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    Navigate: FAQ Home Page > Eating Disorder > Anorexia and periods
    Posted on: 08/17/2005

    Question

    I was anorexic last year and have stopped having my periods since. My parents took me to the doctors for my anorexia recently, but they didn't seem to be worried that much about my periods stopping. I've tried to eat more and gain weight. I'm in counseling now, but that's not going too well for me. I'm very concerned about my periods and want them back. I'm trying to eat more (all healthy), and also taking vitamins. For some reason I haven't noticed any weight gain and my periods haven't returned. What am I doing wrong?

    Answer

    First of all I want to congratulate you on taking your problem seriously and working to be healthier. The quick and easy answer is that you need to have a certain percentage of body fat (healthy body fat) before your body will trigger the menstrual cycles. This is protective since if we were in a severe famine and needed every ounce of nutrition we could get it, would not me a good time to have a baby. So body chemistry prevents this from happening. When a woman does get pregnant the baby gets the food first and the mom gets the leftovers. How the body works is pretty amazing.

    Anyway back to you. I would encourage you to work with a doctor who will help you monitor and understand how you are doing. This could be a pediatrician or a family practice doctor but most importantly it should be someone who will make you feel comfortable and answer you questions. Your doctor should be able to say to you, "When you reach this weight you periods should return and if not we will figure it out". They should also talk to you about your bones and other aspects of health that may have been affected by your restricted eating. Your doctor should advise you if you are taking the right vitamins and if you need to take calcium. The same is true of your therapist. If you have met several times and you feel that you are not being understood perhaps you need a different therapist. Although, sometimes you can be mad at a therapist because you are being asked some tough questions. Well, keep on working towards being healthy and I hope this helps.


    Answered By:
    Gina Earle , LCSW


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