Does this count as spotting?

[Kela]

Hi!

Just wondering If you can help.

I’ve read your article on discharge, but need a little extra info.

Came off the implant last august, and probably about 4 times since, a day or two before my period, I get an ever so slight brown discharge, it’s more a dark yellow but with a tiny bit of brown. I googled it but google says a dark yellow discharge is bad/ a sign of infection? Had a full STD check in July, all clear. No other symptoms. It’s only before my period. Is it normal to get like a bit of spotting for a day, then the next day nothing, then the day after start my period? It always coincides within 2 days of getting my period, not any other time of month.

if it’s only a tiny bit brown, almost not brown at all (but is different to my regular discharge) would you count it as spotting before period? Or should I just count it if it is very visibly brown/red? I’m trying to track my periods etc but it makes it confusing when I look back to see I had spotting but not sure if it was actually spotting or this ever so slightly browny discharge.

Thanks!

ETA I’ve read the discharge article again and it does say a brownish tint just before period is normal…does 2/3 days before count?

[Sam W]

Hi Kela,

Yep, two to three days before your period fits with what's described in the article. It sounds like this is more discharge than spotting, since it's a tint to your daily discharge that indicates your period is probably coming soon.

[Kela]

Thanks Sam W!

So just to be clear, even if it happens today, but not tomorrow, but then my period starts the day after tomorrow, that still sounds within normal range and not a cause for concern? And the fact it doesn’t happen consistently every cycle?

[Sam W]

Yep, even if it doesn't happen exactly the same each time, it sounds like it's still within the normal variation that discharge can have.

[Kela]

Is it even worth putting on my period tracker that it was spotting or should I not bother? Not had any today, just normal discharge.

[Valerie J]

Hi,

Since, as Sam identified, this is really just discharge that is slightly changing to indicate your period might be coming, I wouldn't count that as spotting.

Hope that helps!

Val

[Kela]

Thanks Valerie!

I have health anxiety anyway but (and I know I shouldn’t have done it) I googled discharge and everywhere says a beige/slightly yellow discharge isn’t normal, but I’ve always had it so now I’m worrying

And slightly worried about the brownish tint, even though it was so light it was a case of ‘is it, isn’t it?’ And it’s only because I was checking that I brought out the discharge, so me worrying about it being spotting before my period is kind of a moot point because chances are I wouldn’t have even noticed had I not been checking

Ever since I came off the implant I’ve been worried about my period every month Not from a pregnancy point of view, but ‘will I get it, will it be normal’ and I’m worried about bleeding out of cycle because now I can’t blame the implant if I do get it if you know what I mean?

It’s been regular from the very first month after having my implant out, with a cycle ranging from 24-33 days but mostly 25-28, and at most I’ve had tiny amount of questionably brown discharge out of my cycle once months ago, but it’s not happened since. All other times I’ve had this discharge I’ve got my period within 2 days. I’ve never actually had spotting as in actual spots of blood/dark discharge, so I don’t know why I’m worried so much I’ve been worried ever since I had my (normal) smear last January, it triggered my health anxiety even though nothing was wrong so now I’m convinced I must have something wrong with either my ovaries, womb, cervix or vagina With no real reason to be worried about those things

Sorry, just wanted to rant! Been using this website since 2013 and it’s really helped me through some dark times in my life. My situation is different now, but my health anxiety has continued to get worse over the past 18 months, understandably.

[Valerie J]

Hi Kela,

Thank you for sharing with me. I can imagine that anxiety has been a big weight on you lately! First off, I would start by saying let's take a deep breath! It sounds like a lot of your anxieties are all culminating at once here and that's a lot for one brain to take on so let's take it one issue at a time.

To start, as we will always say, no one here at Scarleteen is a doctor. So, if you truly are concerned that the color of your discharge may be indicating something I would highly recommend you make an appointment with an OBGYN if that's possible for you.

That being said, it sounds like this may be far more of a mental health issue than a physical health one. Are you in therapy currently? If you are, I think this would be a great conversation to bring up with your therapist to try to come up with some ways to manage these feelings.

From a sex education standpoint I will say this, a lot of stuff can impact when your period comes from big things (say pregnancy) to smaller things like stress. The body does not work on a schedule like we do (no iCalender Service in the womb ) so its bound to change up every once and a while. As a result, hyperfixating on exactly when it is coming won't necessarily indicate much of anything. Major regular changes of how you are feeling, how much blood, and how frequently and how long your period is are more larger things to generally monitor. Additionally, let's challenge what "normal" looks like. Irregular or different doesn't necessarily mean PROBLEM. Every body is different. So while general health information is helpful it isn't always exact to YOUR body and how YOUR body functions. So try not to compare your experience to what the internet has defined as THE experience.

