Amenorrhea — not just about the weight
The relationship between ghrelin, amenorrhea, and eating disorders has been examined time and time again. The consensus seems to be that persistent amenorrhea is likely attributed to disordered eating rather than low body weight. I’ll admit that I am particularly interested in this subject because I do have hypothalamic amenorrhea. This finding is interesting for a few reasons:
1. Return of menses is often a benchmark of physical recovery. Goal weights are subject upon your menstrual cycle… if you’re still not getting your period, then you still don’t weigh enough.
2. If you really are at a healthy weight and still don’t get your period, then it just needs to be “jump-started.” I was told this for years without the professional questioning my current ED behavior.
3. I’ve known several eating disordered women who lost their period well within (or above) the healthy weight range. This study clearly shows how possible that is.
4. If you read the study, those with hypothalamic amenorrhea actually consumed MORE calories than those with normal menses. Granted they score higher on the EAT, but still… I wish someone would explain how this is possible — aside from basing it purely on purging behavior. I just have this cartoon image in my head of my body trying to communicate that it disapproves of food rituals 
Now, I realize the adaptive value of this condition… from an evolutionary perspective, not enough expendable energy = not a good time to get pregnant. If you put a modern twist on this, nature seems to be saying: Hey, you’re still not taking care of yourself — no way should you be influencing a kid! You know… kinda limiting the anorexic/bulimic population…
Technorati Tags: eating disorder, anorexia, bulimia, disordered eating, amenorrhea, ghrelin, physical recovery, treatment, mental health, mental illness, healthy weight, Eating Attitudes Test
[...] cb wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe relationship between ghrelin, amenorrhea, and eating disorders has been examined time and time again. The consensus seems to be that persistent amenorrhea is likely attributed to disordered eating rather than low body weight. I’ll admit that I am particularly interested in this subject because I do have hypothalamic amenorrhea. This finding is interesting for a few reasons: 1. Return of menses is often a benchmark of physical recovery. Goal weights are subject upon your menstrual cycle… if you’re still not getting your period, then you still don’t weigh enough. 2. If you really are at a healthy weight and still don’t get your period, then it just needs to be “jump-started.” I was told this for years without the professional questioning my current ED behavior. 3. I’ve known several eating disordered women who lost their period well within (or above) the healthy weight range. This study clearly […] [...]
[...] Art Therapy | Expressive Arts Therapy | Art as Therapy wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt The relationship between ghrelin, amenorrhea, and eating disorders has been examined time and time again. The consensus seems to be that persistent amenorrhea is likely attributed to disordered eating rather than low body weight. I’ll admit that I am particularly interested in this subject because I do have hypothalamic amenorrhea. This finding is interesting for a few reasons: 1. Return of menses is often a benchmark of physical recovery. Goal weights are subject upon your menstrual cycle… if [...]
maintaining a healthy weight can be tricky because it revolves around genetics and some other factors -”:
I find this thread so realistic!
I’ve been anorexic for many many years. I have to be honest that I haven’t been able to maintain my “healthy” weight for more than one maybe two years. Which brings me to the original point of greythinking’s post. … it’s not about the weight. Once you’ve gained a right amount of pounds, not the whole weight from which you’ve started (being anorexic…) sometimes menses DO NOT come back… BECAUSE (quote)”Hey, you’re still not taking care of yourself “… I trully believe this point of view.
And that scares me so because even though I consider myself an anorexic “pro”, I still focus on the weight part, not the part that says “hey… take good care of yourself..”
How am I supposed to raise a kid when I don’t care about “his mother”???
So, I either rest my case or try to fight for both myself and my future little baby boy, which I’v been yearning for…
REGARDS.
Izabella