Brown spotting instead of period - something sinister?

[hoping-for-the-best]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has experienced this before? Around the time I should have started my period last week I started spotting very lightly, which I sometimes do for a day or two before full flow. This has been going on for a week now with some watery and some goopy black/brown colour discharge (sorry if TMI). I also noticed blood when I wiped after DTD around ovulation, but just the once. Took a home pregnancy test this morning and it's a painfully clear negative, as always. It's now day 30 of my cycle and the spotting seems to have stopped completely, so am worrying that's it for this month. Google really doesn't help - could be peri menopause, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts or even cancer. I did fail to ovulate on one of the months they tested for it but they put it down to a blip - now I'm thinking there's something seriously wrong. Has this happened to anyone else before?

[Filmgirl101]

I have had that happen. Pretty gross, but the next couple cycles were normal after. I do have 2 per year of annovulation, but one ovary is confused and throws an egg almost every month! So I guess a couple of blips from it is forgivable! If you're worried mention it to your doctor. If it's your 2ww, sometimes it takes a while for the hormones to get into gear properly.

[hoping-for-the-best in reply to Filmgirl101]

Thanks for the reply - good to know it's happened to someone else I guess it could just be a one-off occurrence. I don't even think I would notice if it weren't for the fact I'm hyper-observant of my body these days, that's what two plus years of trying will do to you! If it continues I'll go see the GP. Crazy to hear your ovary does that every month! The body does some strange things sometimes...

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi hoping-for-the-best. Maybe this is just a one-off occurrence and will be nothing to worry about. Should it occur again, I would pop and see your GP, just in case you do have a minor problem. Diane

[hoping-for-the-best in reply to DianeArnold]

Thanks Diane. After a week of spotting my period finally arrived, 5 days later than usual. I did go to the GP a couple of weeks back as I had quite bad abdominal pain and was worried about PID, but he said it was probably ovulation pain. I will see what happens next month and follow up as a week is a long time to be spotting for.

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi hoping-for-the-best. Many thanks for the update. Yes, I think I agree with your GP, and hopefully the spotting was a “one-off”. Just have to see what happens next menstrual cycle. Hopefully it won’t happen again, but if it does, then maybe your GP will do some bloods on you just to check your hormones out. Good luck! Diane