Dr. Marjorie Greenfield
Specializing in pregnancy and birth.
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 Ask Dr. Greenfield
Abnormal Bleeding When Trying to Conceive | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Greenfield,
I was on the pill from 8/95-8/00. My periods were very light. Ever since 8/00 I have been trying to conceive. In 01 (9 mo) I started having breakthrough bleeding a week before my actual period. The actual periods seemed normal though (good flow 3 to 4 days). In 10/01 I got tired of this and visited a new doctor and asked him what he could do to help stop the breakthrough bleeding. I told him I wanted to have a baby. He put me back on bcps for two months and told me that this would "jump start" my cycle. In late October and late November I had pretty good periods. It seemed like I was never on the pill, but I didn't have the breakthrough bleeding. I have been off the pill since 12/01. I got my period on December 19th and have not had a "full blown" period. On January 16 I spotted very little (one or two dots on a tampon) and on January 17th the same thing. Today I have had nothing. Could you tell me what could be going on?— Confused in Houston | | | ANSWER |
February 25, 2002 | | | Dear Confused,
Before I tell you anything, I would ask you to run a home pregnancy test, since a light bleed can be a sign of early pregnancy.
You are asking really good questions, but it's hard for me to make total sense of the situation just from your email. The menstrual cycles that one has while on oral contraceptives are controlled by the pill. When you are off the pill, your cycles are controlled by your own natural hormones. Abnormal cycles in someone not on the pill are often indicative of a disturbance in the ovulation cycle, which also may be why you haven't gotten pregnant. While women with irregular ovulations may have a few regular cycles immediately after taking birth control pills, this is not generally considered an effective way to help a woman conceive.
If you aren't satisfied with your regular doctor's explanations, the best plan is to see a board certified reproductive endocrinologist, a fertility specialist. These doctors are also hormone specialists and can help to assess your abnormal cycles. I hope that this answers your questions. Take care, and good luck!— by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. |
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