Regular pre-af spotting anyone?

[GingerBrummie]

Hi there,
Ive posted is on the infertility board but also wanted to add it here.
Im 38, DH is 47, TTC #1. On 27th month of trying!! Have first NHS IVF booked in Dec, but of course I would love it to happen naturally.
Ever since coming off the pill I start spotting around 5 days before my period every month guaranteed. Ive had literally every test there is, progesterone is excellent, no fibroids, polyps etc, all bloods are good. I think the spotting must be hormonal somehow as its cyclical & therefore if it was a physical thing like a fibroid it would be all month round.
Im on prenatals plus taking B-complex, Ive done 6months of acupuncture plus tried chinese herbs & nothing makes any difference to the spotting. Ive seen 2 very good RE privately & they confirmed this spotting wouldnt stop my conceiving but they still dont know exactly why I spot. Ive read loads of stories where woman had the same problem & still conceived so Im not massively concerned BUT I guess I just wanted to hear from anyone else that gets this spotting or had it in the past & managed to conceive.
Thanks for reading smile

I did! I always spot a few days before af, mostly (sorry if tmi) after a bowel movement 😬. It's almost as if the motion squeezes a bit of blood out. I have cervical erosion which is probably the explanation for mine as it only happens at the times my cervix is slightly open or soft i.e the run up to af and occasional ovulation spotting. I have had 2 pregnancies, one ending in early miscarriage and one resulting in ds. Interestingly both times I was pregnant I had no spotting whatsoever on the run up to af - presumably as my cervix remained closed. I had a little spotting during my pregnancy around the time my next af would have been due and again at 19 weeks but otherwise everything went uneventfully 😁. Now ds is 1 and I'm back to spotting again every month...

Hi op. I’m really hoping that you get some good results soon and am rooting for you to conceive a child with dh. Lots of baby dust your way!

I had a mc back in March and have spotted up to a week before af ever since. Plus a chemical last month. Just started on the b6 plus vitamin b12 plus low dose of b complex. Hoping to reduce the spotting. I’ve previously tried vitex and shatavari but neither worked for me!

@MrFlibblesEyes thanks for sharing your story. Sorry for your loss. I just learned what cervical erosion is the other day. Have you tried any herbs or vitamins to help
With spotting?

I tried drinking red raspberry leaf tea on the run up to ovulation which is supposed to help estrogen levels and then took B6 afterwards to help progesterone as I was worried that low progesterone might have also been the cause of the spotting (although I did have day 21 bloods and they came back as OK). I did also use progesterone cream too- I'd been trying for a year and a half and was willing to give anything a go- and that actually did seem to reduce the spotting a lot!

I continued to use it for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy too. I'm not sure what the general advice around progesterone cream use in this country is so I won't promote it as a fix all...

Hi both, thanks so much for responding.

@Mommybear05 thanks for your kind words. My spotting started coming off the pill whereas yours was after your mc so both sound like hormones might be out of whack. However Ive been off the pill for over 2yrs now so you would think thats enough time to regulate! Sorry for your losses. Do you have any children? If so did you spot with them?

@MrFlibblesEyes I forgot to mention, I actually have tried progesterone pessaries for the last 3 cycles (made my RE prescribe them)! as although my progesterone was good, I feared it could be dropping too quickly but sadly they made zero difference. Im glad you conceived successfully :) Could you also ask for the pessaries? Are you TTC?

@GingerBrummie I have one son. He’s nearly two. I was on the pill for years and then I stopped the pill, one cycle then pregnant with him. I had no spotting or bleeding when pregnant with him at all.

I’ve just started on the vitamin b12, b6 and vitamin b complex. I ovulated later this month (day 16 when usually it’s day 13/14) but this was before I started to take the vitamins. I think it has to do with my chemical lest month. With my last miscarriage the following cycle was longer too, but still only 31 days. I’m on cd 21 today. Usually I spot by day 24/ 25 max. So I’m hoping for either bfp, no spotting before af or spotting later than cd 24/25. By a miracle I had a letter from a gynaecologist at the hospital. I was told 40 week wait and they have fit me in for Wednesday next week. I don’t hold too much hope as my gp has been awful and so dismissive. So maybe the gynaecologist will be too. But still I’m grateful for the appointment and I’m hoping they can help me rule out some of the nasties I’ve been fretting about.
Any spotters here had a c section before? I did and I’ve still got so much sensitivity around the scar and my lower abdomen two years on. I’m not really bothered by the sensitivity other than worrying it’s affecting my fertility. Really feel like I need to talk to someone who knows this stuff wel now. My go might as wel have read a leaflet to me! 🙈

Good luck with your app next week @Mommybear05 I hope you get some answers or at least a nicer person to deal with!

@GingerBrummie thank you 😊 I also had a letter come through today for a pelvic scan for the first week of the new year. I’m starting to drive myself nuts with all this. I really need to relax but I don’t know how. I have sensitivity from my c section still and every single twinge I feel is worrying me. I just generally feel nervous all the time which I’m sure isn’t helping ttc! I ordered the book taking charge of your fertility and it arrived today. I’ve heard loads of recommendations for this so really looking forward to reading

Hi girls just an update and also an update for anyone who finds this thread in the future. I have had no spotting yet this month! Today I’m on cd 30 and 13 dpo. Usually before I had spotting 7-9 dpo and a 10-12 day luteal phase in total so at the very least I can say that these vitamins have helped the spotting and short luteal phase for me 😊 and just a not that shatavari and vitex did not work for me so if you have been trying things keep trying because you never know what will work for you!
I visited the gynaecologist and she could see very slight cervical erosion. She said it was just a little bit and nothing to worry about. She also dismissed the spotting saying it was no cause for concern given my history. So we will just ttc until March and then we can apply for some help with fertility treatment if no joy by then.

Thanks for updating @Mommybear05 & best of luck

@Mommybear05 Did you have much luck with the b vitamins, spotting and TTC? I currently have a short lutueal phase and sometimes ovulate day 17 of a cycle. Thinking of starting b vitamins but worried it might push ovulation a day or two later? X

@poppet131 yes I very much had luck. First cycle and I got pregnant. Just come out of the hospital yesterday with my beautiful baby girl ❤️
I would certainly recommend giving them a go! Xx

Oh wow!! Congratulations @Mommybear05!! Enjoy all those newborn snuggles! Did it push your ovulation date on that particular cycle? And which brand vits did you buy? X

Hey, I came off the pill late 2017 and have had this since then (and don't remember periods before that!). Conceived my daughter Jan 2019 and when periods started again they're the same. Usually 4-5 days spotting for 2 days of period. Other than being an annoyance, I didn't think it was a problem, but I have definitely seen other people describe having the same thing if it helps!

@poppet131 thank you 😊 no I was tracking ovulation and for me it did not push back my ovulation. I didn’t get any of the usual spotting at all that month. I started feeling pregnancy nausea and tested positive two weeks after ovulation with no spotting.
I’ve attached a photo of the supplements I took. These are from Holland and barrett. Wishing you the very best of luck xxx

I had this and was diagnosed with a luteal phase defect - subsequently had to take progesterone suppositories for each pregnancy until 13 weeks