Spotting week before AF every month - anyone else?

[_Nell]

MrsPttc - FX you catch the eggy this cycle!

Happyshopper - sorry you've had bad spotting this cycle, like you say hopefully it's just a little worse before getting better.

Soli - really pleased the progesterone is giving you a cyclical AF, hopefully you'll have natural O's soon.

Yum- sorry to hear your spotting has been worse too, I get the cramps as well (but then no cramps when I finally get proper AF)

AFM, 13dpo, I hate this point in my cycle. I know i'm not pg, my temps and bfn's show that and i'm just wishing AF woul hurry up and get here so I can start a fresh cycle. My spotting hasn't been so bad this cycle, in the last few I've been checking internally so I can record details (colour, consistency and quantity) to tell the Dr. Now I don't need to 'check' and I think less proddling around has helped a little!

Also, I've found my spotting IS linked to the low ovarian reserve. Just thought i'd mention it in case some of you hadn't had your AMH or FSH/E2 checked. Apparently because i'm low on eggs my oestrogen is kicking in during my LP to try and recruit more follies already for the next cycle. This means although my progesterone in my LP is 'good' the oestrogen throws it off and so I get the spotting.

Off on hols on saturday and looking forward to a week or so of no temping, will probably just temp around O to confirm actual O day.

Babydust to all!

 

[MrsHY]

Hi all
Nell - that's really interesting about the spotting and ovarian reserve - thanks for sharing that. Have a brilliant holiday!
Well, we went to see the fertility specialist this morning... and I guess it went well?
Bizarrely, my blood work showed completely normal LH and FSH levels and I have a high ovarian reserve. In some ways though, that made the subsequent conversation more difficult - because he didn't think my short luteal phase was causing a problem at all - so used the horrible words 'unexplained fertility.'
He started to talk to me about IVF, at which point I engineered the conversation around to Clomid. As I suspected, he said that it's not their protocol to give Clomid to women who are regularly ovulating by themselves - at which point I produced a number of clinical studies I'd sourced from the internet demonstrating it does have success in women with late ovulation and an LPD - i.e., me!
So, the upshot is that he's happy for me to start Clomid therapy - but just wants to get an OK from a gynae colleague. I filled out all the consent forms so provided the gynae says yes, I can start straight away (obv once I've received the prescription).
So, I need all you girlies to keep everything crossed for me, as maybe stupidly, I REALLY THINK CLOMID IS THE ANSWER FOR ME!
If it isn't... then I was encouraged to hear too that with ovaries 'of my size' with the reserve I have the odds of pregnancy with IVF are around 40%. Which seems higher than I thought. Hopefully it won't come to that though.
And in another bizarre twist... it's cd 19 today and I'm spotting brown stringy stuff! (Sorry TMI). I'm fairly certain I haven't ovulated -I've never ovulated before day 20 before and I've had no EWCM or anything. I think it must be an anovulatory cycle or something - I had a bit of stress with my Mum who was unwell a couple of weeks ago and went through the mill a bit - I wonder if I stopped everything this cycle!
Funny how your mind plays tricks though - a bit earlier I was like 'I wonder if I ovulated before I started using the ov sticks on day 14 and this is IB..." Yeah right...!
x

 

[Soili]

Funny how your mind plays tricks though - a bit earlier I was like 'I wonder if I ovulated before I started using the ov sticks on day 14 and this is IB..." Yeah right...!
x

Oh crap, I get this all the time!! I really have to smack myself down to reality sometimes, otherwise I wander off to dreamland of ovulations/implantations/pregnancy that doesn't show on tests and such

It's great to hear that you managed to turn the tables at the appointment! I hope gyno ok's Clomid plan!

Brown stringy stuff is exactly how my anovulatory spotting starts (and how my actual anovulatory period starts as well). I can tell now because this time around, after progesterone I pretty much had only red blood, no brown tissue. At least I guess I could tell now what cycle was it judging by how my AF looks like.

 

[Soili]

Also, I've found my spotting IS linked to the low ovarian reserve. Just thought i'd mention it in case some of you hadn't had your AMH or FSH/E2 checked. Apparently because i'm low on eggs my oestrogen is kicking in during my LP to try and recruit more follies already for the next cycle. This means although my progesterone in my LP is 'good' the oestrogen throws it off and so I get the spotting.

That's interesting, Nell! That's what I was thinking originally. Not the part about low reserve, but the high estrogen part. Well, for me it turns out that it was JUST estrogen, so not the same case.

