Episode 2: Healing Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: How I Lost My Period For 10 Years and What I Did To Get It Back

For those of you who don’t know, hypothalamic amenorrhea is the cessation of your menstrual cycle for several months (or years in my case) due to a problem involving the hypothalamus. In today’s podcast we look at:

1. What is Hypothalamic Amenorrhea?

• How the hypothalamus controls our reproductive cycle
• What causes the HPA axis to become disrupted
• The changes in hormones FSH, LH, and estrogen that occur
• Why your period and ovulation stops

2. My personal journey with Hypothalamic Amenorrhea including:

• The high school assembly speaker whose story stuck with me
• The age I first lost my period
• What factors contributed to me losing my period in the first place
• The advice I was given from doctors
• Why going on the hormonal contraceptive pill isn’t the answer

3. The 5 main causes of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA)

• The lifestyle and genetic factors that lead to Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
• The research from Dr. Nicola Rinaldi author of No Period, Now What?

4. The health consequences of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea aka losing your period such as:

• Bone loss, increased risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis (and why the pill might not help)
• Heart disease and why estrogen is so essential for heart health
• Dry skin, hair, and nails
• Loss of libido and decreased lubrication during sex
• Issues with gut health
• Among many others!

And finally…

5. The 7 key steps I took to get my period back and how you can get yours back too

• What and how much exercise is appropriate to restore your period
• What and how much you should be eating to kickstart your cycle back into action
• How to figure out and achieve your ideal fertile weight and why body composition is important
• How stress plays a part and ways you can manage this
• Why support networks are essential and how to build yours
• How it took me to get my period back (and a guide on how long it may take for yours to come back too)
• Why the maintenance phase is the most critical part of recovery and which habits you need to keep up with.

If you’re serious about getting your period back, I’ve written a whole eBook outlining the step-by-step process I used myself and now use with my clients to help them restore their periods. This resource is for you if:

• You want to know exactly why your period has gone missing
• You want in depth information of what and how much exercise you should be doing every day
• You are confused about calories and want to know how much to eat to regain your period
• You want to know how to balance your plate at each meal to nourish your hormones
• You want some hormone loving snack ideas and recipes
• You are confused about carbs and want to know how much and which ones to eat for hormone health
• You want actionable stress management strategies so that your body feels safe enough for your period to return
• You are interested in what alternative treatments, supplements and therapies are effective in restoring your period

Again, you can check out the eBook here. If you’ve enjoyed this Podcast please feel free to rate and review it on iTunes and subscribe so you don’t miss out on any episodes!