u/Silent-Breakfast-36

Hi everyone,

I’m currently recovering from hypothalamic amenorrhea and wanted to ask about something that has been worrying me.

I lost my period for a while, and after increasing my food intake and reducing exercise, my cycles started coming back. I’ve now had several periods again, and in my most recent cycle I had a clear LH surge and an ultrasound showing free fluid consistent with ovulation. I’m really happy that my body seems to be starting to function again.
However, I’ve noticed two things that I’m wondering could be connected to HA recovery:

1. Low fT3 and fT4 with normal TSH
My thyroid results have changed over time:
First blood test: fT3/fT4 were still at the lower end of the normal range
Second test: fT4 7.9, fT3 1.8
Most recent test: fT4 6.8, fT3 1.7
TSH: 1.92 → 1.48 → 1.65 (always normal)
I’m not taking any medication.
My gynecologist told me to have my thyroid checked again. I’m wondering whether low fT3/fT4 with a normal TSH can happen during HA, stress or recovery from low energy availability.

2. Very short luteal phase
In my most recent cycle, I had an LH peak around August 9th and an ultrasound shortly afterwards showed signs that ovulation had occurred. However, I started what appears to be my normal period only around August 14/15, which would make the luteal phase extremely short if the ovulation timing is correct.

Could this also be related to HA recovery or low thyroid hormones?

Has anyone experienced low fT3/fT4 with normal TSH and/or a short luteal phase during HA recovery? Did things improve as your recovery progressed?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share my HA recovery journey because reading other people’s stories really helped me.

I had hypothalamic amenorrhea for about 6 months due to under-fueling, excessive exercise, and chronic stress.
A new gynecologist advised me to eat more and reduce exercise. I stopped tracking my food, ate whatever I craved (even though I often felt guilty), cut my workouts from 5–6 fasted sessions per week to 2–3 light strength/mobility sessions, and gained about 5–7 kg (from around 53 kg to 60 kg / 167cm).
Since then, I’ve had my period three times. My most recent cycle was 27 days.

During recovery I’ve also noticed:
My libido came back.
I have regular cervical mucus again, including several days of stretchy egg-white mucus.
I get what feels like ovulation pain (mittelschmerz).

My Oura Ring eventually started recognizing a luteal phase.
My temperature rises after my fertile signs and drops again when my period starts.
I’m incredibly grateful that my body seems to be recovering.

My question is: Even with three recovery periods, fertile cervical mucus, a temperature shift, and what appears to be a luteal phase, could these cycles still be anovulatory? Or does this sound like a normal progression of HA recovery?

I’d love to hear about your experiences. ❤️

I lost my period in January after about 1.5 years of being very focused on nutrition, staying lean and exercising regularly (mostly strength training ~5x/week).

For context:
167 cm
around 53–54 kg when I lost my period
BMI was always in the normal range
I genuinely believed I was eating enough because my diet was very balanced and nutrient-dense
After losing my period, I slowly started to realize that despite eating “healthy”, I may have been under-fueling relative to my activity level and maintaining a body weight/body composition that wasn’t ideal for my hormones.

About 4 weeks ago I committed to recovery:
significantly reduced exercise
stopped tracking my food
stopped weighing and controlling everything
started eating whatever I genuinely felt like eating
increased my intake
gained around 4 kg

The weight gain was honestly the hardest part. Most of it seemed to go straight to my hips and thighs and I struggled a lot mentally with the body changes. I often felt guilty after eating and frequently questioned whether I was doing the right thing.

Over the last few weeks I started noticing:
higher libido
much better mood (less depressed and irritable)
cervical mucus returning
night sweats at times
higher resting heart rate
lower abdominal pulling/cramping sensations

My hormone results also changed:
Estradiol: 15 → 39 → 103
Progesterone: 0.19 → 0.30
Ultrasound findings:
follicle grew from 11 mm to 14 mm
uterine lining increased to 6 mm

A few days ago I had:
lots of watery/EWCM
breast tenderness
ovulation-type symptoms

Then the EWCM disappeared, my breasts became less tender, I developed period-like cramps and started spotting pink. The spotting has now become darker and more like an actual bleed.

I still don’t know whether I ovulated or whether this is a withdrawal/hormonal bleed, but after months without a cycle it feels like my body is finally doing something again.

I wanted to share my story because reading recovery stories helped me a lot when I felt hopeless.

Today my EWCM is mostly gone and has become more creamy/sticky. I also noticed some light pink spotting mixed with cervical mucus in my underwear.
It’s not a real flow at this point, just pink discharge mixed with mucus.
Has anyone experienced this during HA recovery? Could it be ovulation-related spotting, a hormonal shift, or the start of a period?
Would love to hear if anyone had something similar before getting their cycle back.

3–4 weeks into HA recovery and suddenly having a LOT of hormonal symptoms — anyone relate?

Current symptoms:
watery + egg white cervical mucus (stretchy/spinnable)
pulling/cramping feeling mostly on the left side
lower back/hip/leg aching
breast tenderness
higher libido
higher body temperature for several days
mood MUCH more stable and less depressed/irritable
follicle grew from 11 mm to 14 mm
lining built up to 6 mm
estradiol increased from 15 → 39 → 103 in a few weeks

Progesterone is still low, so I don’t know if ovulation actually happened or if this is just my body trying to ovulate.
Did anyone else have multiple “ovulation attempts” during HA recovery before getting a real cycle back?

