2 Month Spotting

[fuzlo]

Hi,

I have health anxiety and I’m really struggling with my mental health at the moment made worse by this issue! So I’d appreciate if you could be mindful of this before commenting anything that might trigger me or make me worry! (I know it would be better if I just kept away from apps like this but I just want some reassurance.)

I have PCOS and have always struggled with irregular periods. However, for a few years my cycles were 35-45 days until July. Since then I’ve only had 2 periods. One in October and one in December. It’s been 130 days since my last proper period.

I’ve been spotting everyday since late February. (2 months). It fluctuates between barely noticeable tinted discharge, brown discharge and also blood. So far it’s only been there when I wipe but yesterday it was actually in my underwear and so I put a pad on hoping it was a proper period starting but it’s back to being light.

I saw a doctor yesterday who said it’s likely just PCOS and he has sent me for some scans (hopefully a transvaginal scan as well as an external ultrasound). I’m also going for more blood tests.

I felt a sense of relief after talking to him but since I’ve been home I’m back to feeling sceptical. I’ve never been this late before and I certainly have never had this ongoing spotting. I’ve had mid-cycle bleeds before but they usually last a few days if that rather than 2 months.

I was made redundant in July and my mental health has been quite bad at times due to the pandemic. Job loss, not seeing loved ones and lifestyle changes like barely exercising anymore. I had a particularly bad mental health dip in November where I was having panic attacks and crying spells almost everyday and was convinced everyday that I was going to die. (Dramatic, I know but it felt so real at the time.) I was also on antidepressants and medication for ADHD very briefly for 3 weeks but came off. So, I put my unusual periods down to stress but now I’m starting to question things and feel anxious again and feel myself falling into the same hole I did in November.

I just wanted to know if anyone with PCOS had experienced this spotting before? I’m currently not on any medication at all for anything.

Thanks

[Missy100]

Hi Fuzlo,

I'm so sorry you are having such a hard time at the moment. I do understand what it is like to have anxiety and panic attacks and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I was first diagnosed with PCOS in my mid twenties, but struggled with the regularity of my periods from the time I started them at 11/12 years old. To be fully transparent I'm also undergoing treatment for Endo at the moment as well, however I'm in my 40s now and it only become an issue in my late 30s.

With my period I have had experiences:

-Bleeding for months at a time with no break.

- Skipping it for months at a time (even 6 months once).

- Spotting in between

- Bleeding that lasted weeks, stopped for anything from a day to a week and started again.

- Extremely light bleeding, spotting for an extended period of time, heavy bleeding, heaving bleeding with blood clots so bad I've bled through a combination of a tampon and doubled up XL nighttime pads in less than 30 minutes, and everything in-between.

The only times I've had 'regular' periods have been when I was younger and on birth control (to regulate frequency and flow) and in the past few years while on Tranexamic acid (because I was bleeding so much and often).

The down side of birth control is it can also affect your mental health. It really does a number on me. However, it is not the same for everyone. I have recently been told by a gynacologist that there is different types of progesterone and that the more commonly prescribed ones are more likely to affect mental health than others.

Also, as you may be aware, mental health (depression, stress, anxiety) can also cause chaos when it comes to your period as it can do anything from make it come early to stop it altogether.

So long story short, it could very well be your PCOS. It could possibly also be your mental health, or it could be a combination of both that is causing your period to be out of whack.

It sounds like your doctor is just dotting the Is and crossing the Ts by sending you for blood work and scans. This way you can both be reassured that things have been double checked, but it doesn't mean that there is anything else wrong. It is one of those situations where it is better to be over cautious than overlook anything when all it takes to follow up is some blood work and an ultrasound.

I hope this helps to reassure you and I also hope you are able to get some support with finding ways to ease the suffering you are experiencing with your mental health.

[Abluemore]

Hi I’ve just been diagnosed today and I’m the same. I suffer so badly with health anxiety and have convince myself Im going to die for the passed week. They still need to send my scan to a gynaecologist but even that gives me anxiety as I feel like I still could have been misdiagnosed PCOS.

I really hope I’m okay but I’m the same. I have been on medication for acne which really messed with my periods so I had it down to that’s why they’re so irregular. I bled the same for 2 months just spotting then a 4 day heavy period then nothing.

Still really anxious about it as my health anxiety is telling me to get a 2nd opinion to be sure. I’ve been really unable to sleep for days as the man doing my ultrasound wasn’t very sensitive and said there was shadowing (which can be gasses however my anxiety tells me otherwise).

Really hope you’re okay and we need to keep reminding ourselves it’s our anxiety and if a doctor thought it could be anything else we would probably have been sent in for more tests ect.

Xx

[Dwl2408 in reply to Abluemore]

Hope you are all doing ok.

Just wanted to reassure that I've had a really similar experience. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was really young and was given the combined pill. Had to come off it due to severe migraines and due to my age, was just told by a really unhelpful doctor to come back and see them when I want to have children.

Managed to regulate my cycle a bit in my early twenties by losing weight, but now I'm in my 30s and have put it all back on and then some, my cycle was basically non-existent. Last year I started having almost constant brown spotting/discharge. I put off going to the doctors for months (terrible idea, I know) because I was so scared and convinced there was going to be something wrong with me. I was put on progesterone only to make me have a bleed every 3 months but it didn't really help and I eventually got bloods and an ultrasound after I confided in the doctor about how worried I was. Nothing to worry about, just an unfortunate PCOS symptom. Just started on desogestrel to see if it helps but I'm bleeding quite a bit at the moment. I hope it stops soon! Just thought I'd post to reassure you that other people have this too. The gynae told me that irregular spotting/bleeding is way more common in PCOS than people realise.