#ammenorhea

- Xinwei

- Xinwei

Hello! Yes it is. During an eating disorder some loose it, some have it perfectly and regular and some get, like you, ”weird” irregular periods. The last one is very common. I’ll now answer a bit more than you asked about as it is an important topic that many asks about, so I guess it should be answered once for all.Our bodies are different. A person can be severely underweight and undernourished lying on their deathbed yet have perfect periods. As a person in the recovery community who has been in touch with hundreds of hundreds of sufferers, I can confirm this. It is a myth that all people with eating disorders loose their periods. Some of us have bodies that are really good at keeping our periods even in rough times, whilst others, like mine, are not. I lost my period in 2012 at a healthy weight, around 5 kg higher than the one I got it back at in 2014, because I was undernourished and had been so for a month or two. Then, girl X who I talked to had suffered from anorexia for years and was more underweight than I’d ever been, had her period.Loosing our periods or having irregular periods is a sign of being undernourished and/or under your setpoint, yet you can be undernourished and/or under your setpoint without loosing your period. I am saying this because many females with eating disorders believe they are not ”sick enough” because they still have their periods (not to mention those who don’t loose their periods because their are on birth control pills, which might not be a good choice - read why here). In certain countries in West Africa with starvation the birth rate is still high, because of some badass bodies with an army of hormones. Sadly enough, a lot of these children are born with health problems and are in high risk of dying - the death rate among newborns (and mums) are also very high, along with miscarriages. Does being underweight and/or undernourished cause infertility and/or problems getting pregnant for many? Yes, it indeed does. For me, for example. And if you do get pregnant despite suffering from an eating disorder, you put the life of an innocent child in risk. Back to irregular/weird periods! As it happened when you developed an eating disorder, that is probably the cause. Nevertheless, some get weird periods in puberty, and some have weird periods naturally. For example, my cycle is 6 weeks instead of the normal 4 weeks (not ED-related, got this confirmed by a doctor). With recovery your periods will very likely go back to how they were before your eating disorder, but it will often take some time to settle and normalize. Focus on getting enough food (don’t forget fats!) and rest, and allow your body to find its natural setpoint weight. If we loose our periods or get irregular/different periods as a result of an eating disorder, it will pass when the eating disorder has passed. In other words, period problems are reversable. But, it may take time. If it does not normalize, you can always go to the doctor to get a check. Same goes to those who loose their periods - there can be other causes than an eating disorder, such as hormone imbalance, medications and stress. Short summary: eat chocolate, rest and wait!- Amalie

I dont know yet. Hopefully I’ll get a new scan soon. I have to admit I am nervous. After I got diagnosed with osteopenia, I spent another 6 months or so without my period and clinically underweight (bmi 18.5 and below). Luckily, I started recovery a month after I got diagnosed with osteopenia, but for me weight restoration took a while (gained only 0.5 kg weekly on average) despite me eating first 2500 and later 3000 while staying completely sedentary. I hope my body used some of this energy on healing my bones. Sometimes when I think back, I wish I had eaten even more (3500-4000+) so I could have gained faster, gotten my period faster and had even more energy to heal my bones. I hear about people who even grow taller in a few months with ‘high calorie’ recovery as their low bone density reverse!Low bone density is divided into osteopenia and osteoporosis. Osteopenia is reversible. Osteoporosis is not, thought recovery can stop the development. If ostepenia dont get treated (treatment = recovery, not calcium supplements) it will develop into osteoporosis. If it gets treated (recovery) it is in almost all cases fully reversible. I indeed hope my osteopenia has not developed into osteoporosis, because osteoporosis is not fun at all. It may make you shrink; you might have noticed that old people tend to shrink a little? Well, this is due to low bone density. Your bones are as fragile as glass, so a little careful fall might make you break your arm, whilst those without osteoporosis would barely get a bruise. I've written more about osteoporosis/osteopenia here.The causes of low bone density among those with eating disorders are mainly loss of period and being underweight and/or undernourished. Some scientists suggest it is mainly due to being undernourished and/or underweight. Loss of period is a clear sign of being undernourished and/or underweight. More about the causes here. You say you are under 18. This is especially severe as your bones are not fully developed yet (Soyka et al. 2002). Unfortunately, some competitive female athletes loose their period due to low body fat percentage and/or energy defict, sometimes without having an eating disorder. This phenomena is called the ”Female athlete triad”. A typical scenario here is that a female marathon runner falls during a run. She breaks her arm and twists her ankle. The doctor gives her a bone density scan. The scan shows full-blown osteoporosis. The ambitious female athlete has to give up her sport; her biggest dream and passion. This could have been avoided with more food and and rest.- Amalie

