I lost my period for 2 decades — I wish I had known what I know now

For more than 20 years — during the peak of my childbearing years — I did not have my period.

My menstrual cycle had stopped during my college soccer career, and countless doctors and healthcare professionals told me this was “normal” for female athletes. At the time I believed them — I assumed that once I stopped playing soccer and entered nursing school, my cycle would return.

It didn’t. And the ramifications of not menstruating would significantly impact my emotional and physical well-being for the next two decades.

Later, as I learned about cooperative women’s healthcare through FACTS About Fertility, I discovered that all of those reassurances were wrong. The ovulatory-menstrual cycle is a vital sign of health. And, after working with a new family physician and other professionals who accurately understand the female cycle’s essential role in health and fertility, I got my period again. My cycles are now normal.

Medical professionals trained in identifying and addressing root causes see the lack of a period for what it is: a signal. And they treat it accordingly. This is the exact outcome the Department of Health and Human Services desires with recent grants for an infertility training center , as well as a presidential executive order concerning women’s health that was signed just last month in the Rose Garden.

With the order, Advancing Women’s Health to Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life, a new White House Task Force on Women’s Health will be convened, and a Women’s Health Division will be created at the National Institutes of Health. As an advanced practice registered nurse, I know that the needs have never been greater for the nearly 174 million women who make up our country’s population. Approximately 20 percent of women report at least one reproductive health condition, and 1 in 6 adults worldwide experiences infertility in their lifetime.

Thirteen years ago, with a diagnosis of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, I was told that I would never be able to conceive naturally because I wasn’t ovulating. This was devastating for my husband and me. They said that there was no treatment, but that I shouldn’t worry because I was “so fit and healthy.” I also was told that changing my diet and exercise regimen would not affect my hormones or bring back my cycle.

I was fit, but I was not healthy. When you don’t ovulate, the underlying condition must be addressed. Too often, the only option given women in my circumstance is to undergo rounds of in vitro fertilization, which I did. But IVF did not treat the root causes of my reproductive and hormonal health issues.

IVF brings its own physical risks as well as emotional and financial stressors that can be devastating. My husband and I were not immune, and on many levels, it was soul crushing. Today, I know there is another way.

In the spring of 2024, I was introduced to the concepts of the female cycle as a vital sign, fertility awareness-based methods and body literacy through organizations like FACTS — the Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science — and FEMM — Fertility Education and Medical Management . With this information, I began to wonder why no medical professional ever explained to me how destructive anovulation and lack of a period was to my bones, heart and hormones. I also began to question why I had been told that IVF was the only solution to my infertility.

I wish I could tell my 20-year-old self about the things I’ve learned. It is not normal for one’s period to stop, and being fit doesn’t always mean healthy. Low blood pressure and heart rate can be signs of insufficient energy intake. Additionally, exercise and nutrition changes can tremendously impact your menstrual cycle, all of your hormones and your overall health. And IVF is not the only option for women with hypothalamic amenorrhea who wish to become pregnant.

I do not share my personal story for sympathy or to imply that I would change my past, because I wouldn’t change my journey with my five healthy, incredible children for anything in this world.

I share my story, however, to highlight the imperative need for a better healthcare system for women — a system that highlights the importance of educating women about their bodies and menstrual cycles while simultaneously ensuring that healthcare professionals treat all reproductive health concerns from a root-cause approach. And I hope some of these recent grants and initiatives will help secure that for women like me.

Shannon Leach is a mother of five and lives with her husband and children in Everett, Wash. She has been an advanced registered nurse practitioner since 2011 and works for 3W Medical for Women in Seattle and Cascade Women’s Health .