4 Common Beliefs Dispelled About Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Athlete's amenorrhea. Exercise-induced amenorrhea. These are some of the other terms you'll hear used referring all to what we're talking about today...Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA). But these terms can be misleading, and we'll talk about why, don't you worry! This condition where you lose your period due to inadequate function of your hypothalamus gets some certain reputations that come along with it, but these reputations can be misleading because they don't get at the full picture of all who could be dealing with this condition. That's why we want to talk about some common beliefs about HA and what is true as well as what isn't.If you want some background knowledge on HA, first check out this post all about the basics of what's going on in your body with a diagnosis of hypothalamic amenorrhea. Then come back here and check out this post. Here, I wanted to spend some time, in particular, talking about some very common beliefs that people have (and maybe you have) regarding HA.
BELIEF #1: YOU HAVE TO BE SKINNY TO HAVE HA
So it's very common to think that you have to be in a smaller body or classified as "underweight" in order to get the diagnosis of HA. This is, actually, not the case. HA develops and you lose your period due to essentially too much stress on the body. This could be due to too much and too intense exercise, eating too few calories or poor nutrition, and/or emotional stressors. So, with that, you don't have to be looked at as skinny to have HA.Maybe you've been trying to lose weight and went on a low-carb diet and lost even just a few pounds quickly. Maybe you've been working out more. Maybe along with both of those things you're under a lot of stress at your job. This is the perfect storm to you losing your period, and it has nothing to do with being skinny.
BELIEF #2: YOU HAVE TO BE AN ATHLETE TO HAVE HA
Again, not true. Though athletes are prone to HA due to intense exercise requirements and strict eating plans, you can still develop HA from simply increasing your exercise or doing high intense exercise (think crossfit, spin, running, etc) and/or finding yourself more strict with your diet, eliminating or decreasing food groups, not eating enough calories, and just being stressed out. So again, this is a belief that a lot of women have...that HA is only found in athletes. But we see that that's not the case.
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BELIEF #3: IF YOU'RE ON HORMONAL BIRTH CONTROL AND HAVE A MONTHLY BLEED, YOU CAN'T HAVE HA
Also false. There's often false assurance that everything is ok with your hormones when you're on hormonal birth control and having a bleed every 28 days. But that bleed you see is actually not a period; it's called a withdrawal bleed from the synthetic hormones you've been taking. So take away the hormonal birth control and we could see that your body isn't able to make a period or have a menstrual cycle. If you were put on hormonal birth control simply because you weren't having a period and that's what your doctor recommended, know that birth control is only functioning as a bandaid and the underlying issues of your hypothalamus not sending out necessary hormones for you to have a menstrual cycle are still a problem needing to be addressed.
BELIEF #4: HAVING A PERIOD DOESN'T MATTER UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET PREGNANT
Periods are uncomfortable for a lot of us, no? It can easily be seen as a nuisance you have to deal with each month. So when you lose it, maybe there's a bit of excitement...no more dealing with pads or tampons or being scared to wear white pants. But hear this...you having a period is so much more important for your overall health than just there for the purpose of getting pregnant. You getting your period is a pretty good indicator that your body is creating all the necessary hormones you need for optimal body function as well. That's why sometimes people refer to your period as your fifth vital sign. It is an indicator of your health.Not having a period tells us that your body is low in hormones like estrogen and progesterone that are needed not only for pregnancy but also for optimal bone health, skin, nail, hair health. Not to mention the health of your cardiovascular system. So you see, your period is an indicator of so much more than just your ability to get pregnant. Though when that time comes it's also necessary :) . I hope this post was informative and got you thinking about your own health based on the health of your period. And if you found yourself believing that you not having a period was nothing to worry about but now think differently, reach out! I'm here for you and would love to help you get your period back and get you to a healthy place in your body and your mind!