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Spotting all month long? Hormonal imbalance?

15K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  jackaroo 
#1 ·
Hey Mamas. This is my first post here :)

For the first time in my entire "reproductive life" I'm experiencing constant spotting and pregnancy symptoms with a negative pg test. I'm not sure what I should do. It all started with an irregular period around the 6th of this month. It was abnormally pain-free and "easy", but I chalked that up to my using the diva cup for the first time ever this cycle. I remember thinking to myself that I wish I would have tried it earlier because there were no cramps at all and my bleeding seemed a lot lighter (although since I had been using other products before, it was hard to tell for sure if it truly was lighter or if I just didn't know what to expect from a more "natural" cycle). I have endometriosis and my cycles are usually quite heavy and painful. It also only lasted two days and then I had a few days of spotting, which was a little strange because my cycles are usually longer, more like 4-5 days, but again I chalked it up to the new diva cup. I continued to spot for a week afterwards which was odd and then had one day of heavy-ish red blood and then back to brown spotting. The day that I had red bleeding was also accompanied by painful period-like cramping. I continued to spot everyday and then began having what I thought were ovulation pains earlier this week, but no other symptoms of ovulation and had negative ovulation tests two days in a row (I only had two tests). My SO and I are currently separated and were only intimate one day last month, on the 22nd which based on the signs I assumed was AFTER ovulation (again, this is last month) but could have been during the last part. Because of that, I decided to take a pregnancy test three days ago to rule that out and it was negative. I've continued to spot every day since, brown and light, but today it's been heavier and within the last hour has started coming out red.

I'm worried because this has never happened to me before. I've been pregnant twice before, once resulting in the birth of my almost 5 year old son, and again last September resulting in an early miscarriage. I'm having several pregnancy symptoms right now that make me think I may be experiencing some sort of hormonal imbalance.

SO has asked me several times to call my midwife and see if I can get in for a well-woman, but I'm generally more of a "hands off" type of person. Part of me thinks it could just be female weirdness and next month I'll be back to "normal", but there is that small voice in the back of my head that wonders if it might not be more serious.

Thanks for reading. What do you think could be going on? What would you do if this was happening to you?
 
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#2 ·
Hey. I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to reply.

First, sorry that no one replied to your first post. Second, sorry that you're having such confusing cycles. I just have a couple of ideas. I would not attribute the diva cup to affecting your cycle at all, so probably shouldn't chalk it up to that. Have you had regular pap smears? If not, I would definitely get one just to rule out abnormal cervix.

I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), which is responsible for my abnormal periods/spotting. You could have developed that. It's a hormonal imbalance/insulin resistance problem that causes cysts to form in the ovaries. Skipping cycles and spotting are common. My friend has endometriosis and PCOS (lucky her lol). Honestly, though, it COULD be a lot of things causing your weird month.

If the pregnancy tests are negative after this long, you're probably not pregnant. But maybe get a blood test anyway? They can detect smaller amounts of the hormone than OTC pregnancy tests (I'm sure you know this...not trying to sound preachy...just saying in case you don't know).

You asked what other people would do. I would definitely call you midwife. It may be nothing--just the edometriosis. But better to rule out any potential problems. Take care of your health for you and your son. Good luck with your SO.

P.S. I've had PCOS for about 7 years, my mom and friends have endometriosis, and I've gone through a lot of fertility treatments to get pregnant twice, carrying one pregnancy to full term. Just want you to know I'm not making all this up ;)
 
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