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Started Spotting And Got Heavy Period. What's Wrong?
Question: My last period was on November 1st. About a week ago in the end of December i started getting brown blood and that ;lasted a week. Now i am bleeding real heavy red blood. Whats wrong with me? Why did i miss a period? And why did i bleed old blood for a week?
Hello Mo,
Thanks for your query
There are a number of reasons for the altered bleeding pattern that you described.
1. If you are sexually active, the leading cause for such a problem could be a miscarriage. If you have always had regular periods , but this time, as you mentioned, they were almost a month late, then you could have had a pregnancy , which miscarried. That could be the reason for the heavy bleeding, as well as the brownish collected blood that you mentioned. Also, you should have performed a pregnancy test as soon as your periods were delayed. Now, the way to confirm this is by consulting your gynecologist for a pelvic check up, and an ultrasound.
2. Simply a delayed period - this could also present this way, with heavy altered dark bleeding initially . There are many causes for a delayed period. Emotional stress, anxiety, sudden weight loss or gain for example. There could be associated hormonal problems like polycystic ovaries, thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction, increased serum prolactin levels etc.
3. While using hormonal contraception, sometimes the menstrual pattern is deranged.
4. Local problems in the uterus or ovaries, such as thickening of the lining of the uterus ( endometrial hyperplasia ), ovarian cysts etc.
To know the exact cause , you need to consult a gynecologist who would provide a proper pelvic check up, and also relevant investigations based on the above lines.
Take care, and feel free to ask for further clarifications.
Thanks for your query
There are a number of reasons for the altered bleeding pattern that you described.
1. If you are sexually active, the leading cause for such a problem could be a miscarriage. If you have always had regular periods , but this time, as you mentioned, they were almost a month late, then you could have had a pregnancy , which miscarried. That could be the reason for the heavy bleeding, as well as the brownish collected blood that you mentioned. Also, you should have performed a pregnancy test as soon as your periods were delayed. Now, the way to confirm this is by consulting your gynecologist for a pelvic check up, and an ultrasound.
2. Simply a delayed period - this could also present this way, with heavy altered dark bleeding initially . There are many causes for a delayed period. Emotional stress, anxiety, sudden weight loss or gain for example. There could be associated hormonal problems like polycystic ovaries, thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction, increased serum prolactin levels etc.
3. While using hormonal contraception, sometimes the menstrual pattern is deranged.
4. Local problems in the uterus or ovaries, such as thickening of the lining of the uterus ( endometrial hyperplasia ), ovarian cysts etc.
To know the exact cause , you need to consult a gynecologist who would provide a proper pelvic check up, and also relevant investigations based on the above lines.
Take care, and feel free to ask for further clarifications.
Note: Revert back with your gynae reports to get a clear medical analysis by our expert Gynecologic Oncologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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