I'm in my early 20s and every year, once a year, I get a cycle where I have spotting around ovulation (and not the usual ovulation discharge). The first time it happened, I think I was 16 and it worried me a bit but it didn't happen again until a year later, and it has just happened once a year every year since then. What happens is, in the middle of my cycle when I should ovulate, I bleed instead, and then when my period should've arrived, I then ovulate, and then 2 weeks later I get a period. So on these bleeding cycles, everything gets pushed back by two weeks. I spoke to a doctor last year and she sent me for an ultrasound which found nothing to be amiss apart from my left ovary was polycystic, so then I had some blood tests but my hormones and thyroid were all normal. She diagnosed PCOS anyway but I've always felt this was wrong as my periods, apart from during these odd cycles when I spot, are regular (generally 33 days but it can be a couple of days earlier or later), and I don't have the usual symptoms of PCOS like acne, hirsutism, or weight gain. I'm one of those people who can eat anything but stay tiny, actually.
I just don't get what causes the bleeding and was wondering if anyone else has had this too. I'm a virgin so it's definitely not an STI or pregnancy. My periods themselves are a nightmare, very painful, quite heavy, and I always get intense pain on my right side (the opposite side to the polycystic ovary), which makes me wonder if I've got endometriosis. I've read spotting can be endo but my spotting isn't random and always happens when I should be ovulating. I've asked every woman I know and none of them have had this, I've asked online before and no one had experienced it, even the doctor was confused. My medical records only mention a polycystic ovary and not PCOS which makes me think I just got diagnosed with that as it was the best fit. I did mention the pain but nothing was done. I got my last period on the 1st September and the next is due on the 4th October, and I was meant to ovulate today but have had spotting instead, so will probably ovulate on the 4th and get my period on the 18th! Which will be good in a way as I have a training day on the 5th and was worried about my period messing it up 🙄