Spotting before period starts - normal?

[beckington]

Is spotting for a few days before your period starts normal/OK for TTC? I thought it was, but was just googling it and read that it was considered abnormal and possibly due to low progesterone. Of course, I also read elsewhere that it was normal, so I'm confused! Hence I come to you ladies for your wisdom.

I usually spot 2-4 days before my period starts - there might be a day of no spotting before AF comes properly, or there might not be. I also just read that if you have no days 'off' from spotting before AF then the first day of spotting is actually the first day of AF. I've been keeping track, and there's usually 25-28 days between my first day of spotting, and 26-28 between AF (though in the last 2 months one 24 and one 30).

(So today it's day 28 from spotting for me and day 26 from AF for me. I'm trying to be patient and wait a couple of days to test! )

Thanks!

[TheDivineMrsM]

It's not common, but it's not abnormal. After blood tests, it was determined that my hormones are doing everything they're supposed to... I just spot.

How long is your LP typically? Have you had any bloodwork done? It's a fairly simple test, and it'll rule out an LPD issue.

[beckington]

I don't really know my LP length - I don't really chart. No blood work. We've been TTC just about six months, but quite a few of those months have been rather half-hearted attempts with illnesses, injuries, etc!!

I'm not particularly worried at this point - I was just surprised to read it, and wonder if it's something I should be worried about!

[HopefulJo]

Since being off the Pill, I've spotted before my period starts, often for 3 or 4 days, and often with "days off" right before AF. It's really annoying.

Due to the spotting, I was worried about low progesterone too, so I started charting, only to discover that the spotting was starting after 10DPO. So, even if low prog was causing spotting, I still had 10 days that were OK, and I stopped worrying about it. So, charting may answer some of your concerns

I still mark the start of AF as the first day of "proper" flow, rather than the start of spotting. Which, of course, is resulting in LPs varying more than they should- so I don't have it all figured out, either!

[Sweet.Bee]

Before becoming pregnant with my son, I spotted at least 1 day before my period every cycle. Usually, it was 2 days. I checked my cervix every day, so I saw the spotting before I would have otherwise. My LP was generally 13-14 days (once it was even 15 days!), so I'm assuming I had no progesterone issues.

Currently, on bc pills, I don't spot at all before bleeding. That seems really weird to me, somehow!

[allisonrose]

I have a tendency to spot. My infertility blood work didn't indicate progesterone problems. The cycle I became pg I was put on progesterone supplements as a normal procedure with the fertility meds I was on. I also spotted during pregnancy and was told by my midwife that my cervix was easily irritated. So I don't know - maybe my cervix even without pregnancy tends to bleed easily.

I read that cycle day 1 is the first day of red flow and always used that.