Expert: Joanne - 3/10/2008

Question
Hi Joanne,

It's been almost 2 years now that I haven't been able to menstruate naturally. I struggled with anorexia for 2 years and lost my period since then. To regulate, I took birth control pills for  a year but stopped because I couldn't handle the mood swings.

Now I'm much healthier and back to the weight I was before I started losing weight. And the weight I gained is not all muscle (in fact, hardly any of it is). But I'm still not having my period.

Have I waited too long to naturally menstruate again? Have I become infertile?
I'd rather prefer not to go back on the pill. But if that's the only solution, I was hoping you can give my some recommendations to brands/types of bc.

Thank you so much!I really appreciate your help.

Answer
Jessica

I wouldn't like to think that you are infertile! There is still the possibility that your body's fat percentage hasn't reached a certain level yet, therefore your period hasn't returned!

I would suggest going to your doctor and disucssing this with them just to make sure that there isn't anything else that could be causing this.  I would also recommend bringing up contraceptive pills with them as they may prefer different ones for different people.  Be honest with her/him!  Make sure that you tell them why you want the pill and why you aren't having a period just so that they know what they need to look at in order to estabilsh whether or not this is something as simple as increasing your body fat.  I would think that as the pill appears to regulate your period though that you should still be able to menstruate and probably still fertile, your body just isn't naturally producing the necessary hormones itself just now!

Joanne