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Question: underweight/hypothryoidism
| mko
- Tue May 01, 2007 12:45 pm |
I'm a 32 year old female. I'm 5'5 and weigh 98 pounds. I'm vegetarian and exercise regularly. I had a baby two years ago and dropped to my current weight. I was 105 or 106 before getting pregnant. When I went to see my OB about not getting my period, he said my thyroid levels were very low. Is it possible my levels are related to having lost weight and regaining the weight would restore them and my period, or does it seem likely that I might need medicine? I really would like to have another baby!
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| Dr. Chan Lowe
- Thu May 31, 2007 9:53 am |
 Typically Hypothyroidism would make a person gain weight since it slows down the metabolism of the body. It can be associated with changes in the menstrual cycle, though.
By my calculations your BMI is 16. This is on the thin side but not severely so. Sometimes the menstrual cycle will stop if a woman is too thin. This is seen commonly in anorexics as well as in female athletes that don't have much body fat. Presumably the thought is that if the body doesn't have enough fat stores it may not be able to support pregnancy so the menstrual cycles stop (this is probably a bit of a simplified explanation but teleologically makes sense).
You may want to see a reproductive endocrinologist to have a work up done on why you are not cycling. These doctors are specialists in fertility.
Also, if you are hypothyroid I would recommend that this be treated. The body runs better over all if the thyroid levels are normal.
Best wishes.
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