AF post-D&C

[Dill]

Possible TMI ahead!

Well, it's confirmed that my cycle seems to be back on track, finally, with the hcg totally cleared from my system. AF has hit twice, and while my overall cycle length is shorter than it used to be, it's still well within a normal range (closer to normal, even).

The first AF was quite painful and very light, which I was assured wasn't uncommon. My second and most recent started out quite painfully, but once it actually got going, quit hurting (hooray). My concern is that the heaviness and duration are still light & short. It shouldn't be worrisome, but typically, when I'm not on any sort of birth control, it tends to be noticeably longer and heavier than it's been. At present, it's very similar to how my cycle was when I still had my Mirena IUD in, maybe a day longer and slightly heavier. I use cloth pads and liners, but have been able to get by with just liners, even on the heaviest day of bleeding.

Will my cycle eventually return to "normal"? It's been 7+ years since I had neither IUD nor the pill, so could it be age-related? Or is it more likely that something went wrong with my D&C? I know Ashermans is rare, but my D&C was pretty brutal, and now I'm a little terrified.

 

[Dill]

And now, over a week since AF hit for the month, I suddenly have more blood. What the heck? It's not menstrual. It's bright red, and thin.

 

[Dill]

And the spotting continues. I'm getting very confused. It started on the night of the 9th, when I made my post about being concerned about how light and brief AF was (the irony), and just won't stop. It is very light and brown, with occasional tissue filaments in there. I should be ovulating any day now, based on cycle length, but my uterus is being insane. Any ideas?

ETA: Seriously freaking out about the possibility of Asherman's right now. Should I give myself a few more cycles before I hie myself off to the doctor for further investigation?

 

[coucou11]

Hi Dill - sorry you are going through this! It sounds awful I would just call you doctor. You might not need to go in, but it would hopefully ease your mind just to explain the situation and see what he/she says. You can even ask about Asherman's and explain your concerns, although my sense is that doctor's really downplay that risk. But really, in my mind, the sooner you bring this stuff to their attention, the sooner it will get dealt with if it's an issue. No reason to wait to just express your concerns.

Good luck! Let us know what they say.

 

[Fleur828815]

Hi Dill, sorry your body is being so confusing. Cycles can change as you grow older, or after a miscarriage, just like it would after a pregnancy. Even before my miscarriage my cycles had changed, I started getting brown discharge before AF and real AF was much shorter/lighter than previously.
https://www.pregnancyloss.info/cycles_following_loss.htm

The mid-cycle spotting sounds weird though. I've vaguely read about ovulation spotting, is there any chance it could be that?

I'd go and see a doctor though, it's their job to help us. Hopefully it's just something like old blood being cleared out, but he should be able to go over everything with you.

 

[Dill]

I spoke with a nurse, and she basically told me that my cycle is probably being weird because of the MC, and to give it another month or two to let my body try to sort it out. She said that seeing a doctor and getting checked out for Asherman's certainly wouldn't hurt, but she feels that it's jumping the gun a bit, and personally believes that it's unlikely for me to have it.

I started outright bleeding again last night -- red, not brown. Very light. Back to just the brown spotting today. I don't think it's ovulation bleeding. I've never had it before, either, but the nurse said that ovulation bleeding is typically just the thin red vascular blood and not the brown or tissue-y blood, so ovu bleeding wouldn't explain all this spotting for the last week.

I'm very torn. I may call the clinic today and request a callback from my doc specifically, and see what she thinks.

Between AF and this spotting, I've spent 13 days of this month decommissioned, and I should be ovulating today or very soon, and clearly I'm not going to be set up for implantation with this going on. It's hard not to feel hopeless. I'm terrified that I started my marriage with a MC and might be ruined for future attempts.

 

[Dill]

Positive OPK today! Any chance I can still conceive while I'm still spotting? :-/

Edit - And another pos OPK today. There was a reprieve in the spotting, that turned into bright red bleeding this afternoon. I went ahead and left a request for a callback from my doc because this is freaking me out.

 

[Dill]

Her assistant called me back and said that she can't guess what's going on, but set me up with an exam with another doc (mine won't be available for over a month) in three weeks. So... here's hoping it sorts itself out by then, because if I bleed for 5 weeks straight again, I will lose my mind. Last time, it was my MC.

 

[rmsh1]

Hi, can you let me know what they thought might be going on with you? Thanks

 

[Dill]

Hey, rmsh. I didn't end up doing the appointment because I became pregnant that cycle. I ended up losing it as a chemical. After the chemical, my cycle became right as rain (shorter, though) and now I seem to have my sticky bean.

 

[rmsh1]

Congrats I had a weird mid cycle bleed this cycle which I have never had before (I had a mmc in February). So not sure what is going, but thanks for updating