I haven't had AMH tested. I think once I loose enough weight, I'll want to redo my blood work, at least FSH, LH, Testersterone and Androstenedione. I gotta remember to mention AMH too, I want that one as well.

 

[yum]

finally got my af today with moderate cramps !

nell - thanks 4r sharing the imp info ! could u clarify somethin 4r me pls ? wen u said fsh/E2 shwd low in lp, do u get them checkd in lp too ? wat day ? i got mine on day3 ??
have a funn vacation !

mrshy, great that u got ur FS to be on same page as u hope u get the clomid dear ! may b u O'd early & ur LPD has corrected itself ! hope u'll get ur BFP naturally real soon ! congrats on gud ov reserve ! fx 4r ya !

soili- interestin abt the color of spotting & anovulatory cycle ! i'm confused here, is ur prog low ? did u get ur prog checked over diff cycles ? how do u know if its anovulatory ?

last 2 mnths i got a + opk meaning almost as dark as control line.i thought i would get darker line nxt day but got - opk.. my temp dropped 2 days ltr..so, just got me thinkin !
last mnth was my 4rst bbt & from 5dpo my temps were abve CL but not very high like 1/2 dpo ! but got a peak on the day i strd spotting & it fell by .1 then .2 but still above CL till y'day which fell very low below CL ! can anyone chip in any thoughts !

 

[Soili]

soili- interestin abt the color of spotting & anovulatory cycle ! i'm confused here, is ur prog low ? did u get ur prog checked over diff cycles ? how do u know if its anovulatory ?

I had progesterone checked CD3 and CD21 on same cycle and CD21 was lower than CD3. But that's basically just formality. I know I don't ovulate, because I don't get a good thermal shift and I keep getting patches of fertile CM throughout the cycle and then of course the spotting. On the cycles where I ovulated, I got very definite positive OPK, and AF came 14 days later with no spotting prior to it at all. And also AF itself is different. When I ovulate, it's bright red and heavy. When I don't, it's very diluted orangy color, quite light and with a lot of brown tissue here and there.

 

[_Nell]

MrsHY - sounds like you had a really positive appointment and I'm very impressed you turned them around into supporting clomid. it's too early for you for IVF yet by s long way

Soili - AMH isn't affected in any way by weight (unlike FSH which fluctuates). AMH can be tested on any cycle day too, it's really the new FSH/LH test (as they both fluctuate).
My FSH and LH were both 'good' at 6.0, they were clearly masking the real situation.

Yum - no i had LH/FSH/E2 on CD3 too - that is indicative of ovarian reserve, but not as accurate as an AMH tests. Poor ovarian reserve can be linked to spotting. The bit in my LP was that my Progesterone showed really good (52) but my E2 then showed very high too, oestrogen should typically be quite low I think in your LP. E2 in your LP isn't usually tested I don't think, but the Dr did mine to confirm the poor AMH test.

AFM 14dpo, AF should be here today. I hope she is because tomorrow I have an ultrasound booked in which has to be done while menstruating (blurgh! how unpleasant is that going to be, as it's a transvaginal one). Will be counting my antral follicles (egg count) and looking in on my growing fibroid, which may be the only thing that will ever grow in my uterus!

 

[Soili]

Soili - AMH isn't affected in any way by weight (unlike FSH which fluctuates). AMH can be tested on any cycle day too, it's really the new FSH/LH test (as they both fluctuate).
My FSH and LH were both 'good' at 6.0, they were clearly masking the real situation.

Oh, I didn't mean, I'll be waiting to loose weight, to see how AMH is. It's just that I'm not planning to go back to doctor before I loose weight, so I won't be doing any tests until then. Mine's supposed to be a high number, due to PCOS. If I got it right, AMH shows how many follicles ovaries tend to form in the beginning of the cycle? Well, mine make plenty, they just don't grow.

 

[_Nell]

Oh I see, sorry. Yes your AMH would be distorted and high due to the PCOS, so it won't tell you anything different to what you know tbh and therefore possibly not worth paying for.
Good luck with the weight loss, that's meant to do wonders for people with PCOS fertility wise isn't it?

