Hormonal changes and exercising - woman help!

pharmaton

Don't know where to put this, I realise it's a female issue but it is health/fitness related and thought I might get some feedback here.
I'm not looking for medical advice, I have already been to my doctor before and I will make another appointment again soon I'm just genuinely hoping other females (or educated men) may have come across this issue before and can give me some perspective.

A couple of years ago I took up strength training and within three months had noticed a lot of irregularities in my menstrual cycle, it went on for a few months after which I decided to check it out with my doc. I felt it was as a result of training or maybe change of diet (as I was eating more protein and had started to use shakes) but my mother felt it sounded like pre menopause symptoms but either way let the doc decide. After several blood tests and all the checkups I could handle he said it didn't appear indicative of menopause (I was 35/6 at the time) but when I asked if it was exercise/diet related he sort of smiled and said probably not, that it wouldn't have that kind of effect. He basically said it was nothing to worry about and we left it at that.

I gave training a rest for a couple of months and after a while everything went back to normal.
After about six months I rejoined the gym and went back training, I also started swimming with a club on a twice weekly basis but decided to not go so heavy handed with protein and didn't upgrade my diet in case it brought on the same symptoms. Within about a month my cycle got all messed up again but I continued on with training and despite all of it actually gained weight. (I used to waiver between 56 and 58kg and ended up nearing 60 after three months, I was fairly stressed with work and eating habits went out window too. (5'4) )
I decided to give it a rest again and sure enough everything went back to normal after a month or so.

So I just started training again and within this first month its just kicked off once more. I have no doubt in my mind that this is being triggered by exercise, everywhere I google I find a link between exercise upsetting hormonal balance wrt to irregular menstrual cycle so I can't understand why my doc doesn't think it's relevant.

I'll be going to see him again this week hopefully but I really just need for him to confirm this for me, outside if this just something I have to put up with when exercising should I be eating specific foods to help combat the imbalance (soy? supplements etc?) And can somebody explain how (or which) exactly the hormones are affected by training. I get there will be a slight increase in testosterone levels in women but surely that's hardly enough to have such a direct effect on the menstrual cycle? (along with noticeable increase in libido but sure that's hardly a bad thing )
Otherwise I find training actually helps to bring about stability, without it my spirits and energy are low and I generally feel sluggish

Glitter

I can't really help with any scientific advice but since losing a large amount of weight (60lbs approx.) I have noticed my periods are about a day shorter and significantly lighter, they used to be really awful.

My cycle also used to be like clockwork and has started skipping about a little recently.

I have upped my training regime again in the past few months - hoping to lose another 20lbs or so by the end of this year to get to goal - and last month I was a whole week late which has never, ever happened to me before. One major blip like that is certainly nothing that can be called a pattern but I think there must be some correlation between diet/exercise and our cycles.

Perhaps someone else on here will have more expert advice.

pharmaton

Glitter wrote: »

Perhaps someone else on here will have more expert advice.

thanks and with any luck!.
When I started strenght training first I lost about 7 lbs over three months which isn't exactly drastic but a lot had to to with diet. The first time cycle went into overdrive and I was getting hit twice a month. That went on for about 4 months and it takes it out of you y'know. So I stopped training.

My weight has been steady enough over the last two years roughly 57-59kg (I'm 57kg at the min) The second time it was like payback time, my cycle slowed down to skipping one a month. I just ended up bloated and gained on the scales but I wasn't so diet conscious on that one.

This time it's back into overdrive and gone double time again, but I've lost the 2kg that Ihad gained.
I don't know if I could deal with it again.

Hanley

Gonna throw three theories out here (only theories)

1) Unless you've extremely jacked up adrenal glands, testosterone production may not be the cause

2) Severe dieting/kcal restriction causes a **** the bed response in your body and most non essential functions can become inhibited. Additionally increased exercise and leanness can inhibit estrogen release which means screwed up cycles

3) point 2) above can also be caused by excessive non exercise related stress levels

So really, it's a crap shoot. Could be anything. You should go to your doc

Firedance

gosh that's mad, I think I'm in exactly the same position as you but I never put it down to the strength training! I thought it was pre menopause too (am 42) but likewise my cycle was bang on for years no problems but in the last year or so since training its going from early one month to late the next. I've no other pre menopause symptoms though. How did I not figure that out, sorry that's not really any help to you except maybe it seems that it does happen to others so maybe its a 'normal' reaction. Hopefully someone else on here will have better knowledge of it.

juke

I'm not going to be much help either, I'm afraid - except to say my cycle is very irregular - anything from 21-30 days and I'm about the same age.

I'm only actually keeping a note since October, when, by co-incidence, I started free weights and have since lost 10 kilos. Because of my contraceptive choices over the years, I never gave it a moments thought, so I can't say if my cycle was always so erratic .

I say push your GP if you are concerned.

pharmaton

Hanley wrote: »

Gonna throw three theories out here (only theories)

1) Unless you've extremely jacked up adrenal glands, testosterone production may not be the cause

2) Severe dieting/kcal restriction causes a **** the bed response in your body and most non essential functions can become inhibited. Additionally increased exercise and leanness can inhibit estrogen release which means screwed up cycles

3) point 2) above can also be caused by excessive non exercise related stress levels

So really, it's a crap shoot. Could be anything. You should go to your doc

tested for pcos and other hormonal (thyroid) issues and came back negative, he also said testosterone wouldn't be the cause though he did begin to monitor my weight and was happy at where I was at the time just felt it wasn't necessary to lose anymore. I have been doing a bit of reading up on it trying to get as much info as I could so that if there was something triggering it I might have a better understanding and find a way to manage it. I was running though the idea of it being cortisol related, so I'm looking at ways to reduce stress on my body too. (without having to give up exercising!)
Thanks and I yeah I will be checking in with doc soon.