I’ve gained around 4 kg quite quickly during HA recovery and I’m really struggling mentally with how my body feels right now.

Most of the weight seems to have gone straight to my hips/thighs and I suddenly feel much softer/puffier there. I know recovery often involves body changes, but it’s honestly really hard because I genuinely liked my previous body and felt confident in it.

Did anyone else experience rapid changes in their legs/hips during recovery?
Did it stabilize or redistribute over time?

I’m about 3 weeks into recovery after losing my period in January (eating more, less exercise, less food control).

I had two hormone panels done about 2 weeks apart.
Some things seem to be improving:

estradiol increased from 39 → 103
follicle grew from 11 mm → 14 mm
uterine lining increased to 6 mm
more cervical mucus/libido/pelvic sensations

BUT at the same time:
TSH normal
free T3 went from 2.0 → 1.8
free T4 from 9.6 → 7.9

Has anyone experienced lower thyroid hormones in early HA recovery even while ovarian hormones seemed to improve?
I’m confused because some signs point toward recovery, but the thyroid values look worse.

I’ve been in HA recovery for about 3 weeks after losing my period in January.
I radically reduced exercise and stopped controlling my food intake, and lately I’ve noticed the following symptoms:

constant pulling/cramping feeling in my lower abdomen
libido much higher than it has been in a long time
night sweats
elevated resting heart rate
gained around 3–3.5 kg (6.5–7.5 lbs)
cervical mucus that is sometimes clear/creamy, but not quite EWCM yet

Could these be signs that my hormones/body are starting to wake up again?

Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms during recovery?

I’m honestly really confused and struggling to believe I even have HA.

I used to document all my meals with photos, weigh everything carefully, track my intake etc. When I look back at the pictures, I genuinely feel like I ate enough. My diet was very balanced, nutrient-dense and “healthy”.

I also worked out around 5x/week, mostly strength training for about 45 minutes. I didn’t do crazy intense workouts and I rarely did much cardio.

For context:
height: 167 cm (5‘6)
weight when I lost my period: around 53–54 kg (117-119lbs)
lowest weight about a year ago: ~52 kg (114lbs) (and I still had my cycle then)
Currently 57kg (126lbs) 3 weeks into recovery 🫣

Mentally I really struggle to understand how my body could stop menstruating when I never looked extremely underweight and genuinely thought I was eating enough.

Did anyone else with HA feel this way?
Did you also think your lifestyle wasn’t “extreme enough” for HA?

Hi everyone,
I’m 29 and my period has been missing since January. My doctor initially suspected PCOS because she saw cysts on my ovaries during the ultrasound. However, my hormone panel showed otherwise: my estrogen and progesterone were very low, my FSH and LH were completely normal (a clear 1:1 ratio, not the typical PCOS ratio), and my AMH came back low at 0.89 ng/ml. My ultrasound also showed a completely flat endometrial lining and a stagnant follicle stuck at 1.2 cm.

Looking closely at my lifestyle, it became obvious that the real culprit is Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (FHA) due to severe restrictive eating and high exercise volume.
I started my recovery journey about 3 weeks ago (eating in a surplus, cutting out intense workouts). I’m already seeing great signs—my libido is up, I’m getting some twinges in my ovaries, my Oura ring showed a slight temperature jump (+0.2 °C), and I just found my first stretchy, fertile-ish cervical mucus today!

While I’m fully committed to recovery, my 0.89 AMH value really freaked me out since I want to have kids in about 5 years. I know that HA can temporarily suppress AMH levels because the ovaries are basically asleep.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and seen their AMH level go back up after fully recovering from HA and getting their cycle back? I would love to hear some positive stories or timelines to ease my mind a bit.
Thank you so much! ❤️

How did you deal with the body changes during period recovery / HA recovery?

I’m currently trying to recover my cycle after losing my period (since january) and mentally I’m struggling a lot with all the physical changes and uncertainty.

Since eating more / reducing exercise, I’ve noticed:

some weight gain
different body composition
higher resting heart rate at night
occasional night sweats/warmth
more sensations in my lower abdomen/libido

I also find it emotionally really hard to let go of my lean physique / visible abs, even though part of me knows my body may need more fat and energy to recover hormonally.

Part of me hopes these are signs my hormones/body are recovering, but another part of me gets anxious and overanalyzes everything.

Did anyone else notice:
night sweats?
increased night heart rate?
body temperature changes?
more “hormonal” feelings before recovery?

And how did you mentally cope with the body
changes and loss of control during recovery?
Would really appreciate hearing other experiences because I feel very alone with this right now.

I’m 29 and really worried about my fertility/hormones. Has anyone experienced something similar?

I haven’t had my period since January. My ultrasound showed ovarian cysts/polycystic ovaries, but at the same time I apparently have almost no uterine lining.

My hormone labs showed:
very low progesterone
low-normal estrogen
normal LH/FSH
normal prolactin and thyroid
AMH: 0.89 ng/mL

My doctors mentioned possible PCOS, but said my hormones don’t fully look like “typical PCOS” because my AMH isn’t high and my androgens are only mildly elevated.

I’m honestly really scared that this could affect my fertility or mean early menopause/low ovarian reserve at a young age.

Has anyone had a similar situation with:
no period
cysts/polycystic ovaries
thin lining
lower AMH
Did your cycle come back? What ended up being the cause?
I’d really appreciate hearing other experiences because I’m feeling very anxious about it.