I realize loss of your montly feminine cycle is one of the text book symptoms of an eating disorder. My question to you ladies out there, how "severe" do you feel you were when it happened? Did you even notice?

I am just curious because I didn't even really notice I was losing it until my therapist flat out asked. I now have an appoitnment with my gyn just because I am scared and I don't want that part of my body wrecked due to this terrible disorder. However, when I go to the doctor, I really don't foresee I will tell them about my eating problems. I am very private and can only remotely discuss it on this board, in group, or with my therapist. My husband doesn't even know what qualifies me to be diagnosed as having an ED because it's such a deeply rooted secret.

It's becoming very real for me now that I noticed my "womanlyness" is effected. And is it even effected because of my ED? I don't consider myself to have a bad problem, and I don't even know if I am ready to admit my ED is even the sole cause of this.

All your stories are welcome... I was just curious, because I have no idea at what point in the disorder that body function is even effected or if it's entirely different for everyone.

Thanks!

Hey there Epiphany, how are you? Well..I know ALL about the loss of my "monthly thing"...my last one was in August. I'm about 5'6 or 5'7ish (I'm guessing about 5'7 now) and my last one was when I was at about 110 lbs. Before this it had been 2 1/2 months in between my period..so obviously my body knew it was beginning to lose weight and attempting to adjust. Currently I'm at 88-90 lbs...and of course...still no monthly friend. I do eat...quite often too...but I suffer from orthorexia (obsession with eating healthy) anorexia (feeling that I'm never at a low enough weight) restrictive eating (all of that sounds a bit confusing, huh? lol) I'm not too sure about what a gyno would say or suggest (most likely to gain weight). I have had blood tests and my estrogen etc. seems okay, but that doesn't mean too much when you don't have enough body fat to keep your "friend" around. Whenever a females body experiences stress, sometimes vigorous excercise (in the process of losing weight) or severe weight loss (and not enough body fat), the body recognizes that it is not a stabile environment to support a baby in..and therefore your menses disappear. For more information you can look up secondary amenorrhea online. Basically, unless you gain some weight, or for some (if you aren't at the point of being extremely underweight)...if you begin to maintain your weight, your menses may return. Birth control may be an option...but I do know that for some it does not always work to jump start cycles again and you still have to gain some weight etc. to get them going again, but then again..the birth control may cause weight gain as a side effect. I'm not too sure about the chances of pregnancy later on in life (I myself am wondering this too). I have read stories of women losing their period and re-starting it years later....but I have heard stories of it not returning also. I have also heard of various drugs you can take later on in life to help your chances at pregnancy, but these too may have various side effects (such as the chance of multiple births). Hope I was of some help, take care!

~*~blue eyed angel~*~

Epiphany..a few other things I forgot to add. I also don't believe myself to have "a very bad ED"...simply because I do eat...and I also do not purge (although I do know that I have a problem regarding my thoughts of body image). Regardless of your actual "health", amount of food your taking in, and whether or not your getting rid of it in various ways....your period will disappear if you don't have enough body fat, or what your body consider's a "healthy" weight. I wish it didn't matter...but it does :-(.

~*~ blue eyed angel ~*~

It's different for everyone, really. But yes, you more than likely are missing your periods because of your eating disorder. When you go to your gyno he or she will probably ask you about your eating habbits at any rate, even if you don't mention you have a problem. I imagine they will more than likely weigh you to see for themselves and probably ask you to come back in a matter of weeks to see if you've gained any weight. Stress can also be a big factor so look out for that.

Like I said though it's hard to say for sure if it's the reason. I remember when I was 95lbs at 5'8" and I still hadn't lost my 'monthlys' completely! I was still getting them every three months or so despite my eating disorder and all the stress I was under!

:confused: :confused: Who knows really!??

Take care
Ashlee

It really didn't take much at all for me to lose mine. I'm 5'4", and my periods disappeared completely when my weight was around 118lbs (which is a few pounds less than I usually weigh, but it isn't even really "underweight"). And I hadn't stopped eating completely or anything like that. Once I reached about 118lbs again, my periods returned. They were gone for maybe a year or a little less. I don't remember exactly how long. Since they've returned my cycles have never been completely normal, but even before they went away they weren't always regular. I'm pregnant right now though (3 years later), so it obviously hasn't created too much of a problem.