weight loss and no period?

jigglymarina · 04-11-2008, 01:47 PM

I've been diagnosed with PCOS 2,5 years ago. I've stopped taking Yasmin at the very beginning of January, in order to check my hormone status. Since then, I haven't gotten my period. I'm now 70 days late.
I was taking Yasmin for 3 months, and before that I was on Diane-35 for about 2 years. My period was regular while I was taking BCPs. Before meds, my cycles were irregular, but never longer than 7o days altogether. So, being late for 70 days is something completely new.
The reason I switched to Yasmin was because I had had problems with water retention for 2 years, which Diane-35 never helped with. However, Yasmin was no better, so my ob/gyn decided to check my hormone status.
Now the weight thing. I've always been slim. But, since I started taking Diane and water retention kicked in, I started working-out on a daily basis and have been doing it for 15 months now. My diet is also very healthy and daily calory intake quite low. In this period that I haven't been using BCPs, I seem to have stopped retaining water, for a month now. I finally look the way I'm supposed to, muscles and all that. I've never been thinner in my life, all my pants are too big now, and I've always been slim.
Now, my question is, even though period loss is normal for PCOS, could mine be related to weight loss? Could I be too thin? I really want my period to come, especially because I can't check my hormones until it does.

Any thoughts? Thank you! :-)

Laura0621 · 04-11-2008, 02:14 PM

Hi There

I have read a lot of about weight impacting periods over the past 6 months or so. Although there could be many reasons for your missed periods (PCOS causes missed periods so the fact that you have PCOS is probably a big factor), I believe that low body weight does make some women's periods stop. I have always been very slim (5'3 and about 107 lbs) and my periods were always regular up until the age of 25 when I went on the pill. I came off the pill and my periods remained normal for 8 months but then became completely irregular with a couple cycles over 70 days. I have determined that my issue seems to be the PCOS rather than my low body fat. However, in Jan/Feb I worked very hard to gain some weight and then had a regular cycle in March for the first time in months. I managed to go up to 114lbs by adding high fat flax oil to all of my drinks. You could try this and see if it works....the oil I drink had 14 grams of fat (omega-3 and 6) in 1 tablespoon. It really works well but I find it makes me feel kind of gross sometimes.

So, maybe find out what your % body fat is and see what a doctor says about that. Mine was 20.8% and the doctor said that 20-30% is a healthy range for a female. She also said that she finds that the middle of that range is ideal in terms of regular periods and promoting fertility. Some women would still have normal periods with very low amounts of body fat and others may be more sensitive to changes in body fat.

I hope you get the answers you need. Hopefully your doctor will be able to help you determine what a healthy weight range is for you.

Good luck

Laura0621 · 04-11-2008, 02:16 PM

Also - if you are working out too much and your calorie intake is too low you body can go into "fight or flight" mode where it reacts by stopping your periods. If you google these topics you should be able to find more info. I would ease up a bit of the exercise and make sure you are eating enough calories for your body size

jigglymarina · 04-11-2008, 02:26 PM

Thank you, Laura! I'll try some of the advice you gave me. I just don't know where I could find out my body fat percentage here in Croatia. That certainly isn't something you can check at the doctor's office. But that would certainly be the first thing I should check. BTW, I'm 5'6'' and 117 lbs.

sheepiegirl · 04-11-2008, 03:49 PM

Your BMI is 18.9, according to the BMI calculator online that I used. The 'normal' range is 18.5-24.9, so you are on the very low end of things. It seems that in some women, despite having a 'normal' BMI, they just need to be heavier to have a regular period. Since the BMI is just a guide, this makes sense, as no two people are alike. So maybe you are too thin. But it could also just be from the PCOS and you'd be irregular like this even if you weighed more.

TrishainAZ · 04-12-2008, 11:43 AM

Yeah, I don't know about weight and periods. Growing up, that seemed to be the excuse for why I wasn't regular. Oh, she's too thin and athletic. They just *assumed* Turns out I have PCOS. So I now wonder if thats the case most of the time. Weight doesn't seem to effect my period. In fact, I actually got pregnant at one of my lowest at 107 at 5'4.5". So, I just don't know.

sarah2747 · 05-22-2008, 11:07 AM

I stopped the bcp in October/November 2007 and haven't taken hormones since. I've also only gotten two periods since. Lately I've been losing weight and I haven't been trying at all. I haven't been diagnosed with pcos (yet) and I'm really wondering what's up...