No . ? Is this bc of vegetarianism?

[trueblue002]

I have been dragged to my ob/gyn by my mother due to my lack of a . for the past few months. I have been a vegetarian for nearly a year and follow a healthy diet, although I am not as hungry in general. I have lost some weight and my hair is falling out. The doctor asked whether I had an eating disorder and although I told her this was definitely not the case, she seemed reluctant to believe me. Now my mom's on my back about eating and I can't convince her otherwise. They both seem convinced it's due to my vegetarianism, but I'd attribute it to my stressful junior year. How do I prove vegetarianism is not the problem?

[laurie15]

Are you eating a balanced diet?

You shouldn't feel 'dragged' to the ob/gyn. Take care of your body! If something is wrong - regardless if it's from your diet, a huge red flag is having amenorrhea.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Agreed. You should be rushing to the Gyn. if you haven't had a period in a year, not "dragging".

Your doc may be perfectly justified in thinking you may have an eating disorder, many people are attracted to veg*ism because it's a way to hide an eating disorder under the excuse of eating veg*n.

Oh, and there's nothing wrong or shameful AT ALL, about saying or writing the word PERIOD by the way...

[sweet_wheat]

the only way to convince them is to show them that eating healthy is important to you. (my appetite is nearly nonexistant, but i need to gain weight so i eat a LOT. i dont want to because im never even hungry anymore, but i'm doing it for my family.) if your hair is falling out (mine did as well, so i feel you there too!) you're not getting enough calories for your body to run its basic functions.

try making something you do like. (i have a huge weakness for fresh bread, so i make sure to always have some around and i add hummus or peanut butter to it.) nothing else sounds good so i have to eat a lot of what i DO like to make up for missing calories. make sense?

not getting enough calories doesn't mean you have an eating disorder! it's tough to on a vegetable-based vegan diet. doctors are trained to be wary of teenage girls who cut out certain food groups, though. your doctor is doing her job and your mom is as well, worrying about your health.

[Earthly Delight]

Amenhorrea (lack of period for over 3 consecutive months) is something that needs to be discussed with your doctor, always! It can indicate so many different things--I'm sure your gyno took the appropriate tests and is checking to make sure your reproductive organs are all OK.

Your hair falling out, and your lack of period is alarming. These two symptoms alone could indicate several things, including a lack of certain proteins and/or a lack of fat. Or, an unbalanced diet all around. I would recommend speaking with a nutritionist or a dietician if only to make sure this isn't the case. Another possibility is stress. Both of these are symptoms of high stress.

There are many options, but I wouldn't be so reluctant to look into it. How many months have you had amenhorrea? Under 6 is still not flashing red lights type of bad, but still...

[ripvanfish]

You're still young enough that your period just might not be 'established' yet, but the hair thing--that's really alarming.

What do you weigh, and how tall are you? I assume you must be pretty slender if your doctor suspects you of having an eating disorder, so bodyfat (or lack thereof) could definitely be the cause your missing period. Are you an athlete? You may just need more calories in your diet. You don't have to have an ED to not eat enough. If you don't have an appetite, try getting more liquid calories--fruit juices and such.

[zoebird]

for me, the warning signs of having lost weight, hair falling out, and no menstruation means that there IS a problem.

there are two ways that this can go: something that you can solve OR something that your doctor can solve.

first, if it is a dietary issue, then you need to solve it. while you may not have an eating disorder, your diet may be insufficient to support your health. this could be because it is vegetarian, or it could be because you're simply not eating enough calories from a diverse collection of nutrient-rich vegetarian foods.

my recommendation to you is to consider whether or not you do have an eating disorder (it is possible to be 'in denial' about this), and to begin to keep a food journal.

there are many online food journal systems that help you determine the caloric intake that you have *and* also what the nutrient spectrum is. my guess is that if the issue is dietary it is because at the very least, you do not consume enough calories, and at the most, not only do you not consume enough calories, but those calories that you do consume are not likely from healthy, nutrient-rich foods.

if you are getting enough calories AND enough nutrients, and you're loosing weight, hair, and fertility, then there is likely something that your doctor can look into. it could be that you have a severe thyroid problem that needs to be treated medically.