"Pre" & "Post" Periods...

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-03-2003
"Pre" & "Post" Periods...
1
Mon, 11-01-2004 - 7:25pm
hey everyone,

i've been on the patch for over a year, but within the past few months i've been getting a brownish discharge before AND following my period, to the point where i'm not sure when my "real" period starts and when it ends. it's really frustrating! has anyone has this happen? it's sometimes more gunky, usually wen i urinate it's on the TP (sorry if too much info...) but i usually wear a pantyliner and will get some discharge on there too. anybody know the reasons for this??? it ranges from like a day - 3 days before and after... ugh...

thanks...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 11-01-2004 - 10:25pm
Day 1 of your period is the first day of red bleeding, but it's not unusual to have spotting before and after as your flow isn't fast enough to keep the iron in your blood from oxidizing and turning brown. In some cases, it can be almost black and really sticky. It's not unusual for periods to change over the length of time that you use any hormonal method--our natural hormone production changes over our entire reproductive lives, not just at puberty and menopause, and your natural hormones will affect how you respond to the synthetic hormones. I normally have this kind of spotting the day before my period starts and for a day or two after the significant bleeding stops.

Hope that helps!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control