Ask the doctors: Mahesh Choolani

Q: I am 23. I was anorexic for three years and I have been in recovery for two. At the moment I have a healthy weight, I eat a balanced diet, I work out regularly, although not excessively, and I feel good. However, I haven't had a period in about three years. I was told they would return once I reached a healthy weight, but so far they have not, even though I've been at this weight for more than a year now. What should I do?

A: The female hormonal profile gets affected during anorexia. If you know the exact weight at which your menses stopped coming, then you should target a weight of about two or more kilograms above that particular weight. Also it would be good idea to follow up with a reproductive endocrinologist who would review and track the hormones within your hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and, in particular, your serum estradiol levels which, have shown correlation with resumption of menses.
 

Dr Mahesh Choolani is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with the Choolani Clinic at Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre