Amenorrhea
 

Has anyone gone from overweight to normal-weight and developed amenorrhea? I'm 26 and haven't had a period in over a year now. I went to my gynecologist who checked for early menopause and ran a whole battery of blood tests to profile my hormone levels. Both were normal, and three follow-up blood tests also showed no hormonal issues. I've also had a sonogram which revealed no cysts or other clues. So why don't I have a period?

My doctor asked about stress, but I don't think I have any more than the next girl. She asked if I'd lost a significant amount of weight - which I have, 60 lbs. - but it was four years prior, so that doesn't seem to be it. The only things I can correlate timewise are when I quit smoking and when I joined the gym, both shortly before my last period. I've never had my body-fat checked, but I'd guess it was in a healthy range and the doctor didn't seem concerned because my weight is fine for my height (143 lbs. @ 5'7").

She gave me a prescription for a Provera to take, then stop to see if it would jump-start my cycle and it didn't. You're supposed to repeat the medication up to three times (and I haven't). I know I need to go back to the doctor and get to the bottom of this, but I haven't for 3 reasons. One, I fear her disapproval at the non-compliance of repeating the medicine (silly, I know). Two, I hate the disruption in my life of spending hours at the doctor's office and getting poked with needles every week. It all seems so futile when they never come up with anything. Third, I don't miss having my period! The only reason I want it back is because I know I'm supposed to have it and concern over the reasons underlying it's absence.

I'm sure you'll all maintain that I should return to the doctor or even seek out a second opinion, and you're right. And I will. But I'm just wondering in the mean time whether anyone else has any experience with this. Anyone?

Thanks for reading this looong post and I look forward to any and all responses!

This could be a long shot, but have you had your thyroid checked?? An underactive thyroid can wreak havock on your reproductive cycle.

I've had my thyroid levels checked and all was well. I scheduled a doctor's appointment for tomorrow and I'm sure they'll poke me with more needles. I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, but I'm concerned that they won't be able to figure it out. :(

There is a thread on the Maintainers forum about this. It was a while ago, but maybe I can find it. The short answer is that MANY women experience this and doctors seem to be mistified. I was reading something yesterday on another website and it really does seem pretty common. The prevailing theory that I read is that not only is amenorrhea caused by lack of body fat, but also by the changes in the hormone levels produced when you drop a significant amount of body fat. So while someone who started at 20-25% body fat (low to normal) would generally lose their period when they drop to about 10%, someone who started at 40% might lost theirs at 25%.

OK, HERE it is!

Mel

Not getting your period is perfectly natural! Animals in the wild don't get periods, but they still ovulate and have babies :) My pet rat doesn't have a period at all and she had ten babies!! lol
Check out this link to see what I'm talking about: http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/menstruation.htm

:)

exercise can do it bc i had that happened to me and my cycles were never the same when it finally came back.

Well I went for the blood tests and so far, all is normal. The doctor prescribed 3 months of conjugated estrogen with progestin on only the last 4 days of the first month. She wants me to start birth control when my cycle comes back to keep it on track.

I'm afraid that the estrogen will make me gain weight right before bathing suit season! :( It doesn't seem like I have any other options but to try, though. Has anyone taken estrogen therapy (especially for non-menopausal reasons)? Keep in mind that I'm only 26 and at a normal weight for my height...

Thanks for your insight, everyone!

i didnt gain weight on birth control. keep eating healthy and exercising and you shouldnt have any problems.

Thanks, I'll keep my fingers crossed, but it isn't birth control - it's straight-up estrogen. My understanding is that birth control is a blend of estrogen and progesterone. I can't find any literature online that seems to apply because everything I've read is about menopausal hormone therapy. Women in menopause often lose weight when they begin hormone therapy because they're estrogen deficient, but my estrogen levels are normal to begin with.

I'm confused and not happy :(

I have trouble sympathizing with this problem! :blah: Seriously, I know it can be a problem though, I hope you find your answer.

Hungry Monkey-- how are things going for you? I had the same sort of thing and Provera didn't start my cycle either so they just started me on BC and I started my period last week. Now I just need to keep taking it. My doctor wasn't really concerned since I'm not trying to get pregnant at this time. He said just for some reason my body didn't want to ovulate.