Ive Been Off My Period for a Week and Now Im Bleeding Again

You know when you lot're on your catamenia. The blood is flowing, your mood is swinging, and your cramping uterus just confirms what you already know to exist true. When you're spotting, things might not exist so clear. Seeing a few red dots in your underwear could meansomany different things: pregnancy, ovulation, stress, a looming visit from Aunt Flo. Regardless of how well you know your body and your menstrual cycle, unexpected bleeding of any kind can be feet inducing. Don't panic—nosotros've got the lowdown on spotting before, after, and in-between your periods.

The Departure Between Spotting and Your Period

More often than not, periods come every 21 to 35 days. Some women accept shorter periods that last up to two days, while others menstruate for up to 7 days. Still others can drain for even longer but this is a sign of a heavy menses (or menorrhagia) and, although common, is not normal and can indicate that there are underlying reproductive issues.

The kickoff day of your menstruation is considered "day 1" of your monthly bike and is often accompanied by menses pains: headaches, cramps, cravings, and the similar. Though information technology may seem like you're haemorrhage out, the amount of claret women release is usually between four and vii tablespoons. The colour of period blood can range just is typically red or, if your uterus is shedding off old tissue, brown.

On the other mitt, spotting can occur at any time during your monthly cycle and is virtually probable going to be just a few drops of blood throughout the mean solar day. Spotting blood is ordinarily either lite pinkish or dark brown. Though cramps and periods seem to be best buds, you probably won't feel whatever pain if you lot're spotting—unless you lot are experiencing implantation spotting but we'll get to that.

Now that you're clear on the differences between spotting and having your menstruation, let's motion on to the actually important stuff: why you're spotting at different times throughout your menstrual cycle.

You lot're Stressed

When our lodge glorifies busy-ness and often views a packed schedule as a status symbol, whoisn'tstressed these days? No one, that'southward who. Whether it's stress from a chaotic career, family bug, or merely general pressure level to exist astonishing at everything (y'allactuallyare enough, lady), increased levels of cortisol can take a price on your menstrual cycle. While missed or irregular periods are common symptoms of being and then stressed that youscan't even,so is spotting.

If you tin correlate your spotting to times when your stress levels are through the roof, you may take identified the cause. Your best bet is to exercise what you can to tone down on the stress — accept a bubble bath, do some yoga, or only start saying no to things you don't want to do (or don'treallyhave time for). Managing your stress in a healthy fashion should help your spotting subside and your menstrual bicycle become back to normal.

You are Ovulating

When you cease upwards your menstruum, your brain signals to your ovaries that it's time to make an egg. When your ovaries release that egg into your fallopian tube, you lot're officially ovulating. This usually happens effectually day xiv of your cycle only, of course, this can vary if you have a shorter or longer cycle. That 12 to 24-hour window that your egg is waiting for sperm to find and fertilize it can cause haemorrhage. Though only about 1 to 2 percent of women have ovulation spotting, those who do may find that their pink or light brown spotting is mixed in with some "egg white" looking discharge, which is a sign of ovulation and fertility.

Your Eggo is Preggo

So, you know how your ovaries release an egg during ovulation? Well, if that egg isn't fertilized, information technology dissolves into the inner lining of your uterus, which is sloughed off during your period. Only if information technologyisfertilized, information technology travels back up into your uterus, sperm in tow, and implants to kickoff growing a baby. While your egg gets cozy in your uterus, you may experience what is known every bit implantation haemorrhage. This is ane of the primeval signs of pregnancy just is non one thatallwomen feel. If y'all exercise get implantation spotting, it can last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple days and you lot only might feel a little chip of cramping in your lower belly.

Your Period Just Stopped

Youonlyput the unused tampons from your pocketbook back into the trivial black box on your counter (yay!) but –bam! – spots of blood in your favorite panties. WTH, correct? Well, lady, hate to break information technology to yous merely this is one of the most common spotting times. The reason behind after-period spotting is usually that your uterus didn't finish flushing out its unused inner lining. Unless your menses starts over again before long after it ends, yous don't take anything to worry near.

