Have you lost your period?
Have you lost your period? You may have come off the pill and your period never came back or you may have just stopped getting your period. Now you might have no period at all and no one knows that the hell is going on. You may have been told you have PCOS or you may have been told just to go back on the pill.
Women experiencing no period at all is known as amenorrhea, amenorrhea can be caused by many different underlying reasons and the underlying reason should be investigated thoroughly.
The best and only real treatment for amenorrhea is to treat the underlying cause of why there is no period at all in the first place.
There are some conditions which are linked to amenorrhea, investigating if you are experiencing any of these conditions can assist with the direction in which treatment should be focused. These conditions include:
1. PCOS
2. Hypothalamic amenorrhea
3. Thyroid conditions
4. Coeliac disease
If you are experiencing amenorrhea it doesn’t mean you have one of these conditions but it is a possibility and testing should always be conducted to rule out an underlying condition.
There are other factors which have been linked to amenorrhea and these include:
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Low carbohydrate intake
- Stress
- Over exercising
- Eating disorders
The first step toward getting your period back is to conduct the necessary testing to identify the cause, some of the tests which I often request for amenorrheic patients include:
- Hormone testing (testosterone, oestradiol, progesterone, AMH, DHEAs, FSH, LH, SHBG, fasting insulin)
- Thyroid profile (TSH, T3, T4)
- Iron studies
- Plasma zinc
- Vitamin D
- Coeliac serology
- Full blood count, L/FT
These tests can give insight into what may be the underlying cause of amenorrhoea and give direction for where treatment should be focused.
SO…What should I do if I don’t get my period?
1. Identify the underlying cause with proper testing.
2. Treat diagnosed health conditions.
3. Correct any nutrient deficiencies through diet and improving digestive function.
4. Find appropriate level of exercise for your body and ensure you are receiving adequate food for energy expenditure.
5. Improve your ability to cope with stress.
6. Get your diet right.
What should I eat if I don’t get my period?
This is a very tricky question and it really comes down to the individual and the underlying cause of no period. However, if you have not been diagnosed with PCOS the following dietary suggestions may be beneficial:
- Eat soon after waking in the morning and avoid going long periods of time without foods.
- Support blood sugar regulation by eating small and frequent meals consisting of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates.
- Do not cut carbohydrates from your diet – see my post here https://www.alanamulhallnaturopath.com.au/blog/could-cutting-carb-wreak-havoc-on-your-reproductive-health it’s okay to avoid refined sugars but important to include starchy vegetables, wholegrains, lentils and legumes.
- Eat a carbohydrate rich food within 30 minutes after exercise.
- Include zinc rich foods within the diet such as organic grass fed beef, pepitas, chicken chickpeas, crab.
- Include iron rich foods like organic grass fed beef, organic liver, chicken, fish, cooked silverbeet and spinach, dried apricots.
- Eat 2-4 brazil nuts daily – these provide RDI of selenium to support reproductive function and thyroid health.
- Include iodine rich foods like seaweed, fish, iodised salt or iodised wholemeal breads.
- Ensure you are getting enough vitamin D from safe sunlight exposure.
- Try my hormone balancing slice see recipe here
When it comes to making dietary choices, it can be confusing with conflicting information you may be reading or hearing. I encourage my patients to listen to their bodies and learn how their way of eating influences how they feel and function. Cutting out an entire food group may be harmful to your health and long term may seriously impact the function of your reproductive health.
What else can I do to help restore my period?
- Supplement with nutrients if there is deficiency e.g. iron, zinc, magnesium and vitamin D are key nutrients for a healthy menstrual cycle.
- Selenium and iodine are key nutrients in thyroid function. The thyroid is like the master gland in the body and suboptimal thyroid health has been shown to play a role in disorder reproductive function.
- Myoinositol has been shown to normalise reproductive hormones, improve cycle regularity, regulate ovulation and improve insulin sensitivity.
- Many herbal remedies have been shown to normalise reproductive function and improve hormonal parameters including peony, licorice, shatavari, cinnamon, dong quai.
- Herbal nervines and adaptogens like St John’s Wort, Rhodiola, Withania and saffron have been shown to support the nervous system and improve stress responses to reduce stress related period loss.
I like to provide a realistic outlook on getting your period back – I always advise 3-6 months of treatment. This is because hormones do take time to change it won’t happen overnight. It takes approximately 100 days for an egg to mature therefore 3 months is needed. Once your period has returned some woman will have a regular monthly cycle however for some women it can take a couple of cycles before getting a regular period each month.
Getting your period back goes beyond just having a monthly bleed! Healthy hormones impact your mood, appetite and very importantly bone health. Ovulation is how your body makes progesterone a key hormone in your overall health.
Always consult your naturopath, doctor or health care professional before making dietary changes or taking any herbal or nutritional supplements. Each body is very different and will require different nutritional or herbal supplements. Remember not all supplements are made the same. I only use high quality supplements supplied from companies I know and trust their manufacturing processes.