For the women... still no menstrual cycle!?

There is a lot of trauma/shock to the system with surgery, and while you are recovering, your body does "shut down" a lot of non-essential functions in order to divert energy elsewhere (i.e., that is why your hair and nails may temporarily stop growing). It's not unusual for your period to cease or become irregular while you are recovering. Also keep in mind you weight. If you are very underweight/lost a lot of weight from surgery, you may not have a period. And there is anemia as well. Have you had your iron levels checked?

Regardless, at this point, I wouldn't worry. As you continue to recover, your period should also become more regular again. It might be premature, but if you are very concerned, you could ask for a referring to a OB/GYN for peace of mind.

Hi. Yes I'm underweight. I'm about 110 pounds, started this whole process out at about 150 pounds. Good to hear that is a normal process.

Thanks
Heidi

Yes, just the fact that you have lost 40 pounds in and of itself would definitely point to missed or irregular periods. You may not have normal periods again until you gain some of that weight back.

Definitely is harder than you would think to put on weight! I was 107 pounds, so for me I was excited and pretty proud of the 5 I was able to gain... Those who have not gone through all this, look at me funny when I say I gained five.. they usually say where??? It doesn't show, but I feel much better gaining just a few pounds.

Trust me, I've been there. I lost over 35 pounds with the original surgery (I was only 120 to start with) and though I gained back some of the weight, it took me a few years to get back up to my pre-surgery weight, though my weight now tends to fluctuate between 110-120. Even now, I tend to lose weight very easily. Currently I'm about 114.

Being significantly underweight, or even recently malnourished with a normal weight can cause missed periods. So can the stress and trauma of he surgery and/or prolonged illness. Even if you had normal periods while ill, the surgery can tip the scales. Remember, the body will not allow pregnancy unless you are physically able to carry a pregnancy to term. The body's way of doing that is to stop ovulation, and susequently, menstruation.

As your general health improves, your periods should resume. However, sometimes this "surgical menopause" can be permanent, particularly if you were already in those perimenopausal years (30-49), where the ovaries are beginning to slow function anyway.

I was just shy of 40 at the time of my surgery. My periods stopped for about 3-4 months. When they resumed, they were lighter and somewhat irregular, until menopause at 50.

Jan

Mine got scared off at the time that I had my new series of surgeries (2005-2009)...I went from mostly regular to sporadic to 'where'd it go?' in a space of 1yr...being that I was already in my mid-40's it pretty much never came back...I had a few friendly surprises over the years but that was it and now blood work has confirmed that it has definitively left the building for good.
Mother nature does things well...my body didn't have the strength or energy for a period or a pregnancy after all that was done so I took it as a sign.
Sharon

Hi, you might want to post and/or read some posts in the women's forum as well.

It is normal for sure. It took about 4 months after take down for my next menstrual cycle to start back up.