You But Started, Stopped, or Switched Birth Control

Though men can't seem to handle the side effects too equally women can, birth control is nevertheless such a great invention. Specially for those of us who don't desire children (nonetheless or e'er), dealing with the side furnishings is well worth it if it means preventing pregnancy. 1 of those side effects is spotting.

If you but got an IUD, spotting is a normal symptom that can terminal several months. Thankfully, many IUD users somewhen have lighter periods or no periods at all. Similarly, starting, stopping, or missing a dose of an oral contraceptive can cause pink or brownish spotting. This is due to your estrogen, which keeps the lining of your uterus in place. Doing anything that alters your estrogen levels can cause spotting.

You Took a Morning After Pill

That night of fun concluded with you popping a Plan B on your style home the next morning time. You idea all was good in your uterus but now you're spotting. Don't mistake this as a sign of pregnancyoryour period. The hormones present in emergency contraceptive—estrogen and progesterone—tin cause low-cal spotting. Information technology should go away pretty chop-chop so put on a pantyliner and get celebrate not being pregnant with a mimosa (or 3).

You Have Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are a blazon of beneficial tumor that grow in and around the wall of the uterus. Though doctors haven't identified a specific crusade of fibroids, they exercise say that African American women and overweight women are more at risk for developing them. Spotting is one of the master side effects, forth with infertility, painful sex activity, lower back hurting, and a chronically swollen feeling. In other words, don't assume you accept uterine fibroids merely because you're spotting. There are a lot of other causes that are far more likely.

You lot're Ill

So this is a petty tricky. Being sick with the cold or flu isn't likely to cause spotting just not feeling well when you're spotting could be a sign of another health problem—anything from an STI, like chlamydia, to a miscarriage to cervical cancer.

Don't jump correct to this conclusion, though. Information technology's another factor you can consider but isn't necessarily a main crusade of spotting. Rule out stress, birth control, and pregnancy before y'all showtime Googling symptoms and diagnosing yourself. Really, don't even attempt to diagnose yourself. Go to your md if you recollect something is wrong—you know your body better than anyone.

You Recently Got YourOutsetPeriod

Reaching your menarche may be the beginning of a decades-long menstrual bike simply rarely are the showtime few years of bleeding consistent. In addition to irregular periods making it difficult to know when you're safe to rock your white shorts, spotting is a common occurrence for girls who are merely getting acquainted with tampons, cramps, and an undeniable peckish for chocolate.

Should you worry?

Don't worry until it's fourth dimension to worry. Basically, if you lot can link your spotting to stress, nascence control, the morn-later pill, or your first period, y'all're in the articulate. If you think you have an STI, cervical cancer, are pregnant, or have uterine fibroids, it could be fourth dimension to schedule an appointment with your md.

Overall, spotting is normal and nothing to freak out about. It's not something yous tin can (or demand to) try and stop. But permit your uterus practice its thing. On that notation, if you are spotting for more than a week at a time, accept any pain or discomfort during spotting, or only accept a feeling that something isn't right – trust your gut instinct and head to your gynecologist.

One final signal on spotting:don'tuse a tampon (even a low-absorbency one) to command spotting. This can profoundly increase your risks of getting Toxic Stupor Syndrome. Though using organic tampons eliminate the fear of having toxins in your vagina, spotting doesn't produce nearly enough moisture to make using a tampon safe. Stick with a pantyliner and you'll exist just fine.

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Janet Brito.

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**Nosotros beloved reading your comments, but unfortunately are unable to post or respond to comments or questions that outline specific medical issues and seek medical advice. For any medical concerns, we e'er advise consulting a medical professional. If you'd like to learn more about your period, we'd recommend checking out other Blood and Milk articles.**

Featured image past Lana Abie

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