Honey, any ol’ thang can “screw you up” period-wise. You start a new exercise program, you STOP one, you worry about something, you forget to worry about something, you eat more (or less) of something than you usually do or you are exposed to something you aren’t usually exposed to. (A lot of people don’t know that some common essential oils - such as lavender, penny royal, mints, etc. - are emmonogogues – in other words they instigate menstrual bleeding.)
The bottom line is you need to know if this is something random or something serious. Is there a clinic or urgent care center you can get a checkup at for a reasonable price? I would hate to say “pffft, could be anything” and then it turns out to be something that makes you sterile. I think saving a few bucks pales in comparison to that. (Unless you’re me, in which becoming sterile would be a dream come true.)
voguevixen–it’s not just a matter of saving a few bucks. If it was, I’d make an appointment and have it over with. I have no health insurance right now, and won’t get coverage until September first. It will cost me a couple hundred dollars at least to do an out of pocket office visit. That’s the difference in me being able to pay my rent. I don’t know what to do. I called four OBGYNs today. Only one nurse actually talked to me. She said I should wait until Monday or so, and if I’m still bleeding, I should come in. The other nurses told me that they couldn’t even answer a question unless I was a patient of theirs. Thing is, I don’t have an OBGYN here in town, since I just moved here. If I’m still spotting tomorrow, I’ll call my old one.
And here’s more TMI–I don’t know if this makes it better or worse. The spotting I’m having is the brown goopy stuff that you usually only see the last day or two of your period, except that’s pretty much the only type of discharge I’ve had the entire time. There won’t be anything for 12 hours or so, and I’ll think I’m done, and then the next time I go to the bathroom I’ll have spotted again.
I hope this is just stress related, but it’s freaking me out. I wish I knew what to do.
October, I’m having mostly the same thing. Have been for… about 15 days now. No real bleeding, I used the Pill to skip my period this month and instead I have been spotting. Well, there was spotting for a few days, and ever since then, it seems like everything’s fine, but traces show up every once in a while when I go to the bathroom or after the sex. However, I’ve just moved across the country and I’m incredibly stressed right now, so that is hopefully what my problem is. I just wish it would go away.
October: in 10th grade I had a period almost exactly like you describe - normal for the period of a normal period… then goopy icky stuff off and on for another 2 WEEKS. (I don’t recall any pain, but I don’t normally get cramps anyhow) Bear in mind I wasn’t on any BC meds at the time and I’ve always had weird cycles, but my doctor told me not to worry about it and nothing has come of it since. I’m also the same age as yourself.
If you do end up needing to see a doctor but can’t afford one, you can try calling Planned Parenthood. They have a sliding fee scale, and it’s usually not too much out of pocket if you’re uninsured.
I’m no doctor (heck, I haven’t even played doctor for decades), but I’d be less worried about the brown goopy discharge than I would be about bright red blood.
Actually, I have a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow. I’m allowed to use the Unversity Health Services until the end of August (I graduated in May), so I’m leaving work early and driving to Austin tomorrow (from Houston). I’d rather pay the fee and have the doctor tell me that it’s stress than continue freaking out indefinitely. I’ll also talk to her about changing BC methods. Ugh. What a pain in the ass. I have to make a round trip from Houston to Austin, then back, tomorrow, then come in on Saturday to make up the time I’m going to miss (I was planning on having my brakes checked, but continued bleeding trumps yelling at the Brake Check mechanics for not fixing my brakes correctly the last THREE times I brought the car in). Plus, I just got an electric bill disconnect service from an electric company I’ve never heard of (certainly not the one I signed up with). The fun never ends.