most recent 30 from http://paleohacks.com 2013-05-20T05:54:11Z http://paleohacks.com/feeds/question/157976 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://paleohacks.com/questions/157976/no-period-birth-control lacesandlabcoats 2012-10-25T06:34:34Z 2012-10-27T04:21:40Z

<p>I'm fifteen. I lost my period about a year ago because I lost too much weight unhealthily, and a blood test last year showed that my female hormone levels were too low. </p> <p>I have since gone back up to my regular weight where, in the past, I was able to menstruate. However my period has not returned.</p> <p>I'm a runner. I run 6-7x/week and go to the gym 3x/week. Everyday I eat about 2500-3000 calories (Paleo and white rice), definitely more than enough to sustain my training seeing as I'm still gaining (albeit a bit slowly).</p> <p>Recently I have not taken a blood test of any sort. Should I see a doctor and start taking birth control pills to get my period back, or will it mess up my hormones even more? </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/157976/no-period-birth-control/157980#157980 nursling 2012-10-25T07:31:43Z 2012-10-25T07:31:43Z

<p>sometimes you have to gain more than you originally weighed when you had regular menses (one study showed 2.4kg more). also, sometimes exercising/running that much makes menses disappear despite caloric intake. you've got the female athlete triad going on with secondary/hypothalamic amenorrhea. unfortunately hormone replacement has not demonstrated a protective effect on bone density measurements according to the literature. it may help if you have other symptoms of low hormones, but it isn't a solution by any means.</p> <p>keep gaining weight slowly and cut back on the exercise if possible.</p> <p>I have searched far and wide for a solution to this problem that didn't involve gaining weight. so far the only other thing that can cure secondary amenorrhea is leptin injections, since leptin is the hormone secreted by fat that tells the brain it's safe to reproduce. unfortunately, this treatment is experimental and not available yet.</p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/157976/no-period-birth-control/158017#158017 Maria 2012-10-25T13:06:53Z 2012-10-25T13:06:53Z

<p>Similar situation (although 22 not 15): I don't know any solution, but I would NOT suggest birth control pills. The reason is that birth control pills don't actually give you a period in the same way that your normal cycle would: when they were being designed, the makers thought that women would feel more "natural" if they bled every month, so they made the pills so that a withdrawal symptom was bleeding from the uterus (obviously these things were designed by men). So the "period" you get on the pill is not actually a normal period; it's just a withdrawal symptom when you go on the placebos for a week. This is why it's possible to just keep taking the non-placebo pills and not have a period at all for 3 or 4 months. I'm not an expert, but it doesn't seem to me like that would help you get your regular period or healthy hormone balance back. </p>

http://paleohacks.com/questions/157976/no-period-birth-control/158380#158380 margarets 2012-10-27T04:21:40Z 2012-10-27T04:21:40Z

<p>You must see a doctor. This is far too complex for random Internet strangers to advise you.</p>