 

[yum]

soili thanks 4r the info !

nell- thanks agin ! i had no idea a trans u/s can be done while bleeding..i thought they can't c aythin with all the blood ! sorry u have to go thru with this dear ! how did it go ? hope u'll have positive news !

all this got me thinking, i dint have a gud thermal shift on the day i got my almost +opk ! only my cd1 bleeding is real heavy & cd2 is medium & light or none on cd3..i told this to my doc but she din't seem it was an issue !
nell, u had a 6 fsh & low reserve then i have even higher fsh @ 7.46 with a 26 estradiol... could i have low reserve too & hence the spotting
i din't think abt it till i saw these posts..i thougt its within range so never had second thoughts !

i'm confused ladies, could someone clarify ? does low reserve mean the number of eggs produced is low or is it the quality of them poor to be matured ? wen i got my u/s on day 10, it said r follicle dist = 1.86 cm & some otr things too ! wat do these things mean ? i was so confused at the time, dint think abt askin my doc !

so sorry abt the rant but i'm freakin out big time !

 

[karithomp6774]

Hi, I am so glad to find a forum of fellow spotters! I've been reading all the posts on here and see that I am not alone! I am 36 (almost 37) and TTC for #2. I spot for 3 to 6 days before AF every month. I have been spotting before my son (5Yrs) was concieved and that was the one month I didn't spot! I have only been TTC for 4 cycles now. I know it's not a long time but because of my age, I feel like I don't have a lot of time to mess around! I mentioned the spotting to my OBGYN a few years ago and he just blew it off as nothing. I have new OBGYN now and want to ask her what she thinks. I have been concerned that it could be due to low progesterone(I have never been tested) or maybe endo. Though, I did have a successful pregnancy with my son-I conceived him the first month. I have been charting for 2 cycles, taking OPK's, B-6, AC (400mg) and prenatal vitamins. I've only been taking AC for about a cycle and a half but haven't really noticed any difference. Last month I spotted only 3 days before AF but this month it's going to be 6 as I am spotting now. I was really hopeful this month because I found 3 drops of blood in my underwear on 5dpo-thinking it could be early implantation. I never had spotting that early before. But then my usual brown spotting showed up on 10 dpo and I knew I had to be out. I am wondering if that weird spotting on 5dpo was because of the AC or B-6 or there is something else going on. I am just so tired of the spotting and am so afraid it is interfering with me getting a BFP. I do have a friend from another forum that just got her BFP and had been spotting before AF. She actually started spotting on 5 dpo and continued for a few days and it stopped. She tested a few days later and she got her BFP! Stories like that give me hope.

 

[MrsPTTC]

Hi, I am so glad to find a forum of fellow spotters! I've been reading all the posts on here and see that I am not alone! I am 36 (almost 37) and TTC for #2. I spot for 3 to 6 days before AF every month. I have been spotting before my son (5Yrs) was concieved and that was the one month I didn't spot! I have only been TTC for 4 cycles now. I know it's not a long time but because of my age, I feel like I don't have a lot of time to mess around! I mentioned the spotting to my OBGYN a few years ago and he just blew it off as nothing. I have new OBGYN now and want to ask her what she thinks. I have been concerned that it could be due to low progesterone(I have never been tested) or maybe endo. Though, I did have a successful pregnancy with my son-I conceived him the first month. I have been charting for 2 cycles, taking OPK's, B-6, AC (400mg) and prenatal vitamins. I've only been taking AC for about a cycle and a half but haven't really noticed any difference. Last month I spotted only 3 days before AF but this month it's going to be 6 as I am spotting now. I was really hopeful this month because I found 3 drops of blood in my underwear on 5dpo-thinking it could be early implantation. I never had spotting that early before. But then my usual brown spotting showed up on 10 dpo and I knew I had to be out. I am wondering if that weird spotting on 5dpo was because of the AC or B-6 or there is something else going on. I am just so tired of the spotting and am so afraid it is interfering with me getting a BFP. I do have a friend from another forum that just got her BFP and had been spotting before AF. She actually started spotting on 5 dpo and continued for a few days and it stopped. She tested a few days later and she got her BFP! Stories like that give me hope.

