I know this is a bit of a personal topic, but has anyone else experienced this?
I am 39 and was diagnosed with LC five months ago and have, since then, skipped three periods. I have lost a bit of weight (15 pounds in three weeks initially) but have been getting a decent amount of nutrition (I believe) and still haven't had my normal menses. I was also on Pepto-Bismol, three times a day for three months, so was wondering if that could also be contributing but haven't heard of something like that as a side effect. But then again, how many people take Pepto-Bismol for that long? I only recently got off a week ago so I guess time will tell, but I am starting to get concerned that skipping that many periods is bad for my overall health.
Absence of Menstruation
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I did not personally experience skipping periods as I was age 50 when diagnosed and my periods were tapering down but your experience does not surprise me since MC is such a shock to the system when it comes on all of a sudden.
I had ataxia, I had extreme dizziness, I had memory issues at the onset of MC. Given the severity
of my MC when it struck missing periods would seem to be not unusual although I don't remember
ever hearing any conversation about it on the board.
Did the loss of 15 pounds kick your weight down pretty low? Low weight women skip periods
as well as lady runners and some top tier lady athletes in other sport fields.
I had ataxia, I had extreme dizziness, I had memory issues at the onset of MC. Given the severity
of my MC when it struck missing periods would seem to be not unusual although I don't remember
ever hearing any conversation about it on the board.
Did the loss of 15 pounds kick your weight down pretty low? Low weight women skip periods
as well as lady runners and some top tier lady athletes in other sport fields.
Hi,
To add to what Brandy posted, it's my opinion (not medically proven) that gluten sensitivity can cause missed periods, (amenorrhea), because celiac disease is notorious for causing amenorrhea, (and that has been medically proven). It's also a listed side effect of budesonide (but I gather that you haven't been taking budesonide.)
I hope this helps.
Tex
To add to what Brandy posted, it's my opinion (not medically proven) that gluten sensitivity can cause missed periods, (amenorrhea), because celiac disease is notorious for causing amenorrhea, (and that has been medically proven). It's also a listed side effect of budesonide (but I gather that you haven't been taking budesonide.)
I hope this helps.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I was on Budesonide for four days (couldn't tolerate it) and I also initially thought this might be the cause of my missed periods but haven't been on it for almost three months now.
I was tested for celiac (blood test) which was negative but also had the Enterolab test with a result of 21 units (normal being under 10). I only recently cut gluten from my diet so I will be curious to see if my menses will come back after some time has passed.
Yes, I am very underweight now (5'9" and 109 lbs). This may very well be the cause of missing periods so hopefully it will come back (wow, never thought I'd say that) after I am able to gain more weight when the inflammation is down.
Thank you so much, Tex and Brandy!
I was tested for celiac (blood test) which was negative but also had the Enterolab test with a result of 21 units (normal being under 10). I only recently cut gluten from my diet so I will be curious to see if my menses will come back after some time has passed.
Yes, I am very underweight now (5'9" and 109 lbs). This may very well be the cause of missing periods so hopefully it will come back (wow, never thought I'd say that) after I am able to gain more weight when the inflammation is down.
Thank you so much, Tex and Brandy!
Hi Janie,
I suppose it could be possible that I am early pre-menopausal, although I am 39 and my mom was around 50 when she started. It is certainly something to consider. I guess I am a little surprised that no one else has experienced it since most of us have lost a lot of weight and are all relatively on the same types of treatment. I know everyone's situation is a little different, though.
I suppose it could be possible that I am early pre-menopausal, although I am 39 and my mom was around 50 when she started. It is certainly something to consider. I guess I am a little surprised that no one else has experienced it since most of us have lost a lot of weight and are all relatively on the same types of treatment. I know everyone's situation is a little different, though.
5'9" and 109 is very low weight. I suspect gaining back 7-10 pounds will do the trick.
I think most of us lost a lot of weight but we probably started at a higher weight. I got down to a low of
125 at 5'6" which at the time I felt scrawny.
I think it is not dropping weight that causes us to stop menstruating but rather hitting a low weight threshold.
I think it is from evolution. If a woman is living in a time of famine...think war....the low weight/non menstruating
protects her from getting pregnant.
I think most of us lost a lot of weight but we probably started at a higher weight. I got down to a low of
125 at 5'6" which at the time I felt scrawny.
I think it is not dropping weight that causes us to stop menstruating but rather hitting a low weight threshold.
I think it is from evolution. If a woman is living in a time of famine...think war....the low weight/non menstruating
protects her from getting pregnant.
