Hey all! If you’ve seen my other posts you’ll have seen that I’m recently clean, 24 days today, from heroin and am on a heroin substitute (espranor 12mg a day). My periods stopped over 2 years ago due to my using and weight loss.
I’m wondering if anyone knows when my periods should come back? I’m only 34 so they’re not due to end anytime soon and I’m not having any symptoms of early onset menapause. Does the substitute also prevent them? I’ve tried searching online but I’m not great at finding stuff. I was wondering if anyone here has any personal experiences that they could share with me?
I have a call with my drug worker tomorrow, so I can ask him too. Not sure how much he’s know though as he’s not a nurse or medially trained…
I am not a doctor or nurse but have done some reading on my womb (that was supposed to be a womb/own pun). It is not good if I have to explain it but I’ll never stop trying.
When you are underfed or your body is stressed your body stops all extra activity, like making the body ready for a baby, to allocate all your survival resources to your own needs. Periods stop for this reason in discorded eating as well.
I’m not sure the answer is the same for everyone but your periods should resume once you have gained a little weight or once the stress of using has reset.
If it hasn’t come back after a few cycles definitely see a doctor but this could be a good benchmark for trying to care for yourself again. Keep up the sober days. 24 is great.
Now is great time to start taking care of your health again. Make an appointment with your Gyn for a routine check up and pap smear. We tend to neglect our health during active addiction. I know I did. I was too consumed with when and where I was getting my next fix.
@TrustyBird I’m trying my hardest to put weight back on but haven’t noticed an improvement yet. I don’t own scales though so I could be and just haven’t noticed it. I don’t even know what I weigh. The doctor checked it when I started my medication though so I’m sure they’ll monitor. My appetite has come back with a vengeance. I’m not necessarily eating the healthiest of foods. I mean my main meal has lots of veg and a healthy balance of cars, proteins etc. But I don’t really eat breakfast or lunch (at set times at least, I’ll have a sandwich in the afternoon or cereal in the evening for example) I just don’t feel hungry until later. But I’ve been snacking a lot in between too. So yeah I need to work on my diet and eating habits.
@Lisa07 you’re absolutely spot on. I really have neglected my health. I heard recently that women start visiting their Dr more in their 30s and its been the complete opposite for me. I’ve totally avoided it. So yeah I’m well due a pap. Over here in the UK everything goes through our GP pretty much, so I just need to suck it up and call them. They recently text me as I’m overdue blood tests for other medication. I need to bite the bullet and do it. I just hate Drs at the best of times.
I ate a lot of snack foods and convenience food when I first got sober. Okay I ate A LOT of pizza. Living sober is the important thing. Sometimes taking care of your body means just feeding it.
I am also only a womb owner and from my ED anorexia experience I know: menstruation is an additional plus. Your body won’t put this energy in it when in survival mode (underweight, stress etc).
Congratulations on your 24 days
You can also join the woman hormonal rollercoaster thread if you need to vent realated to this.
When i was extremely underwent due to drug use (opioids amongst other drugs) and was malnourished and stressed, i also lost my period. I could go for months without having one. Im not sure about wether espranor contributes to this now for u tho. Hopefully a professional would know more. Once i began to eat better tho and put on a little weight, stopped being so stressed, my periods very slowly started to return to normal. Took some time but they did as others have mentioned, a good overall check up may be beneficial. I know that I neglected my health and when i got clean, I started to change that by getting my usual checkups n tests done. Its a good feeling to take care of ourselves for a change congratulations on ur 24 days clean!
@anon74766472 & @Butterflymoonwoman thank you both, I really appreciate the insight from your personal experiences. It’s a relief to read that this is normal in such circumstances and that they should come back with time and effort.
Thanks for the link to the thread Dia! I’ll be sure to check in and bookmark and thanks again both, for the congratulations! I’m still going strong
as others have mentioned, a good overall check up may be beneficial. I know that I neglected my health and when i got clean, I started to change that by getting my usual checkups n tests done. Its a good feeling to take care of ourselves for a change 
and thanks again both, for the congratulations! I’m still going strong 
