Amenorrhea - anyone else not have periods?

[wrenster]

I've been on the pill since I was 16 and when I got married at 27 came off to ttc. My periods never restarted, had lots of investigations, hormone profiles etc but no reason ever found. Had fertility treatment which miraculously helped me conceive.

Periods never returned after I had my children and gynae advised I go back on the pill otherwise my body would be lacking necessary hormones and would possibly mimic the menopause.

5 years down the line I feel I've been on the pill such a long time now - almost 20 years and I would like to see if my body might now be working effectively and also can't believe the pill is good for such prolonged use.

Has anyone ever had amenhorea and managed to get them restarted ? I'm thinking acupuncture might help but not sure of any herbal remedies that might help?

Any advice appreciated thanks

I had hypothalamic amenorrhea following a diet/exercise regime which left me too skinny. Regained the weight, periods never came back, conceived DS1 with IVF, then DS2 a surprise after periods restarted spontaneously. This clearly isn't your situation, but I did struggle to find support/adveice for this surprisingly common condition (usually a diagnosis by exclusion).

You might find the US fertile thoughts website useful, it has the only forum I know of devoted to HA - www.fertilethoughts.com/forums/hypothalamic-amenorrhea/

Only problem is a lot of people on there are amenorrhagic due to over-exercising or restricted eating, so there's lots of talk about healthy weight gain etc, but like I say it's the only one I know of and you might find sthg there to help you.

Best of luck with it all

Thanks tinytumble. They suggested weight gain for me too but I really wasn't convinced that was the issue. I still have a pretty low bmi but I feel comfortable with my weight and not keen on putting any on.

I am really struggling to find much info like you said but ill have a look at your link. Much appreciated.

I really don't know your circs, but if you are at a low bmi & uncomfortable with the idea of weight gain I'd def have a look at the site - it will help you really understand the issues around HA and I'd say you'd be able to make a really informed decision about where you go next, including other things that might restart your periods.

Look also at 'Nico's' blog No Period Baby; again, even if you feel weight etc isn't the issue as it may well not be, it's good to know there's a community out there, I found HA to be a lonely place sometimes ('I'm not a real woman', 'My body's failed me', etc). Good luck & pm me if you want more info/support.

Thanks for your kind words, they're v much appreciated. I determined not to get myself in the state I was when I was trying to conceive but would love to be 'normal' 'work properly'. I guess only time will tell

Thanks again

I had amenorrhea after long-term pill use. I have always been an avid exerciser and healthy eater. Unfortunately, the weight that I feel comfortable at (not underweight for my height, btw) is not the weight that allows me to menstruate/ovulate. I had to gain almost 10 lbs. through eating much larger portions and ditching the low-fat stuff. Problem solved .

That's really interesting macayonicheese. Did you trust what the docs said and put the weight on even though you felt uncomfortable and weren't sure if it would work?

I love exercising and healthy eating and find it so hard to believe that these are all negative things for my body and I should be eating more!!

I did make an effort to put on weight and tone down the exercise and it did work. And yes, it was an uncomfortable experience as I like being able to feel good in my clothes and I also genuinely enjoy healthy, nutritious foods (many of which happen to be low in calories and fat) and really intense exercise (running is my favourite thing in the world ever...I,d do it even if it had no fitness benefits). I now think that it is pretty easy to overdo the healthy-eating/fitness thing. You really have to pay attention to proper nutrition and refuel like an athlete if you are going to exercise at an intense level on a regular basis. Also, I think that women have different biological 'setpoints' in terms of percentage of body fat that allows them to be fertile. The amount of body fat you have is closely related to hormone production/regulation and maybe that particular balance is different for everyone, iyswim? I had no problem conceiving my children once I put a little weight on but my periods stopped again when I went back to my 'normal' exercise/eating after stopping breastfeeding my youngest. I was then found to have low estrogen and possible PCOS but my Dr. thinks that could just be related to my weight and that I'd get a 'normal' baseline reading if she had tested me at the point when I was a little heavier. I should add that I also had a totally random stress fracture when I was at my 'fittest' (running between 30- 40K/week) which was probably related to my weight, amenorrhea etc. I'm really careful now about making sure to not overdo it/eat properly/incorporate proper rest days and sometimes weeks.

Is there a reason you want to go off the pill (ie; ttc, bad side effects?) or are you just curious? I'm sure you know that some people get their periods back right away after long-term pill use and some people can take a year or more.

Sorry for the long-winded reply. None of that may apply to you, and I'm certainly no expert, but those are just some of my thoughts/experiences on the subject. It's really complicated and probably unique for everyone. Best of Luck in figuring it out .