[imported_bodybydi]

ONT="Comic Sans MS"] [/FONT] ok i'm new at this so here goes....

i'm 42 and had been on low estrogen birth control for 12 years. The kind of bc that makes you not have a period at all!! Nice.

I decided to go off the pill and let my body go natural if you will. Well i went off in April and have not had a period yet. Now i know i didn't go thru menapause because i have no such symptoms. I have gained water weight, i feel bloated etc. Not too moody in fact i'm ok from that point. I just feel full all the time. I have no period symptoms either. Just nothing.

I started my period at age 12. I went on bc right away at age 18 because i had such horrible period cramps etc. Basically i've been on bc forever. no children. excercise all the time and eat healthy. What is going on with me???????????

I know i'm not pregnant! I had my thyroid checked before and was fine. In fact because i work out so much i know my body better than most women. I know when something isn't right. Something isn't right??? HELP!!

yours truely,

bloated and bummed out!!!

[AFemaleProdigy]

There are a couple of things to address here. First of all, prolonged use of birth control has a serious effect on your hormones and cycle. When you have taken it for so long and then try to stop... the meds stay in your system for quite a while and then once they have left your system, your body has to slowly return to it's normal working order. Some birth control will leave women without a period for a year or more after stopping the meds. I was on Depo Provera for 5 years and it took a year to start my period again and then it took another 2 to 3 years to become normal. So don't be suprised if it takes forever.

Also, you should have a hormone panel to verify that you are not progesterone deficient or something. A hormone panel will also tell you if you are in menopause or possibly suffering from perimenopause.

Since you were not having your period all this time, it is possible that you did enter into menopause and not realize it. It has been said that birth control which completely stops cycles creates a menopausal-like state. This would mean that you were used to the symptoms of menopause and didn't even know it. But this is speculation at this point. The only way to know is to get a hormone panel.

In the mean time, it is highly likely that you will experience the symptoms of a period and they will gradually increase over time and you will eventually have your period. That is if you do not have a hormone imbalance or are in menopause.

[imported_sahn]

Have you had your prolactin level tested? I was on bc for 12 years and had not had a period from January to July. One was finally triggered with progestrone and I haven't now had one since July. I had a prolactin level of 199 which is about 15 times the normal level, an MRI showed a small tumor on my pituitary. Something you may want to ask about if you still haven't had a period. Good luck!