amenorrhea? Symptom, or just co-incidence?

[Gromit]

When I lived in my FOO I had irregular periods. Something which was annoying but no hassle really, I would just skip several, sometimes it seemed seasonal, with more skipped in the winter months but not enough to definitely say why. Then, I left home at the age of 23 and have been absolutely regular ever since apart from in pregnancy, breastfeeding etc or actual stressful periods.

Its something which one therapist found interesting. Obviously stress can effect cycles, but, when I left home I had an alcoholic boyfriend, the stress of which, just resulted in more ibs symptoms than menstrual irregularity.

Just curious really, it obviously wasn't an issue with my body as I have had 2 children without any medical interventions or assistance.
G

[Dee]

I had amenorrhea for a really, really long time.  For me it was a symptom of anorexia.  I don't know how your nutrition was at home, but that could of played into it.

[Kat]

Gromit, that's really interesting.  It made me think of two of my older sisters who both experienced irregular periods when they were younger.  One of them has polycystic ovary syndrome, but the other is just fine now.  The one with PCOS does not believe being raised by a mother with borderline personality disorder had any negative effects on her.  I once made mention of abuse at the hands of our parents and she angrily said that she'd seen abuse--she worked at a state-run preschool for low-income families--and what we endured was nothing close to it.  I suspect there's a link between her health issues and the way she has buried everything inside. 

[Gromit]

Hi Dee, I've never been anorexic, thin yes, but I always ate unless really upset and even then hunger would not let me go without food for long. I think my skinnyness was more to do with anxiety, as soon as I started taking ADs I put on a stone in weight and am now a 'normal' weight.

Hi Kat, how can there be no effect? I have no idea if my sister has health issues but she has more of a split personality. She was more GC whereas I was SG, and, outside of the FOO seemed to do whatever she wanted. The 2 parts of her life did not meet.

Thanks for responding

[Dee]

I just want to say that anorexics do eat.  They just don't eat enough to sustain, so their body shuts down.  The first thing to go is their period.  I use to not believe I was anorexic because I did eat.  A doctor told me that I would be dead, not anorexic if I didn't eat at all.  If you were below a healthy weight it is possible that it was nutrition even if not anorexia.

[Gromit]

Sorry Dee, I don't know anything about anorexia. I was around 8-9 stone so a pretty normal weight. My mother had done cookery courses so she seems to think she knows everything about nutrition although, she tried to make me drink milk when eating iron rich foods when I was pregnant and milk actually prevents iron absorption if drunk just before or after eating iron rich foods.

Hard to say if nutrition was involved, everything else seemed fine, I did still have periods, just not every month. What I ate didn't really change when I left home, I still cooked the things I was used to.