Is it possible for periods to stop while dieting?
I have been dieting for 2 months now and within the first 3 weeks of dieting i got my period, but i am now 1 week late and i don’t know why, i have had no sexual intercourse, but i was at a party the other week and am scared in case i was drugged, even though, that is very very unlikely because i was never alone (always with friends) I cant understand why its so late…..please helpp!
September 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 am
yes it can happen and it is a sign of anorexia be careful
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:31 am
Yes it’s entirely possible. Your body needs a certain amount of fat in order for menstruation to happen. That’s why gymnasts, swimmers, etc often don’t have periods. As long as you’re eating a healthy diet, there’s probably no reason to worry.
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
Change in diet can result in change of periods and different period patterns. Make sure you’re eating a well balanced diet hun, you don’t want to end up being ill. x
September 3rd, 2010 at 10:40 am
no
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
To answer your question-YES-. Anything can affect the period and its a real nuisance. Any worries pop into your doctor and have a chat, or even speak to the practice nurse. Your doctor is the person you need to worry so don’t worry that will affect the period too.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:51 am
Extreme weight loss can also stop periods. If you lose more than ten per cent of what your normal body weight should be, the hormonal control of menstruation is upset. Your periods should return when you regain the weight but sometimes it takes several months for the normal cycle to start again.
Extreme exercise can also cause your periods to stop, usually because it’s associated with weight loss below healthy normal levels needed for hormonal controls to work.
Very occasionally more serious medical conditions can interfere with periods. These include brain tumours in the pituitary gland – a gland in the brain which oversees hormonal controls in the body. Another rare problem is primary ovarian failure where the ovaries stop producing eggs for an unknown reason.
Eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia may have a long-lasting effect on the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that regulates your menstrual cycles with regular pulses of hormones. Still, there are many factors that can interfere with your cycles. Stress, excessive exercise, diet, narcotics and weight loss can all contribute to decreased hormonal pulse activity. While reducing stress, eating right and maintaining a normal body weight can restore normal menstrual cycles in many women, others need medical therapy to achieve this.
While you may have been glad not to have periods when you were not trying to get pregnant, the absence of your periods can cause problems. When the hypothalamus takes it easy and your periods stop, your estrogen level is usually low. Over time this can result in osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disease that can lead to fractures. So, even when you are not trying to conceive, medication such as birth control pills or other forms of estrogen replacement are advisable.
What about when you want to conceive? Clomiphene (Clomid, Serophene) is often used to help women with irregular periods. But in women with an underactive hypothalamus, clomiphene rarely works. We can predict whether it might be of benefit. We first check to make sure you are not pregnant. Then we can give the medication progesterone (Provera) in an attempt to bring on your menses. If you have a period, you are making estrogen, and that suggests clomiphene may work. If you do not have a menstrual period, then you may need injections of hormones FSH (Fertinex, Follistim, Gonal-F) to stimulate your ovaries to make eggs.
A newer method, now undergoing trials, involves the drug Naltrexone, an opioid blocker. Opioids are the body’s natural painkillers (similar to morphine). In times of stress or malnutrition, your body says NO to pregnancy and secretes more opioids, which can turn off the hypothalamus. This makes a lot of sense — you would not want to be pregnant in times of famine or severe stress. Some women, it seems, just make too much of their own opioids. “Runner’s high” is also a case of high opioid levels. If we use Naltrexone, we can block the opioids; that may help some women re-establish normal menses. While the medication is inexpensive and usually well tolerated, it is not approved for this use and is considered experimental by most insurance companies. That leaves the injectable medications the only option for many women.
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:59 am
Yes- when you have been on a diet for atleast a month (or an extreme diet) and therefore nutrient deficient, your body will try to reserve all forms of nutrients which means your periods will stop.
This can be dangerous if it continues for months but as soon as you start eating normally, they will start again.
Athletes don’t have periods because they do so much exercise and although they are extreme, they are healthy and fit and at the correct weight!
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:43 pm
if your really unhealthy they will stop.. but this might just be a slight delay because your body needs to adjust.
September 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 pm
It can happen if you get too thin! It sounds like you dont need to be dieting.