Do you get spotting before AF / period? Come and talk to me here

[Whysoserious]

Morning ladies!

I have bleated on about spotting before AF a lot now on these conception boards and have realised that it does seem to happen to a log of people, can be for many different reasons and also people can be fobbed off by the doctors as "nothing to worry about".

My periods were normal until last August when I started getting brown spotting 4 days before AF came in full force.

I have googled and googled and there are lots of threads of women TTC with this mysterious affliction, but they only last about 20 posts so you can never find out what the outcome was. What were they treated for? Did they manage to conceive? And the one that I'm always desperate to know the minute I start spotting every month; did they get the spotting the month they conceived?

So I want this thread I be a place for TTC mumsnetters who spot before AF to come and share their experiences and stories and support. The information out there is so conflicted so it would be so good to keep this one going until we get some answers and some BFPs!!

@Bubblybub Thank You! I’m thinking if nothing was seen visibly on my hyterscopy then it must be hormonal. I did loose my baby due to covid and heard covid can affect your thyroid. I know my TSH is 1.5/1.4 is it worth me paying a full panel or not? I really don’t have any signs and symptoms of anything being off! I’m spending fortunes - not that it matters but it’s money towards IVF If we need to do that route. So did yours just come from no where? I know I saw on the thread that after having a baby they sometimes stopped the spotting. I was induced for my miscarriage and had to birth because I was so far so I wonder if it’s just a change in my cycles. I was 34 when I got pregnant with her. Lost and then started trying 6 months after my conceive date and still nothing! So makes me think I’ve got secondary infertility because nothing is happening for me! :( it’s breaking me every single day!

I’m not to sure about thyroid. If them numbers are in the normal range then I’d go by that. I also got pregnant the month I took soy isoflavones. Just google BFP soy isoflavones. You take them on day 3-7 of your cycle and it’s meant to make your egg really strong. So I did that and then progesterone cream and it worked after 16 months. U can get them off Amazon. You need 150mg a day on them days. I took them at night. I deffo think your issue is progesterone though. But the soy just helps the egg become strong.

it could be your miscarriage that has mucked your hormones up. But yeah mine have most deffo not sorted themselfs out after a baby. Some do though. But I reckon I’ll always have low progesterone. Xx

@Loz2467 have you tried acupuncture? I've used it for a lot of stuff but I used it once to sort out my cycles after miscarriage and it got them completely back on track. It can also help with fertility issues so it might be good to give it a go just to feel like you're doing something to help? I basically diagnosed myself with secondary infertility as well so I know exactly how it feels to be so lost as to why you can't get pregnant again, it took me over 2 years of trying but we got there in the end and you will too x

@Bubblybub I hope it’s more simple for you when you start to TTC Number 2. It’s draining isn’t it. Affects your whole life! My Dr called today! He said no inflammation or infection markers were picked up on the biopsy ( I could of sworn I have endometritis - inflammation and infection of the uterine lining as I lost our girl due to chorioamtetis which is very closely linked) I’m still not so sure I believe it. Brown spotting is a symptom and also the lining not growing to a good level and also being resistant to progesterone. So it literally all added up to that where you get a month of antibiotics. I was hoping that was the answer but apparently not. Because Only half of the biopsy got completed on time I’ve lost a bit of faith but I guess I have to believe them else it’s just a waste. I have to believe the job was done properly.

he’s prescribing me clomid to take day 2-6. Estrogen to take 7-11 and then progesterone 48 hours after ovulation. He said if that doesn’t stop the brown spotting he suggests we move to IVF quicker than anticipated because he isn’t sure what else to try. I’m not hopeful to be honest. I’m still torn about the endometritis but I’m glad he’s willing to help out. I only have 1 month of this medication.

@burtle4 I have actually tried acupuncture and reflexology but I’ve never got anywhere with it. Had the Chinese herbs and all sorts! Had it every other week - spent thousands but no luck! I’ve literally diagnosed myself with that too! I can’t believe it’s been this long after not having an issue before. As I said above I need to try and trust the biopsy that’s been done and assume it’s a hormonal issue now maybe thrown off by my miscarriage. It’s upsetting keep trying let alone with all this brown spotting when you know something is clearly not right.

