http://www.acsm-msse.org/.../media/mss200785.pdf

That article should tell you all you want to know and more.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

the link wouldnt work for me - bummer

thanks for trying though.
cheers

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

http://www.acsm-msse.org/.../media/mss200785.pdf

try that... also I just bumped another thread for you

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

thanks great article and a must read for anyone coaching elite female athletes. As a side note - I find that triathletes are much better at eating enough than elite female runners. Triathletes love their food!! This is a good thing :)

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

I think it would be helpful for a coach to provide perspective to an athlete that is struggling with this but the athlete should to be counseled by a physician and a nutritionist. We see a constant stream of skinny chick images and an accomplished athlete has even more motivation to go too far with it.

Just wanted to add that amenorrhea isn't always caused by not enough nutrition/too much exercise/some level of eating disorder. Twice now I've lost my period for months on end and both times it was an indication that something else was seriously wrong health-wise. Just turned out that amenorrhea was the most obvious symptom (or at least the most obvious to me).

In my completely uneducated opinion, whatever the reason, amenorrhea is usually indicative of some sort of issue be it eating or health and the athlete should see their physician.

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http://smallfoodbiz.com
</blatent self-marketing>

I miss my period from time to time, however it is sometimes when I am not even training that much. I am on the pill and my doctor was surprised but seemed to think it was my training and almost didn't believe me, she thought I must have had a small amount at some point and just didn't notice...ummm ok. It does tend to be fairly light when I do get it and my thought is that it is more stress related for me as my training has been down and mostly I have been eating more and gaining/maintaing weight. I think it is a signal and do find it concerning, but my doctor doesn't seem to think it is a big deal, so not really sure what to do about it from there.

Thanks for all the posts - I find the variability amongst elite athletes amazing. As a triathlete and as a coach I find that I can "just tell" when a female athlete looks healthy lean vs unhealthy lean. Maybe I am way off base but some girls I would never question as to whether they were eating right and having regular periods - others just have that look.

The other thing that amazes me is that many women seem to do very well (have better performances) when they get super skinny, and the effect lasts for a while. Men that I have seen that get super skinny just get weak and useless - and usually very sick. The girls eventually get sick and performance improvement stops but their is a period where they seem to be able to rob from thier body stores and do really well. Maybe evolutionary response due to having to feed a baby during pregnancy.

cheers
MH

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

Good article. You just saved me the trouble of googling.

I agree with you - an athlete can do very, very well and then it all "catches up with you."

The recovery works the same way; takes a couple months of proper nourishment to get back to actually having energy.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I just want to add that amenorrhea does not necessarily occur in ultra-skinny, undernourished women. I have had this for almost a year now and I am thin but by no means have an eating disorder. It freaked me out quite a bit but after seeing my doctor a few times and having the gamut of tests run, I feel better knowing this is not a sign of a larger problem and likely a result of endurance exercise and stress. My doctor is not concerned. According to him I am perfectly healthy, but for some reason the thingy in my brain that sends the signal to do the menstruating thing isn’t working on it’s own right now. Truthfully, I think stress plays a bigger role and I’m not convinced that doctors really know a lot about this. But I feel healthy, so I am accepting it.
I would encourage the OP to talk to her athlete, not to raise alarm, but to find out if there is perhaps a nutritional or eating issue underlying.

It amazes me - how little we really know about this subject. One train of thought is that when a female body is super stressed out, or skinny and under nourished - the brain prevents an egg from being released that month - in order to prevent bringing a baby into the world in a stressed out environment. On the other hand - most animals or even trees will become super fertile when stressed in order to propagate the species. I would love to see a large scale study done on training college or post collegiate runners to see how prevalent the issue is,.
cheers

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

I have a similar situation as roo roo. I was on the pill for about 10 years and about 9 months ago decided to stop taking it. Since then I have had 1 period somewhere in the middle of those 9 months. I was the same way before the pill as I had extrememly irregular cycle and it was not uncommon for me to not have periods for 12-18 months at a time. I am thin but no where near super skinny or have an eating disorder. My drs have run several tests and decided that I have a condition called anovulatio (which means I don't release a mature egg in the middle of my cycle) caused by a hormonal imbalance . She not too concerned since I am not trying to get pregnant but she would like for me to have some type of period every 3 or so months. We are discussing options which include 1) going back on the pill, 2) taking provera every three months to "force" a bleed, or 3) mirena IUD. I am leaning towards 3.

I wonder if the issue that you have occurs similarily at the same incidence rate in the non-exercising population. Is it somehow related to hard training, and if so how. You are doing the right thing by having regular discussions with your doctor - for many reasons. But a big one is if you want to start a family some day.

good luck

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Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

In the research I have seen it doesn't seem like any (if much) research is done on athletes in the 30s. Most of what I have seen in terms of amenorrhea research in athletes focuses on high school and college age women.

Yeah, if (and that is a huge IF) I decide to start a family one day, I will likely need some assistance in the form of fertility treatments.