(no subject)

[noraskye.livejournal.com]

hello everyone. I just have a few quick questions to ask, although the story leading up to it may seem quite long.

okay, from the beginning. last year I wanted to loose some weight, so I went on the Atkins diet. I was on strict atkins for most of the year. (I know now how unhealthy this is)
. At the beginning of this adventure I weighed somewhere around 140-145 pounds at 5'2...wearing a size 10/12. Not extremely heavy but I just wanted to try it out and I got carried away. Towards the end of things I weighed about 108-110 and size 2 became too big. I had no intention of loosing this much weight, and I didn't really notice just how skinny and sick I was beginning to look. I just kinda got used to the whole no carb lifestyle (sick, I know). Anyway, I started missing my period, along with having a few other symptoms of anorexia. Although I was not anorexic (I was eating a ton, just not carbs) my body weight was so low that I just took on some of the typical symptoms.

Once I realized how sick I looked, it was a huge wakeup call. I decided that I wanted to eat like a normal person again and have my body return to normal. I had missed my period two months, so this was also a wakeup call.

I didn't want and still don't want to gain a ton of weight back, so I started eating a very balanced, proper diet and getting at least a half hour of exersize a day. Usually just walking/jogging or yoga. I have gained some weight back. Not enough to go up a pants size, but enough to not look sick. In other words, I am a healthy size 2, not a sick size 2. I eat whatever I want as long as it's reasonably healthy and make sure to stay active. I had my body fat measured and it is within normal range, and my new healthy weight of 115 is what should be the average for someone who is 5'2.
I saw my OBGYN when I was at my lowest weight and he is actually the one who reccommended my new diet for me and all.
I've heard from some sources that once my weight and body fat returned to a safe level, my period would again return on it's own.
I've heard from other sources stories about certain shots of hormones to "induce" a period.
I've returned to a healthy weight and diet, and my period still hasn't come back.(I know I am not pregnant because I am a lesbian and not even a sexually active one at the moment) It's been about 4-5 months since I've had a period. I'm not due again at the OBGYN until the end of Jan.
Could it still come back on it's own or would it need to be induced. Or is this different for every person?
Could I have done irreperable damage to my reproductive system by loosing so much weight?
how long does it generally take for your period to start again once you return to a healthy weight? or is this also different for every person?

I'm just worried that I have done serious damage here, because I've returned to normal weight and am eating right and still no period

any insight?
(sorry if this is so confusing)

Comments

hmm...

[alliayha.livejournal.com]

The shock that your body has gone through, as you have noted, affects your period, furthermore, the return to normalcy takes some time to occur.

Biological Explination: My body is sick, is not eating right, need to stop expanding the energy neccessary to have a period... You realize this, revert to a healthy diet, but NOT what you used to eat... your body: Well we are eating more... gaining a little bit of weight, but will this be maintained? We are not eating what we used to eat... so... lets wait until we know this will be constant... 4 months later, lets still wait...

your body will basically wait until it is confortable with the new heatly diet. and for your knowledge, vertain "normal" weight standards tend to be off a little bit. The "normal" weight of a person depends on their metabolism and body fat percentage is nearly 100% inherited. and when you reach YOUR bodys healthy weight, you are more likely to have a "normaly" functioning body.

EX: Me, i am 5'4 and "fat" my weight does not matter, but i am considered by most people to be "fat" yet i can (or could before i got injured) run 4-5 miles (and would 4 times a week) do situps and all that exercisy stuff, but i was still "fat"... reason: i have the body fat percentage from my parents, but not the height that i should have also gotten due to premature birth and a very complicated story.

I tried to get below 150 my freshman year in highschool, i began to look reasonable in size, but my skin color looked pale, i was anemic, didnt eat, and was sleeping 75% of the day... technically speaking, i should, bassed on the "normal" standards be MUCH below 150, yet, the likliehood of this ever happening and being SAFE is unlikely.

therefore what i am trying to say in a roundabout way, is that your body may fall within the "normal" ranges right now, but you may not be a "normal" person. if you are, your body will, on its own, fall back into its cycle, if you are like me and get to be "fat" (though from what you have stated you are probably NOT!! Lucky goose) you may still need to gain 4-6 lbs.

I would let your body guide you, it is the only thing that really can. Dr.s can say all they want, but they go on averages, and you may or may NOT be an average person.

in the end: Yes your body should right itself on its own, and it may take a while. it took 6 months for me and i didnt loose as much weight as you did.

so that was kind of long, sorry...

Leslie

Re: hmm...

[noraskye.livejournal.com]

thank you so much. I know what you mean about the "normal" thing being different for everyone. See, all my life I would eat whatever I wanted without thinking about it at all. I never ate healthy..always ate a ton (I'm just a big eater) and never had second thoughts about fast food or junk food. I'm thinking that's why I was a size 10/12. I know that I was probably always eating double what my body needed.
When I went off the crazy diet, I made a new pact, to eat whatever I wanted as long as it was part of a properly balanced diet, and whatever happened to my body, well that's the way nature intended it. I figured I would then find my true healthy weight, and I think I did, give or take a few pounds. because aside from the initial weight that I put on to look healthy, I'm not gaining any more, and if I ate more then I would definately be over eating. I'm no longer on a "diet". Just cutting out fast food, anything fried, eating more fruits and vegetables, etc.
So yeah, I figured I would just need to be patient a little bit longer once my body settles into it's new pattern.

and yeah, all that stuff was happening to me, too. Pale skin, my cheekbones were sticking out, I developed mild insomnia but felt tired all day...I don't know how I let it get as far as it did but I am glad it stopped before any serious damage was done.

Well, the most important thing is that we did what we needed to do for our health and that we figure if we just eat right our bodies will do their own thing, and hey, that's how we're intended to be

thanks for the help

[reinapequena.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound strange probably.. but the exact same thing happened to me as well. (although, I actually am struggling with an eating disorder.)

For me, it wasn't how much I was eating, but what I was eating. My period was absent for 2 years... during that time I was on a strict diet of vegetables and protein supplements. Occasionally, I would go wild and binge on candy. As you can probably imagine, I lost a ton of weight and got really sick. At one point, I almost died.

Anyway. I noticed that by adding more fats (healthy ones) back into my diet, my period seemed to come back 8-9 months afterwards. I increased my diet to include a huge variety of foods. I also cut way back on working out.


The one thing I really noticed in the 2 months before it came back was that my sex drive returned (whereas before, it was pretty much non-existant). So I figured that something was going on...

I myself was/am too chicken to go to the OB/GYN, so I settled for the endocrinologist instead. She tested several of my hormone levels related to reproduction. (FSH, LH, etc..) Everything was totally normal, except I had low testosterone. (which explains the crappy sexdrive) So sometimes, there's no medical explanation at all for absent periods, I guess.

My dr. was very eager to induce with hormones, but I refused. I think birth control pills will have this effect, too.



I really think every body is different, and yours may still be in the process of recovering from the extreme dieting.... I hope everything works out for you! Take care.

[urania.livejournal.com]

Like above: I wouldn't be surprised if your body is still recovering to the "shock to the system" effects of the drastic change to your eating habits. I'm glad, though, that you're back to a "healthy" shape rather than a sicklier one :) and I imagine your body is too.

Could you be anemic? I imagine even slightly anemic, on top of everything else, could confuse your reproductive system somewhat. You might try taking a multivitamin with some iron if you don't already (or half of one, if the whole one makes you queasy; they do for me) and see if that alters things.

Otherwise, were I you, I'd just as the gyno next time you're there, or earlier if it persists in worrying you.