It depends on why you dont have your period. Of you have lost for other reasons than an eating disorder, then not necessary. If you are at your setpoint and lost it due to exercise, an exercise break will probably be enough. If you gain weight by an exercise break, it suggests you are either under your setpoint or overshooting because too much exercise has done damage - in the same was as restriction. You do not have to exercise to maintain your setpoint weight, if so it is not your setpoint. Take it from me who have not exercised the last month(s) despite riding my bicycle or walking to university, and one 15 minute session with thigh exercise at home. If you gain weight because you are undernourished, more food will be the key,and in the same way as with exercise, if refeeding makes you gain it is either not your setpoint or a temporary overshot.- Amalie

Dont be vegan in recovery. Maybe never. But especially not in recovery. Though the key to getting your period back is recovery, you should not be vegan right now. When you are fully recovered, you can take that decision. But not now. More about why here.- Amalie

Yes I did. I got an eating disorder the summer 2012, and lost it after a month or so, despite being normal weight. I started recovery around september 2013, and got it back half a year later (march 2014). - Amalie

This is very bad. Your chance of becoming a mother in the future are decreased, unless you recover asap. There is a (high) chance that you have developed osteopenia, which is low bone density. I got this after not having my period for a year. Increase your fat intake drastically. People with EDS tend to overestimate their intake - some oil when you fry your food and some flax seeds in your oatmeal is not enough! Drink 1-2 glasses of full fat milk daily. I, and several other girls I have talked to got it back when they started drinking full fat milk. It is the food/drink that is said to have the most positive effect on fertility, more about why HERE. Also make sure to get enough iron. Eat enough food and never restrict your intake. 2500-3000+ until you reach your set point could be a good idea. Take a break from exercise. I lost my period at bmi 21, but got it back at bmi 19 (!). I got it back when I increased my fat intake a lot. I ate less proteins (I ate way above the recommended intake before, and most people with EDs do, trust me!), more carbs and more fats. Butter, whipped cream, full fat milk and yoghurts, sour cream, chocolate, avocado, salmon, seeds, oil, dressings, peanut butter and nuts (walnuts and macadamia nuts are highest in fats). Make homemade popcorn and pop it in lots of butter. Watch Modern family while eating Ben & Jerrys, and chips with dips. Make chocolate muffins. Eat strawberries dipped in melted chocolate.Here is the recipe of Amalies awesome hot chocofee;50/50 coffee powder and hot chocolate powderFull fat milkStevia (or sugar)Tons of whipped cream on topI have 1-2 cups of this every morning (still not obese).People have this weird fear of full fat products. Well, thats weird. One 100-150 calories glass of full fat milk fills me up way more than 1 lbs broccoli (long term). Fats stay in your stomach for longer, vegetables are digested fast so you get hungry fast and crave even more. Full fat milk remove every craving I have, because it is what I crave. If you make hot chocolate and add light soy milk, you need twice as much as if you add full fat milk. Whipped cream is not even that calorie dense as it weights very little because it is so fluffaaay, so make sure you use quite a bit :-)Also, keep in mind that getting your period back may take some time. If you follow these advices you will speed up the process.- Amalie