Hello, I posted a while back about problems related to my menstrual cycle, but I have a few more questions about how vegetarianism relates to menstrual cycles. I'm 16 and have only had two cycles this year. I became a vegetarian last November, and the loss of my cycle seems to have coincided with going vegetarian, although I had seemed to start to get irregular the summer before. It seemed like when I became a vegetarian, though they totally dissapeared and were gone for 6 months. I went to a doctor who put me on a high dosage of vitamin D which she thought would correct my lack of cycles, and I did get 2 periods which were very light. I have been getting periodic bloodwork, and my testosterone keeps going up. I have gained 15 lbs this year. I have not had a period since early August. Yesterday my mom realized that this has been going on too long, and she made me an appointment with a gynocologist. They had an opening for today, and I went in and they examined me and ran more blood work and I am getting an ultrasound next Monday. They are hoping to get to the bottom of this soon. They think it is either an ovarian cyst that will need surgical removal or a hormonal imbalance such as PCOS. I asked them if they thought that this could be related to my diet and they said that they are almost sure that it isn't. My chiropractor, however has been telling me how vegetarianism is so unhealthy and that my cycles will probably start if I eat red meat. She believes that people really need animal protein in their diets. I'm not sure if being a vegetarian can cause problems or not. I am an ovo vegetarian, but I actually have started to include fish oil in my diet from the insistance of this chiropractor. What do you all think of this? Do you think that sometimes animal food is necessary to maintain hormonal health?
lack of cycles= vegetarianism
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hopejoy,
sorry if i miss some points, but i am just replying quick.
a diet alteration often causes a change in your cycle, but nothing that would be detrimental (sometimes a lighter flow, or an early period for a few months).
if you are getting adequate nutrition and eating properly, then your vegetarianism has nothing to do with what is going on. it's good you saw a doctor.
i would go over the diet with them, if you are concerned.
other than that, if you have PCOS or a cyst, it's good to find out.
as for your last question, no, you do not NEED anything animal derived for anything.
sorry if i miss some points, but i am just replying quick.
a diet alteration often causes a change in your cycle, but nothing that would be detrimental (sometimes a lighter flow, or an early period for a few months).
if you are getting adequate nutrition and eating properly, then your vegetarianism has nothing to do with what is going on. it's good you saw a doctor.
i would go over the diet with them, if you are concerned.
other than that, if you have PCOS or a cyst, it's good to find out.
as for your last question, no, you do not NEED anything animal derived for anything.
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There are other ways. It's not the suggestion, it's the insisting, and the over-riding of someone's ethical viewpoint with the doctor's own. But perhaps I'm reading too much into it, and it was a suggestion that the OP took as insistance. Hmm... did that post make sense?
Well, I'm a teen and I still live with my parents, so I can't switch chiropractors and if a doctor tells me to do something I have to listen. Recently (and I'm sorry to say this on a vegetarian board), I've been wondering if vegetarianism really is beneficial or even acceptable for everyone's diet. That particular chiropractor is VERY un-vegetarian friendly and she has given me a hard time from the beginning, but maybe she is somewhat right. It does bother me though that she would tell me and my mom how beneficial it would be if I would eat "just a little" red meat everyday. I don't know that much about nutrition, and it seems as if there is not a "clear cut" healthy diet, but many opinions on what is healthy. I did ask the gynocologist about if my diet change could be related to my negative health changes and they said that they were sure that it wasn't. I think I eat healthy- much healthier than most teens I know. I eat lots of fruit and veggies, beans, nuts, and I avoid refined carbs. I just don't know what to think anymore about diet. (Again I'm sorry to say this here) I am not totally ethically opposed to eating meat, but it just REALLY grosses me out, and as much as I like vegetarian food and being a vegetarian, if it is wrecking my health I don't know if I should do it (though I don't know if I could even get myself to bite into a hunk of meat). I think it is probably cheaper, and more natural to eat meat, than to be put on the pill for my whole life. Anyway, I'm sorry for ranting at you all, but I'm just so frustrated as there is not clear cut solution to this, and I don't want to have to go back to eating meat unless I really have to.
I've been vegetarian for four years and vegan for two, and I have an extremely regular cycle, even off of birth control. I understand your frustration, but it's really unfair to scapegoat vegetarianism for a problem you're having, when it's extremely unlikely that it is to blame.
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I really doubt this has anything to do with being veg, unless you're not eating very well.
Stop listening to your chiropractor's nutritional "advice" and work with your gyno on what is really going on.
Stop listening to your chiropractor's nutritional "advice" and work with your gyno on what is really going on.
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Chiros are twats. mine thinks unless i take fish oil im subjecting myself to a lifetime of disease. psh.
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Quote:
gaining weight/losing weight/being overweight/being underweight.
Plus, if you're a teen, it's VERY common for periods to be heavy/light, irregular or absent.
