No periods & high cholesterol

Hi folks, I've seen a gynaecologist and am waiting to see an endocrinologist but have been stressed out by not knowing what's going on with my body for months on end.

I'm 34 years old, 5'6 and somewhere around 125lbs. I was on birth control for a decade before coming off it a few years ago. I then got a period every other month like clockwork.

Then, after a bunch of stressful life changes (and at the same time, starting high-intensity exercise), I stopped getting a period. I work in an unpredictable, precarious job in an expensive city (and I have anxiety), so I'm experiencing stress most days.

For the past two years I've struggled with disordered eating in response to stress (before food, it was alcohol). I do high-intensity workouts 4x a week, a mix of strength and cardio. I don't eat meat and haven't for years, but I eat fish.

I try not to, but I fixate on food and calories. However, I don't think I'm really restricting. In fact, I indulge more than I probably did in my past life when I didn't fixate on food. Sometimes I eat something because of stress and not out of hunger.

I truly don't know if I'm not eating enough or am eating too much on the daily. I haven't gained a lot of weight, but have gained a little bit (maybe a few pounds?) in the past couple years. I feel like I don't understand my body anymore- what it needs and whether or not I'm hungry. And I still don't have a period.

My thyroid is normal, a transvaginal ultrasound was normal, an MRI to check my pituitary gland was normal, I have no other symptoms of PCOS and my doctor has done blood work repeatedly. I don't suffer from fatigue or anything like that.

With the latest blood work, my doctor told me that everything was perfect except my cholesterol was slightly high. She said this had happened one other time, at the beginning of the pandemic (so, also a stressful time). I guess the cause could be genetic (but I'm 34... why now?), but it couldn't be caused by diet.

So to summarize:
- No periods
- Slight weight gain/retaining fat, especially stomach fat
- Slightly high cholesterol
- Also, my FitBit sometimes tells me that my resting heart rate is 43-45. I've looked into it and I see that it's okay for fit/younger people who don't have symptoms like fainting/dizziness. But I know it's low, so thought I'd mention that

I just don't know what to do to bring my period back and how to understand and trust my body again. Sorry for the long post.

Posted Jun 11, 2026, 2:46 AM UTC

23
Loading comments…