Eating Disorders Support Group

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Starting periods again?

xBlissx
xBlissx
I'm feeling quite freaked out at the moment and I'd like to hear if people have experienced the same thing. I think it might help me to feel better about myself.

I've been ill with Anorexia for about 2 years now and my cycle stopped when I reached a low weight. Thing is, everyone says that doctors look at the return of your periods as a big milestone and a sign that you are at a healthy weight for your body to function. Mine as just returned and it's really freaked me out because according to charts and BMI scales I'm still at a very low (anorexic) weight. But now I'm thinking all sorts. Have I been eating nothing but fat without realising? My weight has maintained but fat doesn't weight as much as muscle so have I just been putting fat on? Argh, it's horrible! I know a lot of people see this as a good sign but it's just really screwing with my head because everyone is still saying how underweight I am and I was trying to believe them!

x-Bliss-x
deleted_user
deleted_user
Your basing starting your period as the end all be all. Every person is different. I was about 18 pounds under weight at one point and I still had my period. So try not to let this freak you out. It is a good thing. And the weight you are putting in is probably healthy weight, not fat. Our bodies need a certain amount of substance to servive. I know the mind is a pain in the ass and our little ED voice will always relate everything to body and weight and where we stand with ourselfs, hang in there!
BeccBecc
BeccBecc
Don't base your weight on your period return. It only means that your body is realizing it's getting nutrtion again and can now start to preform some functions once more. I don't believe basing weight on periods is a good thing. I was 25% underweight and I still had my periods. Believe me, I was far away from healthy at that point. If I did what some people suggest, then technically I could've stayed that weight...which is completely WRONG!

Don't stress about you gaining all this "fat". You're gaining weight but you're definately not blowing up like a balloon! You even admit you're still underweight, so try not to think about being "fat" - because you aren't.
kmw
kmw
i feel te same about periods like mine have never entirely gone but theyve always been irregular (about every 7/8 weeks) but i freak out when i get one cause in my head it means "i'm fat enough to have a period..so therefore i am obese"...it doesnt make sence i know,,,but thats how i think...
deleted_user
deleted_user
I am bulimic and have always been either normal weight or slightly underweight so I never lost my periods. I agree that it is a good sign that yours has returned...try to look at it as regaining your health and not getting fatter which I am sure you are nowhere even near being!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I ended up in hospital on drips and heart machines to monitor me during the night because everyone expected me to die and I was still getting periods even at that terribly low weight. Trust me, a period is not a sign you are fat. Everyone's body is different and has different limits. Your period coming back doesn't have anything to do with weight, more to do with nutrition and your body feeling like it is finally ready to support your reproductive cycle. But I can understand why you feel stressed, ED throws logic out the window, "healthy" becomes fat and periods mean youre not thin.

I really hope you continue with your recovery and dont let this get too far into your head. Stay strong xx
deleted_user
deleted_user
It's actually a good sign that your body is better again.
I mean, i think it's quite a bad criteria to catergorise someone as anorexic only when they have lost their period for up to 3 months. People can be sick and anorexic, but they have not lost their period. Then they don't get the help they need.
deleted_user
deleted_user
i didnt get my period until i was 7 pounds over my original weight which was 103 (recovering anorexia and now current binger. yaayy.......) so at 110 i got my period. how do u think that made me feel? just think of it this way, im special, my body knows im healing and its not stupid like willpower95s. just keep goign and eat what you want! your not eating fat. and if u are its prob GOOD FAT that make ur hair and nails very shiny