Do you know what's led them to believe that it's a cyst or PCOS? While I think that these are important conditions to uncover, if you have them, I also wonder if maybe you're undergoing some unnecessary worry over something that will straighten itself out as you get older.
Agreed. I mean, it's possible, but it could also be stress, orOriginally Posted by OregonAmy
I really doubt this has anything to do with being veg, unless you're not eating very well.
gaining weight/losing weight/being overweight/being underweight.
Plus, if you're a teen, it's VERY common for periods to be heavy/light, irregular or absent.
Do you know what's led them to believe that it's a cyst or PCOS? While I think that these are important conditions to uncover, if you have them, I also wonder if maybe you're undergoing some unnecessary worry over something that will straighten itself out as you get older.
Quote:
Well, I used to have regular periods for a few years so that is why they are pretty concerned. Also, my testosterone is very high and it doubled from January to last July. They are testing it again to see if it is still increasing and what it is. My mom has PCOS so that makes it even more likely that I have it.Originally Posted by IamJen
Agreed. I mean, it's possible, but it could also be stress, or
gaining weight/losing weight/being overweight/being underweight.
Plus, if you're a teen, it's VERY common for periods to be heavy/light, irregular or absent.
Do you know what's led them to believe that it's a cyst or PCOS? While I think that these are important conditions to uncover, if you have them, I also wonder if maybe you're undergoing some unnecessary worry over something that will straighten itself out as you get older.
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Ah.. ok. I assumed you were an adult. You come across as being very mature and articulate. I know, I shouldn't make assumptions, I mean - how many mature and articulate adults are there out there?Originally Posted by hopejoy
Well, I'm a teen and I still live with my parents, so I can't switch chiropractors and if a doctor tells me to do something I have to listen.
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Ah..there are some indicators then. I was afraid they were jumping to conclusions a bit there.Originally Posted by hopejoy
Well, I used to have regular periods for a few years so that is why they are pretty concerned. Also, my testosterone is very high and it doubled from January to last July. They are testing it again to see if it is still increasing and what it is. My mom has PCOS so that makes it even more likely that I have it.
A chiropractor, most likely, knows very little about nutrition or gynocology.
A gynocologist knows about gynocology.
A nutritionist knows about nutrition.
See them for the advice you need.
Listening to your chiropractor about your diet is sort of like listening to your bus driver for diet advice: they might be an excellent bus driver, but you have no way of knowing if they have any real data at all about nutrition.
As for the fish oil, well, that can make sense. But if this is really upsetting you, see if you can talk to your parents about switching chiropractors. If it's difficult insurance-wise or you live in a community with few options, put up with it, but if it's not a huge deal, check it out. Maybe somebody else can offer a better alternative to the fish oil. (Flax, perhaps?)
A gynocologist knows about gynocology.
A nutritionist knows about nutrition.
See them for the advice you need.
Listening to your chiropractor about your diet is sort of like listening to your bus driver for diet advice: they might be an excellent bus driver, but you have no way of knowing if they have any real data at all about nutrition.
As for the fish oil, well, that can make sense. But if this is really upsetting you, see if you can talk to your parents about switching chiropractors. If it's difficult insurance-wise or you live in a community with few options, put up with it, but if it's not a huge deal, check it out. Maybe somebody else can offer a better alternative to the fish oil. (Flax, perhaps?)
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i was going to say if you eat a lot of dairy, the hormones migth throw your body off-whack.
if it is your diet that is the cause of your problems, it is not the vegetarianism - it is YOUR DIET. many vegetarians are healthy. if you are suffering due to your diet, read up on nutrition and make sure you get everything you need. it's fairly easy once you know what to do. but don't blame anyone else but yourself. you are responsible for your own health!
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if it is your diet that is the cause of your problems, it is not the vegetarianism - it is YOUR DIET. many vegetarians are healthy. if you are suffering due to your diet, read up on nutrition and make sure you get everything you need. it's fairly easy once you know what to do. but don't blame anyone else but yourself. you are responsible for your own health!
Thank you everyone for your replies... I'm not quite sure what to do about this. I'm nervous that my ultrasound results will show that I have polycystic ovaries and I will be prescribed the pill. I've been doing research which says that this is the most common treatment for PCOS. I have also heard that there are many risks. PCOS is a long term syndrome and I question the healthfulness of being on a drug like birth control long-term. It seems that (I could be wrong) birth control just masks the symptoms of PCOS but doesn't really fix the actual cause of them. I wish that there was a more natural route to treating PCOS, but from researching online, I haven't seen much. Do any of you know of any alternate more natural treatments for polycystic ovarian syndrome such as vitamins or herbs? I may not even have PCOS, but in case I do, I want to mentally prepare myself, before I go in and get told that I need to go on the pill long term, without any other treatment suggestions.
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There are some other ideas for PCOS aside from the pill, but only you can decide what's best for you. I've recommended this site a couple of times before:
www.soulcysters.com
www.soulcysters.com
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