Glad you have clomid. As soy isos are basically the same but herbal. The fact he is able to give you progesterone is great. Although I would deffo ask for more then one months worth just incase. But that’s really promising. Try not to focus to much on the spotting. I have nothing wrong with me apart from having shit hormones and I managed to get pregnant with soys and progesterone! Xx

@Loz2467 annoying about the biopsy but that's great that you've got the medication this month, in my experience the progesterone completely stopped the spotting but it took two months for me to get pregnant on it so as previous poster said it would be useful if you could get more than a month's supply. Fingers crossed for this month!

@burtle4 @Bubblybub thanks so much to you both for giving me such great advice!

Fingers crossed it stops the spotting this month! I don’t even know what I’ll do next if it doesn’t! Literally running out of things to test so feeling panicked if this medication doesn’t stop it.

yeah if it stops the spotting he might agree for me a couple more months medicated. fingers crossed!

my lining never got very thick and my periods have been quite light since last summer when the spotting started but I do get lots of the fertile cm which is meant to be the estrogen so I didn’t really think I had low estrogen. All these changes were also since my covid vaccine which is also worrying me. :( xx

Mine have also been light aswell. And really LONG. god it’s a pain. Then I have one heavy day. But it’s totals to abojt 9 days. Even if you do get slight spotting with progesterone please don’t panic, as I think I still had it slightly. But mine was only the cream so it isn’t as strong as pessaries. Once I doubled up the cream at around 7 weeks pregnant, it did stop the spotting. (I had spotting from 7dpo to 7 weeks preg) but I generally do think when I doubled up the dose it got rid of the spotting. I think I would of lost the baby otherwise as this spotting was like clumps of brown. 😷

please let us know how you get on, these always come through to my emails (even tho I haven’t been on here for 2 years ha ha!) it’s always nice to help a fellow spotter as I remmeber google having NOTHING!!

xx

@Bubblybub thank you! That makes complete sense. So frustrating with the periods though isn’t it! To be honest I spotted with my first pregnancy actually from 6 dpo to about 11 weeks something like that! I couldn’t actually believe I was pregnant and just did a test on New Year’s Eve before I went out. Wish it was that easy now :(

I’ve seen someone on ig saying her spotting before her period is from gut inflammation but surely not? Im just really panicked about the vaccine because it literally started that month . May and June were normal cycles and then from July that’s when it went bad.

I Have such bad anxiety 🙈 as you can probably tell!

thank you! I’ll keep you posted the support is great xxx

Yes keep us posted, I'll be really keen to find out if it is the progesterone. When the pessaries worked for me I literally wanted to tell everyone who was having problems with spotting to get their levels checked. I couldn't believe I'd been trying and stressing for 2 years and it was such a simple solution in the end! I really hope it's the same for you x

@burtle4 thank you! I’m praying it’s the same for me but I’m not convinced. My BBT was a slow rise this month on the clomid which shocked me. I usually get a sharp rise and super high temps but I didn’t this cycle. How were your charts? Did you have any other symptoms of low prog or just the spotting? I wonder if the estrogen will help to build my lining too. I’m just worried incase I’m not reacting to it because non of this is checked on ultrasound I’m just taking the meds.

I’m so anxious today thinking what if this doesn’t fix the spotting issue and what would I even do next :( IVF is so expensive for such low chances plus would I risk that still with spotting on progesterone as it’s only like they do in an IVF cycle.

I've attached a screenshot of my chart on the month that I got pregnant if it helps at all? I got a drop in temperature (maybe implantation?) but then it went back up again. I didn't have any other symptoms of low progesterone other than the spotting which is why it was so hard convincing the doctors that I needed the pessaries!

@burtle4 that’s great thank you! I definitely get a clear shift between my phases which I guess shows ovulation. My private script came through today too so intrigued about going collecting it!

sorry to be an absolute pain but have my ovaries maybe just turned naff as I turned 35 or is it worth having full thyroid panel done to try and find out the cause of low progesterone. I just really hope and pray the meds work and he gives me a few more months of this before moving to IVF. Also as I mentioned before I feel reluctant to go to IVF if the progesterone doesn’t fix my spotting. But it’s it’s nothing physical I’m praying it is the progesterone and it’s an easy fix xx

Here’s my pregnancy chart. If your worried about the thyroid still then get it done but I don’t think that will be the problem. I’ve helped so many people now by just saying the word progesterone. My friend had 6 miscarriages, I gave her the cream and she now has a 4 month old. No much for ‘no science’ behind it.

