my doctor regarding the blood results, seeing a nutritionist, working with a therapist and all that jazz but does anyone have any insights or lessons they would like to share? If you ended up in a similar situation, how did you recover and how long did it take you to get there? If you had a problem with amenorrhea (i.e. loss of periods), are you now recovered and able to exercise again? Because I would love to be able to keep running and doing all sorts of different things, just a bit lost as to how to find the balance again. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
My periods have disappeared. It took me a while to notice but last time I had to shell out for tampons was around April and given that I'm a lesbian in early thirties, I am definitely not pregnant and most probably not menopausal. However, googling around on the Internets suggests that I probably overdid it with exercise and possibly stress - it's no fun working for an organisation that is being restructured to the point of being restructured out of my own job and I used exercise to cope and became quite obsessive about it. My BMI is 21 but my relationship with food at the moment isn't great, either. So I am now waiting to hear from my doctor regarding the blood results, seeing a nutritionist, working with a therapist and all that jazz but does anyone have any insights or lessons they would like to share? If you ended up in a similar situation, how did you recover and how long did it take you to get there? If you had a problem with amenorrhea (i.e. loss of periods), are you now recovered and able to exercise again? Because I would love to be able to keep running and doing all sorts of different things, just a bit lost as to how to find the balance again. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
I didn't exercise as much as a marathoner, but this happened to me, and I considered it a GOOD THING.
I'd never had PMS, but while I wasn't having periods, I wasn't troubled by the inconvenience.
posted by maurreen at 9:51 AM on October 14, 2011
I'd never had PMS, but while I wasn't having periods, I wasn't troubled by the inconvenience.
posted by maurreen at 9:51 AM on October 14, 2011
Back in the 80s, I lost about 80 pounds in six months. (I thought I was dieting and exercising but I was actually undereating for the incredible amount of exercise I doing -- overtraining, really).
I also lost my period for about a year. When it returned, I did not recognize the phenomenon!
I was told that if you are not trying to become pregnant and are eating and exercising as recommended by your physician then amenorrhea is not really a big deal. When it does come back, you might notice considerably more discomfort than you are used to, but MMV.
posted by jgirl at 10:09 AM on October 14, 2011
I also lost my period for about a year. When it returned, I did not recognize the phenomenon!
I was told that if you are not trying to become pregnant and are eating and exercising as recommended by your physician then amenorrhea is not really a big deal. When it does come back, you might notice considerably more discomfort than you are used to, but MMV.
posted by jgirl at 10:09 AM on October 14, 2011
I just want to add that I realize that bone loss is indeed a big deal. If this goes on for more than a year or can't be tied to stress or nutrition, then a doctor is needed.
posted by jgirl at 10:13 AM on October 14, 2011
posted by jgirl at 10:13 AM on October 14, 2011
Happened to me in high school when I went from biking no miles a day to a minimum of 60 miles a day, on a heavy bike loaded with heavy panniers, for almost six weeks. Also happened a couple of times in college when the combination of stress and nearly no sleep was at its worst. In all instances, it returned fairly soon after the heavy exercise/stress ended and my eating habits improved.
posted by rtha at 11:37 AM on October 14, 2011
posted by rtha at 11:37 AM on October 14, 2011
I had exercise- and stress-induced amenorrhea in my mid 20's, for about a year. I went down all these intense (and in retrospect, regretful) diagnostic paths trying to just get someone to FIX me, but in the end what cured me was that I went on a two month vacation. Within two weeks of leaving town, my period came back.
I had amenorrhea again in my early 30's, and at that time decided to enroll in a clinical trial of some medication (I think it was a hormone treatment). The day before I was supposed to start the study medication, my period came back.
My moral of the story: My reproductive system was just being smart--it didn't want me to get pregnant when I was not in a good place. Once I let go of WORRYING about the amenorrhea (in the latter case), and/or removed various other stressors from my life (in the former), my period came back.
posted by gubenuj at 12:42 PM on October 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
I had amenorrhea again in my early 30's, and at that time decided to enroll in a clinical trial of some medication (I think it was a hormone treatment). The day before I was supposed to start the study medication, my period came back.
