Expert: Nafeesah - 3/1/2009

Question
Hi, Sally! Okay, so I had a "diet" spell for about a year when I was 14 and went from 120lbs to about 98lbs. It took a lot, but by the time I was 17 I was 106 and decided I wanted to lose a bit again. I only planned on 5lbs, but after cutting my calories to 750-800 a day from December 2007 to April 2008 I ended up at 88lbs instead. I've been eating a lot better ever since--first at 1200, then 1400, then 1600 and now 1800 calories. Even so, I haven't had my period since January 2008 (almost 14 months) and my lymph nodes are really swollen. I'm 5'6" and currently 96lbs. When will I get my period back? Am I infertile?

Answer
You're not infertile, but you need to stop with the starvation diet because it's affecting your hormones and causing your periods to be irregular and off. You need to see a doctor about the swollen lymph nodes. I would also address your periods starting and stopping with the doctor as well so they can check your hormones and figure out what needs to be done from there.