( No other symptoms of pre menopause either Firedance, its a bit of a shock to the system to be checking for it at 35 though :eek: and never used contraceptive hormones myself Juke, he did suggest maybe starting them just to help regulate things but it wouldn't be a route I want to go down at this stage of my life!)

JJayoo

It might be a good idea to repost your original post on a site such as myfitnesspal. They have a large number of female members that lift weights and you would have a better chance of finding someone in a similar situation to yourself.

Aimeee

There are some interesting papers online about hormone changes and resistance training in women.
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/hormoneResUNM.html
This might also be of interest:
http://www.metaboliceffect.com/female-effect-hormones-determine-female-fat-patterns/

Am interested in replies you get also, as I noticed hormonal changes a few years ago also, but didn't really relate it to increased exercise although now I look back the two did coincide.
Best of luck with it and hope you find a way forward.

Another one:
http://www.coachr.org/Strength%20Training%20For%20Women.htm

doctorwhogirl

I'm currently getting this explored at the moment as I've lost my monthlies completely. Now this has also coincided with a huge weight loss so it's hard to ascertain what is at the root of the issue.

I've been with a gynaecologist and hormonally, apart from low oestrogen due to not having had any monthlies for awhile, are ok. These were tests mainly of the female hormones. I also had a scan to ensure I didn't have PCOS or any other issues. So basically, gynaecologically I'm relatively ok. But I'll be put on the contraceptive pill to ensure bone health.

I'm not being referred to an endocrinologist for further investigation and this is where I reckon I'll find the answers due to the changes in leptin, cortisol and other hormones in the body when you lose fat and gain muscle.

I've no answers yet, but get to a doctor if you're missing them for more than 6 months as bone health is at risk as well as other things.

pharmaton

I'm intrigued by the responses too, it definitely appears to be a fairly common side effect just wondered why it's never been highlighted before but hearing others experiences has put my mind a little more at ease. Cheers for the links

David K. Woodard

pharmaton wrote: »

I'm intrigued by the responses too, it definitely appears to be a fairly common side effect just wondered why it's never been highlighted before but hearing others experiences has put my mind a little more at ease. Cheers for the links

Same happens with me may be due to low self confidence. Right now I am facing the problems of unwanted growth of hair on my whole body and I heard about many treatments but a bit of confused so can you tell me the best treatment should I undergo without any side effects?

pharmaton

David K. Woodard wrote: »

Same happens with me may be due to low self confidence. Right now I am facing the problems of unwanted growth of hair on my whole body and I heard about many treatments but a bit of confused so can you tell me the best treatment should I undergo without any side effects?

not sure where the link between missing periods or having two periods in one month is associated with low self confidence. I'm not very hairy either I'm afraid but maybe you should check it out with your doc

Aimeee

Hello
Just wanted to mention something I came accross the other night, on the search for something else.
Dr Marilyn Glenville makes brief mention, in one of her books, of loss of periods amongst athletes/olympian trainees when there is a slight drop in body fat, from their norm.
She says it's very common and is rectified by change in diet to increase calories just to increase body fat by small percentage.
www.marilynglenville.com is her website, maybe drop her email and she might have more info/sources of info.

j@utis

I experience this myself about 5-6 years ago. I was going to the gym 5-6 times a week, exercising like mad: weights, cardio. After some time I decided to do a little bit of "cutting" and put myself on reduced calorie diet for a month (1300kcal). I lost about 2-3kg of weight and my periods. I freaked out, went back to eating normal amounts, my weight went back up but my periods have never got back to normal. The only way to normalize them is to go on the pill but I'm against it (having a baby is another option but I don't like kids either). Now I think that the biggest problem then was that I ate very LOW FAT diet. Even if I ate reduced calorie diet but with moderate fat it wouldn't have happen.

pharmaton

Thanks for that Aimee, sound interesting and I will look into it (as it happens I've been trying to upgrade fats intake after reading some threads here on the topic so it's in the planner). Just didn't have the time to get to see doc last week but definitely making appointment tomorrow as things seem to have only gotten worse over the last few days and I'm wondering if I've gone and done myself an injury so best rule that out first. Not looking forward to the prodding

pharmaton

Just to update. I've been requested to stop training for a little while so I can get more tests done. It's a bit of a downer because I was only two weeks away from hitting my target but things were only getting worse. Bit worried too because I don't know what it might throw up and it's going to take a while to go through everything but better to get it out of the way now and start again with a clean bill of health (hopefully) in a few weeks time. Will let you know how it goes.

(also apologies if this is a bit tmi for this particular forum but as it's something that affects so many women while training it might just be beneficial to have it for others experiencing difficulties along the same lines)

Aimeee

Hope everything works out ok Pharmaton, bummer to have to stop but better to be safe than sorry.
One body - have to look after it.
Best of Luck.x

pharmaton

Just to update on this, got all my tests back and everything is normal, bloods, smears, swabs, physicals etc, no early menopause, no pcos, no prolapse, no disease or infection, no tears, hormone levels regular etc etc so it just seems to be purely due to the form exercise. I got a second opinion from a female doc and she said it's fairly common in some sports (specifically to bleed after a workout) so has taken a lot fo worry out of the equation and I can go back training now Hope it helps.