Ladies, I need advice re: woman issues (TMI alert - not for men!)

[sukiisukii]

Hi Ladies, I need some personal advice. I have been on the ortho evra patch religiously for about 4-5 years and it never let me down and always worked well for me. But something strange happened this week that I cannot explain. My last period was from 11/26-11/30 and then on 12/10 I started spotting (brown and needed a liner at times) and it has not stopped! This has never happened before and my period is not due until around Xmas so I am concerned. I am going to call my OB/GYN tomorrow, but I really wanted to get some thoughts on this from the ladies here.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[neatfreak]

I don''t think we can provide too much in terms of medical advice...but it sounds like breakthrough bleeding of some sort, which usually isn''t a big deal.

 

[sukiisukii]

Thanks for your reply neatfreak. I thought I would try... you''d never know, maybe there are some OB/GYN''s on board

It only concerns me because this never happened before and I don''t know what set it off. Hopefully it is just breakthrough bleeding and nothing more serious.

 

[mia1181]

I''m not a Dr. but I''m sure it''s fine. If it is spotting, then that could happen even if your BC is working properly. If you think you are getting your period early and your BC wasn''t working properly for whatever reason, you should use back up BC before seeing your OBGYN. Your probably fine and probably not pregnant (if that''s what you are thinking).

 

[sukiisukii]

Hi Mia, you read my mind! That was exactly what I was thinking

The spotting never became a heavy flow so I didn''t think it was my period. Maybe I am just stressed out at work

Who knows?

... but between me and all the PSers - I wouldn''t really be upset if I was preggers! haha

(but seriously, I have to say that DH is a little nervous)

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Your obgyn should be able to help, but my thought is you could have an ovarian cyst. They're really common and I've had a few over the years (and have been able to conceive just fine - so don't worry that it's anything serious). Any pain around where either of your ovaries are?

 

[sukiisukii]

no pains real sharp pains anywhere - a small sensation of cramps but I am worried that these are phantom symptoms that are in my head!

Ahhhhh, let it be tomorrow already - I need to call the doctor, I am freaking out!!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

There''s no reason to freak out! You''re in the middle of your cycle and are ovulating and that''s what''s causing the cramps. Trust me on that as that''s how I knew when it was time to TTC

 

[sukiisukii]

thanks MC - its the waiting game and the unknown that drives me nuts. i will call the doctor first thing the morning - hopefully she can squeeze me in

 

[phoenixgirl]

Date: 12/14/2008 8:14:34 PM
Author: MC
There''s no reason to freak out! You''re in the middle of your cycle and are ovulating and that''s what''s causing the cramps. Trust me on that as that''s how I knew when it was time to TTC

But should she be ovulating while on the patch? I honestly don''t know much about it but thought it was similar to the BCP in halting ovulation.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 12/14/2008 8:29:18 PM
Author: phoenixgirl

But should she be ovulating while on the patch? I honestly don''t know much about it but thought it was similar to the BCP in halting ovulation.

ooops, yep you''re right. Sorry! It''s been so long since I''ve been on the pill and the brown spotting sounds exactly like a cyst, from my experience.

 

[sukiisukii]

good point phoenix.... ahhhhh does that mean the minor cramps can be something more serious?

the spotting has stopped for now hopefully it won''t come back again, either way I will call the doc tomorrow.

MC - are there any other symptoms to ovarian cysts?

 

[mia1181]

Date: 12/14/2008 7:41:13 PM
Author: sukiisukii
Hi Mia, you read my mind! That was exactly what I was thinking

The spotting never became a heavy flow so I didn''t think it was my period. Maybe I am just stressed out at work

Who knows?

... but between me and all the PSers - I wouldn''t really be upset if I was preggers! haha

(but seriously, I have to say that DH is a little nervous)

Ha ha been there, done that! Every single time I have had an issue while on BC, I ran right to a pregnancy test! I know it''s the part of me that wants to be pregnant!

So if it makes you feel better pee on a stick! Although it''s probably waaay too soon to be sure.

I''m pretty confident it is nothing though. Spotting that is unaccompanied by any other symptoms might not concern your doctor but if you firmly believe something is wrong demand to be seen!

 

[sukiisukii]

thanks for listening to me rant mia

i read somewhere on the forum where one of our own PSer got pregnant while on depo provera! anything can happen nowadays... i think i just might go pee on a stick at work tomorrow...

 

[kittybean]

Sukiisukii, I don''t know if this is much help, but I just wanted to tell I''ve been in your shoes. I took hormonal BC for years and had zero issues, then all of a sudden, two years ago, I had what you''re describing happen to me. Mid-cycle, I started having nonstop spotting. I saw a number of doctors about it, and all they can figure out is that I had some sort of major homonal "shift." What that means, I have no idea (I was 23). The hormonal roller coaster ride has been going on ever since--it has been hard for me to find another form of hormonal BC that doesn''t cause spotting, and I''ve started experiencing tons of side effects from it, like bloating, darkened areas on my face, acne, bad cramps, and breakthrough bleeding (the latter happens if I take it even a few hours later than scheduled). What helped me was switching to a pill with a higher dose of hormones. The low-dose pills, the ring, and the patch all had too little to control the spotting.

I think I''m at a pretty good place now. My current BC is Nortrel, and I''ve had relative success with controlling the breakthrough bleeding. My advice: get thee to a gynecologist, and talk to him or her about switching to a pill instead of the patch (or whatever else they recommend). My gynecologist told me that breakthrough bleeding can suddenly happen for women who have been taking hormonal BC for a while, and that most women find success in either stopping for a few months, then restarting, or switching to a different hormonal BC.

I hope you can figure this out soon, and that your issues resolve themselves soon!

 

[Pandora II]

I had a similar situation - I had taken BCP for 3 years with no problems at all and then suddenly I kept getting breakthrough bleeding.

The conclusion was that something had altered and I now needed a stronger dose - switched brands and didn''t have a problem for another 10 years or so when I had to stop altogether because I have migraine and my new GP wasn''t happy about BCP with migraine.

 

[girlie-girl]

I this a low level estrogen method of bc? I used to be on Ortho Tri-cyclen Lo and that happened to me one month after being on that pill for years. Started to spot when I was meant to be on day 12 of my 28 day pack. It quickly turned into a regular period which lasted two weeks. I of course contacted my gyno when it changed from just spotting and he said it was most likely due to the low estrogen levels and that perhaps my body needed more now. I went in for an exam just to be safe because I felt crap. Everything checked out okay and he suggested to keep taking the pills as scheduled and to wait another cycle before switching things up to see how my body reacted. I did that and everything went back to normal. Hopefully this is the case for you as well and you won''t have to do anything. But changing your bc will most likely sort it out.

Good luck!

 

[sukiisukii]

The patch is supposed to be one of the higher dosage hormonal BCs out there on the market. I lied about being religiously on Ortho Evra... I did try YAZ about a year ago and had problems with non-stop spotting and it was horrible so I switched back to the patch after only 3 months and everything went back to normal. I guess my body is fed up with all the hormones I am feeding it.

By the way I did make an appt and the earliest they can squeeze me in is Friday so fingers crossed that all goes well.

I really want to consider stopping hormonal BC and using an alternative methods (going back to the good old glove) because we will be TTC sometime late next year.