Expert: Nafeesah - 4/2/2009

Question
Hello, I struggled with an eating disorder for about 5 years. I had been on birth control pills for 10 years and when I stopped taking them, my period never came back. The doctor said it was due to the eating disorder and advised me to gain weight. My lowest weight was 101 lbs at 5'3, which was about 4 years ago. I did end up gaining a litle weight and maintained 107 lbs for a few years. I stopped the birth control pill last feb and I had no periods for 10 months. This is when I went to a doctor. The doctor put me on birth control pills and told me to gain weight. I have put on 10-12 lbs. I weigh 120 lbs now. I have been at this weight since December and have maintained a good diet, eating about 1700-2000 calories per day. I do not exercise vigorously, just some light walking up to an hour a day. I stopped the birth control after being back on it for 4 months. It's been 6 weeks since my last pill, and I didn't get a period. I am hoping it will resume because my husband and I want to start a family. When does it normally come back after this type of situation?

Answer
You need to have your hormones checked by an endocrinologist to see why you're not having a regular period after you've been recovering from an eating disorder. Your hormone levels determine whether you have a period or not. I would contact your gynecologist and ask to be referred to an endocrinologist to have some tests run to find out why your periods ceased. Usually once you maintain a healthy weight and diet your periods usually come back gradually. Birth control pills usually stop your period so you need to make sure that your system is free of the hormones in birth control pills to ensure that your body can regulate itself to have a period again.