Missing Period?
What is Hypothalamic Amenorrhea?
Understanding Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: Causes, Symptoms, and Steps to Recovery
Amenorrhea
Amenorrhea is the absence of a period. There are different kinds of amenorrhea, but the different diagnoses stem mostly from your menstrual cycle history before losing your period and your medical history, such as lab work.
Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
Hypothalamic amenorrhea, aka Secondary Amenorrhea or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, is the absence of a period (3 consecutive months) in a woman who previously had a menstrual cycle. This is when the HPO (hypothalamic pituitary ovary) axis that controls the menstrual cycle becomes suppressed due an energy deficit due to common factors such as chronic undereating and over-exercising. It is important to note that not everyone who develops hypothalamic amenorrhea has a disordered relationship with exercise. It is the chronic energy deficit that suppresses the HPO axis.
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When looking at labs to confirm hypothalamic amenorrhea, we are looking for:
3 consecutive months of no period
Estradiol <50 pg/ml
FSH <10 mIU/ml
LH <10 mIU/ml
Common Symptoms of Amenorrhea
Common symptoms you may experience include:
Digestive issues such as constipation, food intolerances, bloating, etc.
Subclinical or clinical hypothyroidism resulting in hair loss, cold hands and feet, etc.
Trouble sleeping
Anxiety
Brain fog
Low resting heart rate
Osteoporosis/osteopenia
Low libido
Painful sex
Honestly, there are so many symptoms of hypothalamic amenorrhea because of the depletion of estrogen and progesterone along with other hormones such as thyroid, leptin, testosterone, etc. This is because these hormones have a systemic effect on the body thats leads to a wide variety of issues that may seem “unconnected”.
Big takeaway: Sex hormones are not JUST for reproduction.
Hypothalamic Amenorrhea Spectrum?
There is also what we believe to be a spectrum of hypothalamic amenorrhea. This can look like cervical mucus becoming less and less with each cycle, cycles becoming longer over time (usually due to delayed ovulation), shorter luteal phases due to lower progesterone production, shorter bleeds during your period, and even spotting before ovulation, before your period completely disappears.
We have also seen women with irregular cycles who are mislabeled as having PCOS when it is actually delayed ovulation causing their periods to come every 3 months.
Big takeaway: Hypothalamic amenorrhea doesn’t just happen overnight. It develops over time due to a chronic energy deficit.
So You Have Amenorrhea, What Next?
If your labs and symptoms sound like your period could be missing due to hypothalamic amenorrhea, you’ll want to take action now.
Check out the recovery stories from our clients below and on our Google Reviews – women just like you are restoring ovulation naturally!
We also have over 250 episodes of recovery stories on our podcast, The Hypothalamic Amenorrhea Podcast.
Be part of our 98%
98% of our clients successfully recover their cycles through our program.
The 2% who don’t are:
women with premature ovarian insufficiency, a condition we also work with but that takes many years to recover from.
women who choose not to continue the program past 1 month.
By starting this program, you are committing to taking the steps required to recover quickly and be part of that 98%.
Kristen Lee
Pregnancy Journey
Going through HA is such a hard journey to navigate alone. Thankfully I didn’t have to once I met Dani and she introduced me to Ashley! Ashley fully understood what I would need to do to recover, not only with my body, but with my faith. Through coaching I regained period, and few my relationship with God. Through the process I was able to get pregnant naturally, and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I learned so much about my body and how resilient it is. Also, just how to take care of myself and that health is not what society paints it to be. Coaching with Ashley thanks to the HA Society has truly changed my life.
Halle Borchardt
Pregnancy Journey
After 5 years with an eating disorder and 5 years without a cycle, I was able to get pregnant NATURALLY! Ashley led me through their process to restore my cycles, taught me how to read my BBT chart, confirm ovulation, and get pregnant. I am so grateful for the coaching I did with Ashley.
I was diagnosed with PCOS at the age of 15 after losing my cycles, and because of the severity of that diagnosis came with an infertility diagnosis. The only solution offered was birth control and to try IVF if I wanted a family. After working with Ashley I not only realized I had HA but regained my period, manage my PCOS symptoms, and got pregnant naturally within the same year. HA Society resources and personal coaching with Ashley have changed my life and helped me overcome the diagnoses that I struggled with for over 10 years.
Kyler Petterson
Pregnancy Journey
Now let’s solve your HA. Start here next.
We coach women through an issue called Hypothalamic Amenorrhea – where your period has gone missing due to over exercise, under eating and other contributing lifestyle factors!
And it’s your lucky day because we’re giving you some of our exclusive tools usually reserved just for our clients, FREE.
Too many women are led to believe that…
A missing period is no big deal
Period problems are to be expected.
Infertility is normal to be "unexplained".
That women can fix a missing period by simply taking BC…
It’s just not true.
More women than you realize are walking around, day to day, with this very issue.
The truth is that missing periods are a result of our culture. Women are told to be perfect: the perfect partner, daughter, career woman, mother and have wild financial success – all while staying thin and fit.
If this resonates with you then you’re in the right place.
Your HA Infertility Blueprint Kit
Value $497 FREE for 2 weeks
What do women actually need to get their period back?!
We’ve put the answer in this Blueprint Kit.
Stop spinning your wheels trying to figure out the missing piece to hypothalamic amenorrhea.
Our DIY Recovery Program will help you understand hypothalamic amenorrhea in and out, identify the blindspots in your recovery, resolve challenges that are specific to you and get your period back (for good).
We cut out the fluff and help you get right to the juicy stuff:
Why women have HA
How to identify and remove unhelpful food and exercise rules
Balance your blood sugar and establish new habits and routines that will actually serve women in hypothalamic amenorrhea recovery – all with the goal to help you get your period back asap.
Because that’s what you really want, right?
How the course works/What you get
The Self Guided Restore Program (Value $472)
Follow the program, do the homework, figure out what blindspots are and put a plan in place to tackle them immediately.
Use the workbook to help get your thoughts and learnings straight to help with implementation around nutrition, exercise, supplementation, mindful eating and more.
Modules to help you unpack your infertility, then repack it neatly
Over the course of 10 modules you will identify the cause of HA. That clarity will allow you to build a game plan for recovery around nutrition, exercise and lifestyle.
Food review recordings from past members
This part of the course is extremely valuable. Watch us walk through different client food logs of past clients to see how you stack up with your eating habits. You’ll be unable to avoid seeing women who are similar to you and hearing the advice that they get in their recovery. You can use this information to apply to yourself.
2 weeks access to The HA Society (Value $34.99/month)
The HA Society is a thriving community with access to personalized advice, live group calls all year round and a huge backlog of call replays and practitioner events that you can listen to inside of the private podcast. Chat directly with Ashley and Dani for any quick bits of advice you need.