Cycle 4 months late

[natalied]

I started eating Paleo at the beginning of January and had my period start 1 week early. I haven't had one since. I have been AIP for a month. Does anyone have any advice? I have been eating plenty of sweet potatoes, squashes, etc. We'd like to start trying for another baby this fall and I really don't want to use any hormones to get my cycle going again... Thanks in advance.

[octobergirl]

Did you lose any weight since starting paleo and/or up your exercise routine or have significantly more stress? Are you eating enough in general? Also, do you have a history of losing your period? I lost mine for almost 2 years when I first got sick with Crohn's, but I was very sick and also overexercising and had lost my period in the past from not eating enough to support my activity.

I'm assuming you have an autoimmune disease since you're on AIP, is it fairly active? That can also be a stressor of course. Any type of stress can really mess up your hormones. I would make sure you're eating enough, eat enough healthy fats as well as carbs, get rest, destress, basically everything that Sarah recommends in AIP. I would probably get your hormone levels tested if things don't resolve so you can at least have an idea of where you're at.

[natalied]

Octobergirl, thanks for the response! Yes, I lost up to 10 lbs and have gain back 2 or 3. I'm now on the thinner side so I definitely lost much of the fat, which I know is necessary for ovulation, etc. I saw my ob/gyn and she didn't seem too concerned since I had drastically changed my diet in the last couple months. I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It has improved so incredibly much since I started paleo in January and AIP this last month. I had the usual things tested when I went to the dr. (checked vit d, calcium, cholesterol, and I had my thyroid checked because I have family history) and everything was "normal". I haven't exercised much at all. My period used to be very regular. I had a baby in June 2012 and breastfed for 18 months. My period came back at 11 months post partum. It was good until January. I definitely need to de-stress! I will probably take your advice and get my hormone levels checked.

[natalied]

Oh and I eat lots of healthy fats- olive oil, coconut oil, olives, avocados, meats. I do need to get more sleep. I only get about 6 hours a night but I sleep great during that time.

[octobergirl]

Hi Natalied,

I"m sorry i'm just getting back to you. For some reason I'm not being notified when threads I've participated in are updated.

I would think that your weight lost probably has a lot to do with your losing your cycle. I lost mine first when I lost 10 pounds fairly quickly. Even when I gained the weight back though, my cycle didn't return until I ended up having to do the progesterone challenge, which is basically taking a course of progesterone and then when you stop in a few days it should restart your cycle again. This worked the first time for me, but when I lost it again later after getting Crohn's I tried that twice and nothing happened. I was misdiagnosed with PCOS and eventually diagnosed with hypothalamic amenorrhea. (Both can cause cysts on your ovaries). Just thought I'd throw that out there in case you end up in a position where you need to do some further research. Hopefully it's something that can be resolved pretty easily.