Period help please - sorry if TMI!

[LegoBatgirl]

This is a long post but as you ladies have so much experience and knowledge I would be so grateful if you could help me please!

Tried to tell my clinic that I think something might be wrong with my periods but they have basically not been interested. As the drugs they give you during IVF are supposed to build up your lining anyway I think they're just focussing on that and not on investigating I was hoping you ladies could tell me if you think I need to kick up more of a fuss?

I used to have PCOS but after a lot of healthier eating and exercise it's just PCO. Sorry if it's TMI but my last 6 cycles have been:

April: 35 days

May: 30 days

June: 31 days

July: 29 days

August: 31 days

September: 30 days

Before that they were all over the shop - a couple as long as 42, even 45 days. This was when I had PCOS though and so apparently erratic cycles was one of the symptoms.

I'm glad they've settled now but my bleeding is really weird. This is where it might get TMI but my last 5 periods I've had:

Days 1-5 = only having a little blood when I wipe, occasionally a little in a panty liner but literally just a smudge. This blood is always really red.

Day 6 = pass heavy/clotty blood, also really red

Day 7= Back to spotting then period is over.

I know that for IVF purposes the period only actually counts as the day of 'full bleed' but surely 1 day periods can't be normal?

Does it mean that I'm getting poor blood flow there/could it be bad to sustain a pregnancy?

Dr Google has been useless and my clinic just seem to think IVF fixes everything, they've not investigated my DH's low count or my weird periods - they just seem to want to do ICSI and not look for any underlying issues.

Sorry for the essay, anyone who even gets to the end should get a gold star⭐

Best of luck to you all on your journeys 🍀🍀🍀

[Melissa11]

Hey, Well from my experience I always thought I had too much of a light bleed, listening to friends ect say how bad they had there AF I always thought maybe that’s why we wasn’t successful naturally, but it turns out I have a great lining on scans? I spot for 2 days then I have 1 full flow day, then 1 very lite day. Done. I told my clinic at the beginning I had light periods and they wasn’t interested ha.

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Melissa11]

Thanks so much for your reply, honestly it's a huge weight off my mind! I'm so glad that you shared and I love that women are willing to discuss these things to help each other x

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Melissa11]

Btw best of luck with your 3rd cycle 🍀 x

[Sunshine92 in reply to Melissa11]

Yes im similar too .. last for 3 maybe 4 days max but barely anything to see. Had scans and all day lining has been great. Hysteroscopy that didnt find anything at all. Im sure its fine xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Sunshine92]

Thanks so much for replying x

[Hidden]

As long as on your initial ultrasound scan your lining wasn’t thickened, I wouldn’t worry too much. If your lining on your scan is normal thickness, that means that you are shedding the right amount each month.

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply I really appreciate it. Due to various delays I won't actually be starting stims til October. This was supposed to be the last period on no treatment- next period I need to call them and ask for my meds.

I think because I'm stressed this period has been extra weird- a few days of spotting but that seems to have stopped so God knows if I'll even get a proper bleed now!

Thanks again for your reply. Hope you're well? X

[Tugsgirl]

Sounds similar to my situation. I have brown spotting then “full” af the following day which is mostly brown with some red (only about 5 tablespoons of red) and then it’s back to brown for maybe another two days. I’ve been harping on about it for years and years because my period never used to be like this. No one, but no one, thinks there’s an issue. Not my gp, gynaecologist or fertility clinic. My lining is always tri laminar and my cycles are like yours every 30/32 days approximately. I too have pco. I’ve always been fairly regular though and I do ovulate around cd16/18 every month. I wonder if it’s because my blood clots abnormally because I have lupus anticoagulant xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

Thanks so much for your reply I really appreciate it. I'm glad that they've not said that it's anything to worry about.

I know that I can blow small things out of proportion with my anxiety and I thought asking for advice was better than stewing- thanks for coming through for me x

[Hidden]

oh no, this sounds rubbish - had your clinic previously put you on any kind of contraceptive?

I don't know if this would make any difference, but when I was in a similar situation to you (minus the historic PCOS), I had always taken a mini-pill, so had never ever been exposed to an oestrogen contraceptive. So when my clinic asked me to take that so they could time all my scans, the oestrogen really messed with my normal cycles. When I asked the question, they said it was a possibility that some people's balance of hormones is a bit more complex (not helpful, when you have an EC date in your head and then it gets pushed back, so you can't plan!).

As soon as that happened, they didn't put me back on the pill and everything kind of worked itself back to normal (though I had a similar thing as you, a few days of basically non-bleed followed by what can only be described as a quentin tarantino film haha). If you think there's anything out of the ordinary, maybe keep a diary and then take it to them to compare month on month?

