Introducing my new baby... 3.5 years in the making!

I am incredibly excited to tell you guys that my book is live!!!!  It was officially published on April 15th. I still can't get over when I go to the Amazon page and click "Look Inside", it's MY words (along with my coauthors, of course :)), my design, everything.

It's 535 pages that contain everything I know about hypothalamic amenorrhea and recovery, getting pregnant, trying to conceive again, and life afterwards. I hope so much that women who are searching for answers about their missing period find it and *their* life worth living.

The book's website is at noperiodnowwhat.com, and there are links to purchase paperbacks through the printer, Createspace, which seems to be best (read least expensive) for purchasers outside the US, or through Amazon and ebooks (epub, pdf, and Kindle). If you do purchase a paperback, email the receipt to paperback@noperiodnowwhat.com and I will send a code to download the ebook for $3.

Note that the Createspace shipping times have been much faster than they estimate - in the US it's been about a week faster, Canada has generally been taking 3-4 days, and Australia was 12 days (vs. the 2.5 months quoted!!)

I'm also thrilled that the feedback I've gotten so far is exactly what I had hoped.

"The authors have really done their research and the information provided is well documented but also very approachable to the “non-science” types. There’s a perfect balance between the hard science facts and the personal stories. It's written in a way that makes it easy for you to imagine that you’re having a good conversation with a well-educated and concerned friend rather than reading through a stuffy reference book."

"No Period. Now What? is awesome. I’ve never seen a book with such a balance of science and humanity. I love that every single page is speckled with our stories. It’s like reading my own diary. And then it’s all backed up with more research that I ever knew existed."

"I have to say, in the few chapters I've read so far it has been the best reading material for HA. I lost my period about 18 months now and I am at the stage where eating and gaining weight is absolutely terrifying for me. I went from 184 to 118 to currently 134 and I want to train for the NYC marathon this summer. Reading about your journey and the other women's has really hit home. I hope I have the strength one day to make myself healthy again. Just know that this book is very special,  especially for people like me whose doctors, nutritionists, etc have said I was ok without my period so essentially gave me no guidance."

Update!!!

Eeeek, okay it's been more than a year since I've posted.  Whew!  In that year, we have all but completed the book - our working title is "No Period. Now What?" and we will be unveiling the cover SOON!  Our plan is that editing and copyediting will be completed by the end of August, then we'll send some copies out for review and proofreading... and publish not too long after that.

In the meantime, there are over 130 pages that we've cut out of the book... so I'm going to start sharing some of that on here, and on our book's site once we have that up and running.

Here's a bit I just cut out of a chapter tonight...

Nico has always asked on the Board, “Do you want to be thin, or pregnant?” It is a choice. Not one that everyone has to make, but it is the bottom line for those of us whose systems are sensitive enough to trigger HA when we are at an energy deficit or overexercising (and stressed). What’s more important to you? Do you want to improve your bone density, heart function, and brain function by getting your period? Or do you want to continue rigid eating and exercise habits and use treatment to possibly get pregnant—then end up right back where you started?

Commentary from Fitty: Whoaaa, hold up a minute. “ . . . sensitive enough to trigger HA”? OK, so while I do agree that there are some who may be sensitive to HA due to genetics, I also believe there may be more women similar to me. I was NOT sensitive to HA. I worked pretty darn hard to create the hole I dug . . . and it was deep. In addition, the unstable and chaotic relationship with my LOWMI (loved one with mental illness) who has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, added a major stressor cherry right on top! So before some of you decide to run with the “I have a sensitive system and that’s why I have HA” baton, please know that many of us worked relentlessly to get there. If you happen to be a little hardheaded like I am, take the time for a good self-evaluation. It can be helpful to consider that you too may have pushed pretty intensely to get to where you are. By recognizing this, you can now apply that same effort and intensity to get back out!

Interesting fact of the day!

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!