Health effects of cessation of menstral cycle

[RottenWillow]

I expect most of the ladies here know that amenorea (cessation of menses) is not all uncommon among female athletes with low bf. You ladies probably also know that They (the medical community) used to tell us that amenorea is a terrible thing and will reduce our skeleton to the brittleness of an retiree in 2.4 seconds. Then we heard anecdotal evidence from the female athletes themselves that progressive resistance weight training preserves the bone mass, irrespective of bf levels, and there were no other observable sides effects of being ripped to the bone and having no menses for an extended period of time.

My question is can any of the ladies here provide either first- or second-hand
testimony of continued health during extended amenorea? When I say extended I'm thinking of a least 6 months or more.

 

[pharmher]

I was one of those lucky people that enjoyed being on Depo w/no side effects after about the first 6 months - no period and no decrease in sex drive. I have been on it for 12 yrs and haven't had a period for about 10. Recently my doctor decided to do a bone density scan due to the new findings regarding bone loss while on Depo. My femur score was ostopenic (-1.7) and my spine was on the border of osteoporotic (-2.3). This is all in spite of the fact that I have been an avid weightlifter for 16yrs and have taken 2grams of calcium every day for at least 14yrs. I've been doing some research into what options I have to reverse some of this bone loss as well as what type of bc I wil be using next since Depo is no longer an option. Here are some links I found that you might find useful how amenorrhea contributes to premenopausal osteoporosis:

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/erickson.htm

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/07_96/dalsky.htm

http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_917.pdf

 

[jenscats5]

Even with my low contest bf% - I still get my period - so I can't comment...

 

[Miss24k]

Even with my low contest bf% - I still get my period - so I can't comment...

Really wow.

For me I lost mind in Feb. It came back for a short visit at the beginning of July and is on vacation again.

I spoke with my doctor about this, he told me I had nothing to worry about, I was afraid I may have a problem conceiving at a later time, he said that it's not true, when I stop training so hard it will return.

 

[jenscats5]

Really wow.

For me I lost mind in Feb. It came back for a short visit at the beginning of July and is on vacation again.

I spoke with my doctor about this, he told me I had nothing to worry about, I was afraid I may have a problem conceiving at a later time, he said that it's not true, when I stop training so hard it will return.

When Fred checked my bf% on 8/11 - I was 11.5% & he didn't check it the week before the show, so I don't know what it was. Still got my period right on schedule!!

 

[Miss24k]

When Fred checked my bf% on 8/11 - I was 11.5% & he didn't check it the week before the show, so I don't know what it was. Still got my period right on schedule!!

My BF is at 19% and my cycle is MIA......

 

[jenscats5]

My BF is at 19% and my cycle is MIA......

I really wish it would go away!!

Guess I've got to be pretty low bf% to get rid of the darned thing....

 

[Sassy69]

My BF is at 19% and my cycle is MIA......

That I'm sort of suprised at -- unless you are dealing w/ a lot of stress still...

I"ve been down below 8% 3x in my life, w/ cycle stopping at around 11% - came back within a month of my bodyfat going back up to 15+%.

Also lost it for the entire school year of 1984-85 except for Christmas vacation - definitely related to stress -- went away to college 1500 miles away.

No health problems yet....

 

[Miss24k]

That I'm sort of suprised at -- unless you are dealing w/ a lot of stress still...

I"ve been down below 8% 3x in my life, w/ cycle stopping at around 11% - came back within a month of my bodyfat going back up to 15+%.

Also lost it for the entire school year of 1984-85 except for Christmas vacation - definitely related to stress -- went away to college 1500 miles away.

No health problems yet....

Well I don't know what the hell.... I don't feel stressed, I've been stressed before and never lost it. It would be nice for it to come back, so I could feel like my body is "normal" again.

 

[RottenWillow]

I was one of those lucky people that enjoyed being on Depo w/no side effects after about the first 6 months - no period and no decrease in sex drive. I have been on it for 12 yrs and haven't had a period for about 10. Recently my doctor decided to do a bone density scan due to the new findings regarding bone loss while on Depo. My femur score was ostopenic (-1.7) and my spine was on the border of osteoporotic (-2.3). This is all in spite of the fact that I have been an avid weightlifter for 16yrs and have taken 2grams of calcium every day for at least 14yrs. I've been doing some research into what options I have to reverse some of this bone loss as well as what type of bc I wil be using next since Depo is no longer an option. Here are some links I found that you might find useful how amenorrhea contributes to premenopausal osteoporosis:

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/erickson.htm

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/07_96/dalsky.htm

http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_917.pdf

Have/has your doc(s) offered any explanation as to why you have been experiencing boss loss despite lifting weights throughout that time? Have any other factors been IDed which may explain it?