Let's talk about your anxiety for a moment. You said this started after you got your pap smear in January. Did something happen at that appointment? Or was there maybe something you read or heard that has you worried about your health?
The good news is you are already identifying that these anxieties you are having might not necessarily be rational. Listen to your intuition right now because it is spot on in saying that you really have no reason to be so concerned about your health as it has not indicated in any way that there is something amiss. You are a capable, cool, and educated human - trust the knowledge that you've gained and trust the professionals around you.

Like I said earlier, if you are not already in therapy I would highly recommend trying to find a therapist to talk these emotions out and start coming up with good coping interventions to stop these spirals before they become all consuming.

Right now what I would suggest is trying to ground yourself when you are feeling these emotions. When you start to feel a spiral coming about your health, stop, take a deep breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and slowly release for 8 seconds. Try doing this a couple times. After you've done that maybe try to ask yourself some questions: "Has my body given me any indication that something is wrong? Am I looking for a reason to be concerned? Could I talk with someone else about this and see if their perspective might be different? Is my focus on this going to ultimately help my body or cause it more stress?"

And maybe try to come up with some of these questions for yourself. These are just ones I thought up; you do not have to stick with these exact ones. I'd love to hear what questions you think might be helpful to ask yourself.

Additionally, take a read through some of our pieces on anxiety! I would recommend Anxiety and Other Mental Health Resources and Anxiety Lies as a place to start.

I hope this helps.

Best,
Val

[Kela]

Hi Valerie,

Thanks for understanding and not judging!

I have been in counselling since 2014, recently it’s been on and off, I’ve been in therapy so long that it’s almost not serving me anymore if that makes sense? I think my next step is anxiety medication.

No nothing bad happened in my smear apart from it really hurt and I did bleed slightly, but the nurse doing it was lovely. It was just something extra to worry about, you know? And you always read scary stories in the paper and the pandemic hasn’t helped, all the articles like ‘no one can get a drs appt so people are dying’ don’t help and really scare me.

My anxiety goes past health, I do have some psychosexual issues including painful intercourse and I think I might have vaginismus

It doesn’t help I think my period is coming so my anxiety is always worse! I think I just have to remind myself of the facts…I’ve never actually had blood, the fact I’m not even sure it was brown says it was obviously a very small amount if at all, it could still be my body getting used to being off the implant even though it’s been over a year, I have a normal smear beginning of 2020, have Cervarix (which only protects against HPV 16 and 18 which worries me a bit because Gardasil 9 protects against more) but it’s better than not having the jab at all, I had a negative STI check earlier this year, I read somewhere your periods are your 6th vital sign, and to be honest they’re all pretty similar in length, consistency etc.

[Sofi]

Hi Kela, it's good to hear you state those facts - like you said, it's important to remind yourself of them. Anxiety medication might be helpful but also if you feel like your therapy isn't really working anymore, it might be good to look for a new therapist that you've never seen before, and kind of get a fresh start (rather than quitting altogether). Lastly, I do recommend you try Val's grounding exercise they suggested at the end of their last response. That is a great way to be in the moment and ease your anxiety when it feels overwhelming.

[Kela]

Thanks Sofi, I have been trying the past few days to think rationally

Still no period But no more weird discharge either.

I’ve read your period article but I just want to check something, My longest cycle since coming off the implant was last December at 36 days. Does this mean I need to wait until 37 days to really worry? I’m on day 27 currently.

Edited to add, there is a slight chance this cycle I didn’t ovulate as I didn’t have my normal ovulation symptoms, only a little EWCM. If this is the case, and I have my normal pms symptoms of painful boobs, what’s likely to happen? Will my boobs be sore till the next period or will it go away eventually?

[Sam W]

Hi Kela,

At a certain point, the exact number of days matters a little less than knowing that you've had a longer than average cycle from time to time. That let's you know from your own experiences that a period arriving later than initially expected doesn't mean something is wrong.

It may also help to spend a little less time and energy focusing on signs that it's coming or that you might skip it this month; at a certain point, it will either come or it won't come for long enough that you need to check in with a healthcare provider. But there isn't really a way to make it arrive, and sometimes closely monitoring our bodies can feel like we're doing something helpful when really it's just feeding out anxiety. Does that make sense?

[Kela]

Yes it does, thanks Sam.

I’ve had the brown discharge again today just hoping it turns into a period tomorrow otherwise I’ll be freaking out even more and I’ll have to go see a dr next week

[Sam W]

You're welcome! And if you do end up deciding to see a healthcare provider, I hope it goes well.

[Kela]

Incase anyone else reads this and is worried about brown discharge, I got my period