# Is there any chance at all my multi-vitamin is causing spotting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 14, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678 "2010-11-14T21:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/1 "2010-11-14T21:29:36Z")
I recently switched birth control pill brands, which is almost certainly the reason why I’ve been spotting… But it seems oddly correlated with me taking my new multi-vitamins (a women’s “active” vitamin that includes caffeine.) Whenever I stop taking the multivitamin, the spotting stops. When I begin taking it again, it starts happening again. Am I seeing connections that aren’t there? I’ve been avoiding the vitamins, but if there is no chance they could be responsible, I’ll start taking them again. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/2 "2010-11-14T22:19:01Z")
Under our new guidelines, medical/legal/etc. questions are to be started in IMHO, where any jerk off the street may give you their take on your problem. Please don’t take their _opinions_ as medical/legal/professional advice. They are quite often lunatics, who dispense advice on Message Boards at will. But, lucky you–you’re posting to one of the best Boards on the internet. You probably will get some wheat with your chaff. Best of luck in distinguishing the two. **samclem** Moderator. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/3 "2010-11-14T23:22:00Z")
Google the multi-vitamin and “side effects” and see if there are any reports of spotting. I can’t imagine what would be in it that would affect your hormones. However, I do have one thought: Are you taking them at the same time? Perhaps something in the vitamin is interfering with the full absorption of the birth control pill – and that is what is causing your spotting. So try taking them at different times of the day and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/4 "2010-11-14T23:27:19Z")
Taking them at different times. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/5 "2010-11-15T01:23:16Z")
I’ve never heard of caffeine causing spotting. Can you try a different multi-vitamin by the same brand that doesn’t have the “womens” ingredients? Could there be soy or something else that mimics estrogen? I don’t think a mainstream vitamin like Centrum would sneak an estrogen type ingredient but a health store brand might. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/6 "2010-11-15T01:26:47Z")
[http://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20020410/some-herbs-can-mimic-estrogen](http://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20020410/some-herbs-can-mimic-estrogen) There are some ingredients to watch for. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/7 "2010-11-15T01:56:51Z")
“Excessive” caffeine use can cause spotting. Oh, you prob’ly want a cite. Cite, cite, cite…oh, [here’s one](http://www.howtodothings.com/health-and-fitness/a4684-how-to-learn-about-mid-cycle-spotting.html). Probably not enough in your vitamins to do it alone, but if you’re also a coffee or energy drink user, it could be enough to push you over the edge. Of course, mid-cycle spotting can also be caused by weight gain, stress, adrenal tumors, polycystic ovarian syndrome and a whole host of other things, some benign and some not so much. As a general rule, all changes in menstrual cycle should be checked out by your doctor; she’s got the tools to rule things out in a way we lunatics don’t. ---
**Author:** ![SomeGal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SomeGal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SomeGal)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/8 "2011-02-05T01:36:53Z")
Wow, so glad I found this thread! This happens to me, and I thought I was the only one. The first time it happened, it was with the One-a-Day Women’s, so I tried normal Centrum a few months later and it happened again. Every time I take a multi, I start spotting the next day (32 hours later). It never fails, regardless of where I am in my cycle. And I’ve repeated this little “experiment” a few times with the same results, and I think I’m giving up now. For me, there’s a definite link. I don’t drink caffeine, and my diet / stress levels are pretty consistent. I always have clockwork periods, being on the pill continuously for almost 15 years, and being good about taking it the same time every day. My OB/Gyn said it’s certainly possible that there’s something in the multis causing the spotting, but she didn’t think there was a cause for concern. It’s a shame, because I think a multi would be useful, but this is not a side effect I am willing to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/9 "2011-02-05T01:40:45Z")
Unless you’re taking it with grapefruit juice, I can’t imagine what the connection is other than the sudden change in hormone levels from switching pills. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/10 "2011-02-05T01:48:51Z")
Some multi-vitamins also contain herbal ingredients like St. John’s wort or Ginseng or somesuchever. Many of these herbal ingredients are essentially blood thinners. Could that cause spotting? Is it true of your brand? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/11 "2011-02-05T02:14:23Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Of course, mid-cycle spotting can also be caused by weight gain, stress, adrenal tumors, polycystic ovarian syndrome and a whole host of other things One of which, annoyingly enough, is working out too hard. I’ve had it happen twice so far, and it’s a cruel reward for caring about your health. I’m mostly throwing the idea out there in case the vitamins are part of a whole “take better care of myself” kick that includes a vigorous workout for **even sven** or **SomeGal**. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-chance-at-all-my-multi-vitamin-is-causing-spotting/560678/12 "2011-02-05T03:56:32Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Some multi-vitamins also contain herbal ingredients like St. John’s wort or Ginseng or somesuchever. Many of these herbal ingredients are essentially blood thinners. Could that cause spotting? Is it true of your brand? Probably not, in an otherwise healthy person. In a person on coumadin or heparin, the added effect of garlic, ginseng, ginger, ginko biloba, and possibly anise, arnica, chamomile, clove, dong quai, and feverfew (at medicinal, not culinary, doses) may exacerbate bleeding - perhaps even cause some blood in the urine - but menstrual “blood” isn’t really blood (it’s about half blood by volume), nor is it generally affected by either pharmaceutical or herbal “blood thinners”. It doesn’t come from blood vessels which may rupture with strain, it’s released from the endometrium by hormonal action. St. John’s Wort actually reduces the effects of pharmaceutical blood thinners, and should be avoided by patients taking them for the opposite reason: it may interfere with the action of blood thinners and cause decreased bleeding and increased clotting in patients who need anticoagulant therapy.