My moral of the story: My reproductive system was just being smart--it didn't want me to get pregnant when I was not in a good place. Once I let go of WORRYING about the amenorrhea (in the latter case), and/or removed various other stressors from my life (in the former), my period came back.
posted by gubenuj at 12:42 PM on October 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
This happened to me for about 6 months from exercise and a zillion billion hours of dance a week. My weight was perfectly within the normal range for my height (105) but my body fat percentage was crazy low. I didn't cut back noticeably on the exercise or dance, but I upped my intake of good fats, and my body sorted itself out a month or so later.
If you're sexually active, make sure you're covered with birth control anyway!
spit don't make babies, dude.
posted by elizardbits at 1:54 PM on October 14, 2011
If you're sexually active, make sure you're covered with birth control anyway!
spit don't make babies, dude.
posted by elizardbits at 1:54 PM on October 14, 2011
...Yeah. If you're already seeing a doctor about this, what I'm going to say is probably unnecessary, but I'm posting anyway because of a couple of people who said not to worry.
Ever since I went off the pill (that I was on for 4.5 years) my period has been ridiculously irregular, to the tune of sometimes skipping it for 3-4 months. It's definitely not due to exercise or body fat or whatever, and because of 1) my comically inadequate insurance and 2) the fact that I'm not trying to get pregnant, my doctor said I don't need to worry about /why/ it's happening.
She did, however, repeatedly emphasize to me that it is necessary to menstruate at least once every other month or so in order to maintain uterine health. Every time I see her she stresses that I take care of my uterine health (by taking this hormone pill she prescribed me for when I'm ultra late) for the future.
So. Its good that you're seeing a doctor. For your uterine health...in the future!
That's all.
posted by Temeraria at 2:40 PM on October 14, 2011
Ever since I went off the pill (that I was on for 4.5 years) my period has been ridiculously irregular, to the tune of sometimes skipping it for 3-4 months. It's definitely not due to exercise or body fat or whatever, and because of 1) my comically inadequate insurance and 2) the fact that I'm not trying to get pregnant, my doctor said I don't need to worry about /why/ it's happening.
She did, however, repeatedly emphasize to me that it is necessary to menstruate at least once every other month or so in order to maintain uterine health. Every time I see her she stresses that I take care of my uterine health (by taking this hormone pill she prescribed me for when I'm ultra late) for the future.
So. Its good that you're seeing a doctor. For your uterine health...in the future!
That's all.
posted by Temeraria at 2:40 PM on October 14, 2011
I just have to comment that in general, Temeraria's doc isn't right. There is *not* a need to menstruate every other month, for women in a few cases- some forms of birth control as well as obviously pregnancy can mean many months between bleeding. As some other posters point out though if you don't fix the root cause of your amenorrhea, that can be bad.
You, OP, are therefore right in going to the doc- make sure when you do go to get all of these questions answered by your doc, too. Don't be afraid to ask for help about the emotional side of this either- if you don't feel your relationship with food is good, or your stress level is too high, or whatnot- it's worth getting help with that, too.
Also, BMI is only useful here as a proxy for body fat percentage; your BMI could read as normal even if you just don't have enough fat to menstruate normally.
posted by nat at 9:39 AM on October 15, 2011
You, OP, are therefore right in going to the doc- make sure when you do go to get all of these questions answered by your doc, too. Don't be afraid to ask for help about the emotional side of this either- if you don't feel your relationship with food is good, or your stress level is too high, or whatnot- it's worth getting help with that, too.
Also, BMI is only useful here as a proxy for body fat percentage; your BMI could read as normal even if you just don't have enough fat to menstruate normally.
posted by nat at 9:39 AM on October 15, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
For me, that combination was just enough stress to lose it. I am 5'9" and 155 pounds right now. Then I managed to drop down to 120ish, which was way too thin. It came back for me as soon as I crossed the 145 mark. I would recommend seeing your doctor and putting together a plan. Sometimes, simple solutions are enough. For me, if gaining weight didn't work she was saying that I should consider Hormone Replacement Therapy due to the potential for bone loss (because I outright refused to stop exercising). I don't want to scare you, but seriously, go see your doctor.
Good luck! Feel free to MeMail me with any other questions too.
Also: If you're sexually active, make sure you're covered with birth control anyway!
posted by floweredfish at 9:40 AM on October 14, 2011