Welcome karithomp6774 , thanks for that, stories like that really do give you hope! I'm 7DPO yet AF techically due today but am hoping it will stay away a while as I ovulated so late. Last month was the first time I spotted so early & it was only for 1 day and so miniscule lol and it was 6 DPO (thought ooh possible IB! maybe not!) and I really thought I was pg last month I had loads of symptoms. Again this month, yesterday 6DPO had such a small amount of spotting on my underwear & when I wiped, it was just CM tinged brown with maybe a few brown dots in it (TMI) and has gone today, but funny how it's happened 2 months in a row ! This time I'm not falling for the IB trick ha ha x

 

[Deethehippy]

Hello ladies
I have also found i spot for 3 days before AF on my last few cycles since my miscarriage.
I have a question for you all (because i like some of you like to clutch at straws and hope for implantation!) ......for the ladies who chart their temps does your temperature go back down at the time of the spotting or when you get the actual 'flow'?
My temp is still high and i am on day 3 of spotting pink/brown.
I don't think i am pregnant tbh but i wondered about the temp thing?
Thanks and babydust to all
Dee :0)

 

[happyshopper]

Hi Dee
My temps stay high during the spotting and only start to come down a day before my AF xxx

 

[Deethehippy]

Thanks - turns out you were spot on and today i have full flow AF

 

[MrsPTTC]

I think I have gone 10 steps back as my spotting has been on and off from 6DPO this month! I'm not sure if ovulating late had anything to do with it, as it's funny how it was around the time AF was due. I also had reddy spotting just once on 8DPO, this is the 2nd time in 3 months... Not sure what to do next month, I'm keeping up with the Maca as it's good for my eggs, but I wonder if I should stop the AC for a month and see how I go? Are any of you ladies on vit B6 or a vit B complex and if so has it made any difference? I think that might be the next step if stopping the AC doesn't work x

 

[happyshopper]

Hi MrsPTTC,
Sorry about the spotting, it really is the pits
I take b100 complex but so far had not had much improvement. The only thing that slightly helped for me was soya isoflavones but it made me ovulate late when I took it for the first time. This month I've bought some progesterone cream so hopefully I will know soon if its a progesterone issue. I am also trying acupuncture but its too soon to tell if it helps. I will let you know how it goes xxx

 

[MrsPTTC]

Hi MrsPTTC,
Sorry about the spotting, it really is the pits
I take b100 complex but so far had not had much improvement. The only thing that slightly helped for me was soya isoflavones but it made me ovulate late when I took it for the first time. This month I've bought some progesterone cream so hopefully I will know soon if its a progesterone issue. I am also trying acupuncture but its too soon to tell if it helps. I will let you know how it goes xxx

Thanks happyshopper . Can I ask is your spotting heavy/bloody/dark? Mine is just tinged CM with bits of brown in, sometimes I only know it's there when I check my cervix, I don't think I'm going to do that anymore except around ovulation, it's too depressing! I don't have as much of a problem with the spotting as some of you ladies, but still fear it's not helping me get my BFP! I'm really scared of the soy, I've read some good reports but also bad ones, too terrified to try it! . GL to you hun xx

 

[happyshopper]

Hi MrsPTTC,
I used to check my cervix but stopped now too. Even though I've had spotting for years its always a shock when I see it.
I can tell you how my spotting usually goes and sorry if its TMI. It starts off being a light beige colour and then it gets gradually darker until its a horrible brown colour. Usually its extremely light, I wouldn't describe it even as a very light AF. Very occasionally the spotting starts with quite a lot of red blood but then settles down to my usual pattern. Last month was different to any spotting I've had before. It developed to be quite heavy (like a light period) and had really bad cramps so it can differ quite a lot.
Soy can seem quite scary but so far have had no adverse reaction from taking it. Have you thought about acupuncture? xxx

 

[Cosmos]

Hi ladies, like a lot of you here, I'm glad I'm not the only one! The internet research I did before now was just driving me even more crazy. I also have been having issues spotting and we're TTC #1 after a miscarriage completed on 1/2011. Sorry for the TMI but it has been very very light, only in the pantyliner (sporadically) or while wiping and it's always a brown color (light to darker) with small clots sometimes. I started charting my basic spotting, time of ov and AF since my miscarriage. I initially thought the spotting was due to a ruptured cyst back in January, but it has continued since then as well. It was 6dpo last month and 4dpo this month (still waiting for AF and, it's 7dpo today) and continues until AF so it is really driving me crazy to spot for nearly two weeks and then bleed for AF for 6-7 days, even more so since we don't have sex during this time (which I also think might be effecting our chances).

I am so very confused since reading your stories it seems progesterone could help, but my LH is long at an average of 15 days. I feel really bad this month with the spotting, cramps, tired and a lot of bloating. Has anyone been through this? Any luck conceiving even with this early spotting? I go to the OB/GYN for it in 6 days, but I'm afraid they are just going to tell me it's nothing to worry about.