This is less than scientific, but I can tell you from a lifetime of cattle ranching experience that during droughts, or any other abnormality that causes cows to lose a lot of weight, or be in poor condition for any reason, they become generally infertile for the reason that Brandy stated. Vitamin or mineral deficiencies could also play a part, because they have such a big influence on how well hormones can be utilized. From chapter 5 of my book on vitamin D:
In case this interests you, here's a few more of the following paragraphs from the book:
MC depletes magnesium and vitamin D. And adequate magnesium is absolutely necessary to enable the body to complete the conversion of the inactive form of vitamin D into the active form (so that it becomes a steroid hormone).Vitamin D is actually a hormone.
In fact, the active form of vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D3, is a steroid hormone, while the inactive form, 25(OH)D3, can be described as a precursor to a hormone. But before hormones can serve any useful purpose in the body, they must be able to relay their molecular information and instructions, and they do this by binding to specialized proteins called receptors. In humans (and in fact in all vertebrates), there are five major categories of steroid hormone receptors. They are known as androgen receptors, estrogen receptors, glucocorticoid receptors, mineralocorticoid receptors, and progestin receptors.
In case this interests you, here's a few more of the following paragraphs from the book:
TexEach type is specialized to match the needs of the hormones that it binds with. In the case of the glucocorticoid receptors, they contain nuclear receptors, and this is important to our discussion here, because the active form of vitamin D is a nuclear hormone. For anyone not familiar with this designation, no, a "nuclear" hormone is not radioactive. "Nuclear", in this case, simply refers to the fact that cells in this group are of a type that have a membrane-enclosed nucleus that contains most of their genetic material.
The unique characteristic of nuclear receptors that distinguishes them from other types of receptors is their ability to directly bind with DNA and to modify gene expression. For the purposes of this discussion, we only need to know a few basic facts about genes. First we need to recognize that a gene is a small segment of specially coded genetic material known as DNA. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, and almost every cell in the body contains identical DNA. Each gene contains a set of instructions for constructing molecules that are needed for reproduction and survival. And we need to know that gene expression is the process by which the information contained within a gene is utilized to produce a useful product.
Nuclear receptors are able to sense and bind to certain hormones such as cortisol, thyroid, and vitamin D. These hormones act as ligands and activate the respective receptors. For biological purposes, a ligand is simply a substance (typically a small molecule) that binds with a biologically-active (meaning that it is produced by a living organism) molecule in order to form a complex that serves a biological purpose.
Since nuclear receptors have the ability to bind directly to DNA, this means that when they are properly activated, the receptors are able to regulate the expression of adjacent genes. In other words, when the presence of a specific type of hormone is detected and binding occurs, this activates the receptor, and in medical (scientific) terms, the corresponding gene is either up-regulated or down-regulated, according to the normal function of the hormone. In more common terms, the activation of the receptor either switches the gene on or switches it off, depending on the normal purpose of that particular hormone.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thanks to all for your help!
It is very likely that I am not getting enough vitamin D and magnesium in my diet in addition to being underweight since it is so hard to gain the weight back on the Stage One diet. But it's imperative that I get my periods back soon because I know the uterine lining buildup can cause further problems and higher risk of endometrial cancer. Oral contraception may help but that might not be a good idea to mix with the Questran I'm currently taking, or the MC for that matter.
I noticed some threads that discussed taking vitamin D and magnesium supplements but there appears to be a lot of dos and don'ts. Are there any supplement brands that I should really stay away from (sorry if this might have already been discussed in another thread)?
It is very likely that I am not getting enough vitamin D and magnesium in my diet in addition to being underweight since it is so hard to gain the weight back on the Stage One diet. But it's imperative that I get my periods back soon because I know the uterine lining buildup can cause further problems and higher risk of endometrial cancer. Oral contraception may help but that might not be a good idea to mix with the Questran I'm currently taking, or the MC for that matter.
I noticed some threads that discussed taking vitamin D and magnesium supplements but there appears to be a lot of dos and don'ts. Are there any supplement brands that I should really stay away from (sorry if this might have already been discussed in another thread)?
Just about any safe vitamin D will work. Many here use Doctors Best Brand, 3,000–5,000 IU per day (more in the winter).
Magnesium glycinate is the form of magnesium that's the least likely to cause diarrhea, while still being well-absorbed. Again, many use Doctors Best Brand. Some take high doses, but I consider that unnecessary (and risky), because the body can only utilize so much at any given time (without risking an overdose). I take 300 mg (3 tablets) daily, divided up so that I take one with (or immediately after) each meal.
