underweight

[http://users.livejournal.com/astro-girl-/]

hey. i was suposed to get my period last week, but i never did. i went to my doc today and got a preggo test. came back neg. i know im fairly far underweight right now. im just wondering at what point you loose your period?? i was this skinny before i had my baby last sept and i never lost it. im just wondering if that could be the cause of my lack of period right now.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Comments

[maiden-midwife.livejournal.com]

Secondary amenorrhea, the loss of one's menses after the onset of menstruation at puberty, can be caused by being underweight. It is linked to lack of calcium, iron and other nutrients, as well as having an extremely low percentage of body fat. My advice to you would be to seek to answer the following questions for yourself and/or with the help of a health care provider. I would say you should rule out stress, vitamin/mineral and protein deficiency before contacting a health care provider. Basically these factors can influence ovulation, and if you don't ovulate you will not get your period.

Are you breastfeeding?

Are you taking vitamins and getting enough protein? If not, does your blood work show that you are deficient in calcium, iron or protein?

What is your basal metabolic rate (BMR)? (this is the amount of calories your body needs just to function every day.)

Do you do a strenuous or sedentary occupation and do you exercise? If so, how many calories do these activities burn?

Are you consuming enough calories to support your BMR plus the number of calories you burn each day?

Hope this helps.