I'm in the midst of analyzing data from my surveys to add to our book on HA recovery (more on that soon!!!)
I was looking at what percentage responded to Provera by getting a bleed, and how long after the last pill that bleed typically was. I also decided to look at whether bleeding in response to Provera predicted recovery of natural cycles.
Answers:
* 18% (48 / 256) responded to Provera the first time they tried it (most likely while working towards getting a diagnosis).
* 26% (31/119) responded to a subsequent Provera challenge.
* The median time to response was three days after the last pill
* 95% bled by five days after the last pill,
* All but one (out of 86 reporting time to bleed) responded by eight days after the last pill
The interesting fact of the day is that responding to Provera in no way predicted recovery of natural periods!
* 46% of those who bled in response to Provera restored natural cycles (prior to moving to treatment to get pregnant)
* 47% of those who did not bleed resumed natural cycles.
For all intents and purposes, the same. I would have expected that bleeding in response to Provera would strongly predict regaining natural cycles. Apparently not!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
What's a few extra pounds?
I'm knee-deep (maybe more like neck-deep) in working on my book on hypothalamic amenorrhea recovery; currently working on chapter 23 out of 30, so getting closer and closer...*huge grin*.
A couple of months ago I noticed that I was feeling HA-like symptoms again, despite cycling regularly ever since I weaned baby #3 about a year ago. I do a lot of work late at night, and I was constantly feeling cold, having to get a sweater to put on, despite keeping the house at a fairly balmy 70 degrees.
My scale broke a while ago and I never bothered to replace it, so I had no idea how much I weighed. I did a quick check at the gym one day (I am currently spending 45 minutes a week there, while #2 has his gymnastics class) and was surprised (and yet not) to find that I was at a mere 124lbs. That is pretty much what my weight was when I was at the height of HA - I dropped to 120 for about five seconds, but 124 was my stable weight.
Things are VERY different now than my HA days - I eat whatever I feel like and get a total of about two hours of high intensity exercise a week (writing a book is not conducive to exercise!) as opposed to limiting myself to 1500 calories with 2-3 hours of daily exercise.
But, between my weight being lower than I expected and feeling cold all the time (and hungry at night too), I was clearly not eating enough. So I added ice cream, bigger portions, whole milk to my cocoa (which has become my new addiction) and weighed myself about a month later, back up to my standard of 128. Whew.
Today I hopped on the scale again, another six or so weeks later, and now up to 132. My initial reaction was, "gulp", but then as I thought about it more, A) I'm nice and toasty warm, I've been in short sleeves the last few nights - and the temperature in the house has been exactly the same, B) I'm not nearly as hungry in the evenings, and C) I'm not even noticing my clothes fitting differently, and D) my cycle is MUCH more normal (back to a nice 12-day LP). So who the heck cares? On top of all the other positives, I actually think my face looks a bit fuller = fewer lines = younger so there's that too.
I'll take it!
A couple of months ago I noticed that I was feeling HA-like symptoms again, despite cycling regularly ever since I weaned baby #3 about a year ago. I do a lot of work late at night, and I was constantly feeling cold, having to get a sweater to put on, despite keeping the house at a fairly balmy 70 degrees.
My scale broke a while ago and I never bothered to replace it, so I had no idea how much I weighed. I did a quick check at the gym one day (I am currently spending 45 minutes a week there, while #2 has his gymnastics class) and was surprised (and yet not) to find that I was at a mere 124lbs. That is pretty much what my weight was when I was at the height of HA - I dropped to 120 for about five seconds, but 124 was my stable weight.
Things are VERY different now than my HA days - I eat whatever I feel like and get a total of about two hours of high intensity exercise a week (writing a book is not conducive to exercise!) as opposed to limiting myself to 1500 calories with 2-3 hours of daily exercise.
But, between my weight being lower than I expected and feeling cold all the time (and hungry at night too), I was clearly not eating enough. So I added ice cream, bigger portions, whole milk to my cocoa (which has become my new addiction) and weighed myself about a month later, back up to my standard of 128. Whew.
Today I hopped on the scale again, another six or so weeks later, and now up to 132. My initial reaction was, "gulp", but then as I thought about it more, A) I'm nice and toasty warm, I've been in short sleeves the last few nights - and the temperature in the house has been exactly the same, B) I'm not nearly as hungry in the evenings, and C) I'm not even noticing my clothes fitting differently, and D) my cycle is MUCH more normal (back to a nice 12-day LP). So who the heck cares? On top of all the other positives, I actually think my face looks a bit fuller = fewer lines = younger so there's that too.
I'll take it!
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