Tex
Magnesium glycinate is the form of magnesium that's the least likely to cause diarrhea, while still being well-absorbed. Again, many use Doctors Best Brand. Some take high doses, but I consider that unnecessary (and risky), because the body can only utilize so much at any given time (without risking an overdose). I take 300 mg (3 tablets) daily, divided up so that I take one with (or immediately after) each meal.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Also, external magnesium would help a lot during this time.
Based on personal DNA, you may have VDR receptors that find it hard to uptake VitD so you may need at minimum 5000 iu VitD3 and at minimum 500mg Magnesium spread out through the day in which case applying some external Mag lotion really helps to not tax the kidneys when trying to get levels up to a sustainable healthy level.
I am 5'9", 145lb and I have the VDR receptor issue so after recent blood tests my Dr and I agree that I need to increase my daily VitD from 2000iu, and to maintain at minimum 6000 iu VitD3 and increase my magnesium from 400mg to almost 600mg due to my levels staying on the low end of a Red Blood Cell serum test for magnesium. My inflammation keeps eating up my mag levels. Maybe one of these days I can report that I have cleared up my trigger to my LC and I can maintain at a lower dose of D and Mag.
Based on personal DNA, you may have VDR receptors that find it hard to uptake VitD so you may need at minimum 5000 iu VitD3 and at minimum 500mg Magnesium spread out through the day in which case applying some external Mag lotion really helps to not tax the kidneys when trying to get levels up to a sustainable healthy level.
I am 5'9", 145lb and I have the VDR receptor issue so after recent blood tests my Dr and I agree that I need to increase my daily VitD from 2000iu, and to maintain at minimum 6000 iu VitD3 and increase my magnesium from 400mg to almost 600mg due to my levels staying on the low end of a Red Blood Cell serum test for magnesium. My inflammation keeps eating up my mag levels. Maybe one of these days I can report that I have cleared up my trigger to my LC and I can maintain at a lower dose of D and Mag.
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Hi Erica,
You raise a very good point. Whenever we have a lot of inflammation, our immune system consumes way above normal amounts of vitamin D and magnesium. We often point out that MC depletes vitamin D and magnesium. But really, this happens because our immune system is consuming vitamin D and magnesium at greatly increased rates in order to fight the inflammation. So while it's true that MC is responsible for the extra usage, it's being consumed by our immune system as it fights the inflammation and tries to heal our body.
The supplementation rates I list above are maintenance rates that work for me (and probably a lot of others), normally. But while we're reacting, and/or our inflammation rates are high, our individual usage rates may be much higher, so we need to be taking more. And as you mentioned, we need to check our levels now and then to see whether we need to be taking more or less. If it's more, topical magnesium can help a lot. Using enough to keep our immune system working smoothly can be very important for our long-term health.
Thanks,
Tex
You raise a very good point. Whenever we have a lot of inflammation, our immune system consumes way above normal amounts of vitamin D and magnesium. We often point out that MC depletes vitamin D and magnesium. But really, this happens because our immune system is consuming vitamin D and magnesium at greatly increased rates in order to fight the inflammation. So while it's true that MC is responsible for the extra usage, it's being consumed by our immune system as it fights the inflammation and tries to heal our body.
The supplementation rates I list above are maintenance rates that work for me (and probably a lot of others), normally. But while we're reacting, and/or our inflammation rates are high, our individual usage rates may be much higher, so we need to be taking more. And as you mentioned, we need to check our levels now and then to see whether we need to be taking more or less. If it's more, topical magnesium can help a lot. Using enough to keep our immune system working smoothly can be very important for our long-term health.
Thanks,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Sorphal,
Oral contraception can be iffy for us. For some women it is no problem, for some women it prevents
remission. I would not stop me from trying it but just a heads up.
Do you still have D? Or you able to eat potatoes? rice? uncured bacon? to add on weight?
It looks like thyroid issues can also cause missed periods. That is also worth a check up.
Pregnancy?
Are you doing diet alone? Any meds for MC? If just diet maybe consider cholestryamine
or budesonide to help you stabilize and eat more?
Oral contraception can be iffy for us. For some women it is no problem, for some women it prevents
remission. I would not stop me from trying it but just a heads up.
Do you still have D? Or you able to eat potatoes? rice? uncured bacon? to add on weight?
It looks like thyroid issues can also cause missed periods. That is also worth a check up.
Pregnancy?
Are you doing diet alone? Any meds for MC? If just diet maybe consider cholestryamine
or budesonide to help you stabilize and eat more?