P.s I generally don’t think you’d spot on pessarie progesterone as they are 300mg I think so very very high! 😀

I'm the same as you @Bubblybub, as soon as I realised what the problem was I wanted to shout it from the rooftops! So many doctors don't think it's a thing for some reason! @Loz2467 I think if it will ease your mind then get a thyroid check done but I think give the pessaries a good go first, and definitely push for more months of it if you don't get pregnant the first month - even when trying naturally it's not always guaranteed that you'll get pregnant on the first month of trying. I also don't think you'll spot on the pessaries which is great but harder to take when the period just comes at you full whack on the month you don't get pregnant (keeping everything crossed for you that it will happen for you in the first month though!) Mine were 400mg each, prescribed them 3 times a day but I only did morning and night and they still did the trick. Then stayed on them for the first 16 weeks, was so scared to stop them!

@Bubblybub @burtle4 Thank you so much for sharing all this. I’ve checked my script and it’s 1 400mg pessary in the evening 2 days after ovulation. Maybe he’s starting me on that dose and if I still spot he can up it.

I was convinced I had endometriris and I’d read soooo much about it! I felt like I didn’t trust the biopsy properly because the lab messed up and only did half the tests so im finding it hard to believe I don’t have endometritis. I have the symptoms of it and also everything that happened from my miscarriage points to that :( because I had an infection and manual removal of placenta it’s really common to get that after hence why I eventually paid for the biopsy. The endometriris also stops your endometrium reacting to progesterone hence the spotting.

I’ll have to see. My head is everywhere :( as you can probably see! Then it just seems so odd that it did start the month of the covid vaccine but I think as humans we try and look for something don’t we.

But I have to try this next medication now and see how I get on. If I still spot I might even ask for the antibiotics for the infection and see what he says. Fingers crossed he can give me a few months of these meds to try.

yeah I know what you mean about my thyroid and because my TSH is okay I’m thinking it isn’t that but worth an ask wirh my GP first.

I’ll see how this month goes for us. Thanks so much again xxx

@burtle4 @Bubblybub do any of you know what happened to any of the other women on the thread. The ones who still spotted on the progesterone and hadn’t got the BFP. Just looking for anymore positive stories as I even spotted brown for a whole week on the month I got a prog reading of 61 n mol .

@Loz2467 afraid not ☹

@Bubblybub i was just wondering you mention High BBT didn’t you even though you was brown spotting for a week before flow? Is that right? I honestly just always steered away from low progesterone because of my super high temps but it seems one of the last things to rule out.

my GP has agreed to do full blood count including full thyroid panel which is a positive.

my Dr at the fertility clinic asked me to ask my doctor to repeat my progesterone test again but I think I’m pushing the boat a bit!

Literally no point in progesterone testing unless they do it when your spotting. Yeh do you can see by my graph above that my temps were still high even though I was spotting. Where abouts are you in your cycle ?

@Bubblybub yeah completely agree with that! I was spotting at 7/8dpo last month and that was the day I had the blood test and it was 21 n mol. Yeah I can see actually you still had the higher temps too!

This might sound crazy! But I’ve read that with low progesterone the brown spotting before period is from your previous cycle working it’s way out? Hence how old it is. Which does kinda make sense because after my hyterscopy I didn’t get the brown spotting before my period. My period just started. So question is… what if it is old blood from
a previous cycle surely it’s there now? And will still come out in my luteal phase this time?

im on cycle day 7. Took my last clomid last night and starting estrogen today till day 11 then the progesterone 48 hrs after ovulation.

I can’t thank you ladies enough for being there and listening!

Thank you @burtle4 also!

@Loz2467 you're welcome, I know how hard it is to be going through it, good luck with this cycle, let us know how it goes!

@burtle4 I was just re reading the thread and I’ve only got 1 400mg pessary a day. He said one each evening. I started them last night so feeling anxious incase they don’t stop my spotting but also glad to be trying something different to try and figure this out. I do have a 2 month supply so I could be using 2 but I should do what the Dr suggests shouldn’t i? And then if I do still get spotting maybe I’ll up the dose to twice a day next cycle? Obviously I’ll ask my Dr because I’ll need another prescription anyway if I’m doubling my dose.

400mg a day is fine. When u fall pregnant they might up it. Every doctor is different but 400mg is enough to sustain a pregnancy.