It’s been 12 days now, and my period will not end. It’s a little more than spotting, but not enough to be a flow. I was two days late starting, and had PMS from hell for about 6 days, before and after starting. Cramps like you would not believe–doubled over when walking, can’t sleep without a heating pad on your abdomen, want to rip out your ovaries to make the pain stop, CRAMPS. The flow was really light (almost non-existent) for the first two days, then got heavier for a day or two (which is weird in itself), and now I’ve been doing this spotting thing for 9 days.
This has never happened to me. The longest period I’ve ever had was 7 days. And I usually only have PMS symptoms for a day or two, and am usually like clockwork on the start date (I’m on the pill). But the last 3 or 4 months I’ve had worse than normal PMS cramping and other symptoms, and the start date has fluctuated by a day or two each time.
Should I be worried? Has this ever happened to anyone else? What could be causing this?
I knew better… Truly… I said to myself “Here is a thread you don;t want to read.” I even went so far as to agree with myself. And yet, rather like a train wreck during morning commute, I just had to look… Damn my morbid curiosity…
Well, it happened to me once, but it’s kind of a complicated story.
We were trying for a second baby and so I was keeping pretty close track of my periods. One month I could have sworn I was pregnant, but the home test said no. Cut to a couple of months later when, after bleeding for about two weeks I decide to go to the doctor. She gets me up on the examining table, takes one poke at my tummy and says “I think you may be pregnant and having a miscarriage.” The urine test confirms the pregnancy part. Then she whisks me next door to her partners ultrasound machine and there is, not a miscarriage in progress, but my son in progress. Unfortunately, there is also a big blood clot right above him, which is causing all the bleeding problems. They put me on progesterone for the first trimester and my son is born nine months later with no further problems.
My theory, which I haven’t been able to confirm, is that I had had a very early miscarriage a couple of months before getting pregnant again, and that was what was causing the bleeding and slow hormone rates with the second pregnancy.
I know I should call a doctor, just to be safe, but my new job (and therefore my insurance) does not begin until September 1st. I really can’t afford an out-of-pocket office visit right now. Any chance this will just go away?
Sejal–I even put the TMI disclaimer in the subject line–you get no sympathy from me
Cher–Yikes! Being the paranoid individual that I am, I actually took a pregnancy test, which was negative, even though I’ve had three periods since I last had sex. If I was pregnant, I would be more than 2 months along, and I figure I would be having some sort of symptoms. You guys are right, though–I’m going to at least call a doctor.
October, no need… I took responsibility… It was my morbid curiosity that brought me into this thread… Later I’m going to take it around behind the barn and give it the good flogging it deserves.
October, how stressed out are you? This is the kind of thing that happens to me when I’m stressed.
If you count spotting, I’m in week two of my period, but I only started the real bleeding two days ago. No horrible cramps this time, though, so far. **knocking skull, in place of wood
I guess I’m pretty stressed out. I’m starting a new job in September, and I’m terrified about it. I just called a doctor’s office, and the nurse said it could be stress, and that I should wait until Monday or so. If I’m still bleeding, I should call back and make an appointment.
Now that I think about it, my periods have been weird for the last 4 months or so, and during that time I’ve graduated from college (with a full load plus working 20 hours a week in a restaurant the last semester), searched for and found a job (which required out of town trips for interviews every week for 4 weeks), moved to a new city, started a new interim job, and am scared out of my mind about beginning the job in September. My interim job was an intership that was only supposed to last for 8 weeks, but they agreed to keep me for the 3 weeks between the end of the internship and my real job. But for a couple of weeks there, I was doing ANOTHER job search, trying to find employment for 3 weeks so I could pay my rent. I’m living paycheck to paycheck, with bills out the wazoo. Plus, my boyfriend has been overseas for 2 months, and will be for another month. I miss the guy a lot. So yeah, I guess I’ve been under a lot of stress. Could stress really be causing the period that will not end? I’m terrified that I’m somehow pregnant or something.
DeVena–I am taking a multi-vitamin, but half the time I forget. I’ll make an effort to be more consistent (however I’ve NEVER forgotten to take a BC pill)
Stress can do amazing things to periods. It can make them go away, it can make them stay forever. Whatever you most don’t want to happen, that is what stress will do to your body.
Any chance of having a vegetative, self-care weekend? Stay home, take baths, read books, watch movies, stay in your PJs all day, sleep till noon - that kind of stuff.
Try to make an effort over the next few days to take care of yourself. Eat breakfast. And lunch. Don’t stay up late. Take your vitamin. Do a few things for yourself in addition to the things you’re doing because you have to. Pay attention to what you need, and get some rest.
How old are you, October? If you’re over 35, this could also be the beginnings of, as Eilsel so accurately described it, pre-peri-menopause. I was told that any time over 35 is not considered abnormal to start getting those symptoms. Sounds like you’re younger, but it’s something to keep in mind for the future.
But all that being said, it sure sounds like stress to me. Have a really good “be nice to October” day and hopefully that will help your system calm down and relax.
Oh, and re: stress, I forgot to mention that I’m smack in the process of applying to 12 graduate schools.
herownself, I plan to take it easy this weekend, but it may be hard–I have to do some work in preparation for my upcoming teaching job, and whenever I think about teaching, I get a knot in the pit of my stomach (not a relaxing feeling). I’ve never done it before, and am not certified, so I have no idea what I’m doing (I’ll be teaching at a private school that does not require certification).
When I was younger my periods were generally 9 days at least. Sometimes as long as 11 or 12. Nowadays they are only 4 days or so… but they have the unnerving habit of going on hiatus for months at a time, then coming twice in the same month. sigh