Hopefully as they don't seem too worried, you don't need to worry- it will fix itself as long as they let your body do it's bizz. Hope you are all good! x

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Hidden]

Thanks hun. I think it's partly that I started my period fairly late 14ish then went on the pill for 10 years and came off to TTC so I don't have much of a baseline/ experience of what's "Normal". I just know that we only get one round on the NHS so I think I'm stressing trying to be ready for it! X

[Tugsgirl in reply to LegoBatgirl]

Again that’s a bit like me. I started af at 14. My periods were all over the place, sometimes I’d get two in a month and they were really heavy. So my gp put me on the pill. I came off the pill about 8 years ago xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

It's crazy what we put ourselves through isn't it. If I could go back I'd tell myself not to go on the pill and to find out what my "normal" was before I started messing around with my hormones! X

[Tugsgirl in reply to LegoBatgirl]

It was convenient at the time. It made me regular and my periods weren’t as heavy. If it’s any consultation I have conceived three times, the last two being ivf, and it seems I only lost them due to having lupus anticoagulant. I wasn’t on blood thinners then but now I am I’m struggling to get pregnant lol xx

[Tugsgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

But I’m assured over and over that it’s nothing to do with my lining so.... xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

Thanks again, periods just seem like a mystery to me even though I'm 27! X

[Tugsgirl in reply to LegoBatgirl]

Haha I’m 38. They’re still a mystery to me! xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

Honestly you've been so much help - I really appreciate it! X

[Tugsgirl in reply to LegoBatgirl]

You’re welcome xx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Tugsgirl]

I'm so sorry for your losses. You are incredibly strong and I'm really proud of you for being so brave and helpful to everyone around you. You're a treasure x

[Franco81]

Ah I’m glad you’ve asked this. I’ve always been a bit concerned that my periods are really short and this has only been the case for the last 3/4 years. Also I get quite a lot of discomfort around ovulation.

I’ve mentioned both these things to my GP and fertility clinic and neither seemed to take any notice. Like you, they just wanted to get on with ICSI. All my lining scans have been ok though so I don’t question it any more but I do feel they should do a bit more investigation at the beginning. I still haven’t had a BFP though so in the back of my mind I still wonder what’s going on in there!

Good luck with this cycle xxx

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Franco81]

Me too! I get proper ovulation pains since coming off the pill - the first time that they happened I was scared that I had appendicitis and had no idea what they were!

I wish that they did more investigation, I feel so in the dark sometimes and just because they think that they have a "solution" in ICSI doesn't mean that it's a "cure".

Glad that all your lining scans have been ok - best of luck wherever you are with your journey 🍀🍀🍀

[Franco81 in reply to LegoBatgirl]

Thank you. We’re just preparing ourselves (physically mainly) for round 3 after two failed ICSI cycles with no Frosties.

I have googled everything about ovulation pain and some specialists say it’s never ok but where do I find these people who will take it seriously?!!

At the moment I’m just hoping the fertility clinics know what they’re doing and that it’s just bad luck we’ve not got our BFP yet.

Surely it would save costs for the NHS and us paying privately for treatment if more thorough investigations were carried out in the beginning as I’m sure there may be more they could do before getting to IVF/ICSI.

Sorry though I’ve just realised I haven’t answered any of your questions! Hopefully if they aren’t concerned though then we should find some comfort in that x

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Franco81]

Wishing you lots of luck with your 3rd cycle.

I wish I could find someone to take it seriously! I know that I'm a negative thinker so probably worry more than I ought to but it just seems crazy that we know so much about particle physics, putting a man on the moon or brain surgery and so little about periods and ovulation!

Finger crossed we both get BFPs soon x

[Kari55]

Not sure if I can advise anything. My periods are 4-5 days long with 2-3 days of full flow but the bleeding is scanty. I have a lot of clots as well.

I have asked about this number of times as in my teens my periods were much heavier ( then I was on a pill for years ) but I was told that the lining thickness is great and to not to worry about it. Unfortunately the clinics won’t look for root causes and will offer IVF as a solution to every problem.

Well done for addressing your PCOS with diet and exercise x

[LegoBatgirl in reply to Kari55]

Thanks so much. I feel like there's so much unnecessary shame around discussing periods and it's so difficult to know what's ok, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.

This whole process has been made so much easier by all the amazing women who have shared and helped me to get through it

At least you guys can share in my frustrations that the clinics don't seem to want to find root causes!