just want to be sure

wedinpitt

hi everyone. looking for your expert opinions on this one warning about TMI in regard to AF.

I usually have a 27 or 28 day cycle. every now and then, DW's uterus bullies mine and I'll be a day or two early or late. we are 12dpo (technically speaking since it's last midnight). on 10dpo I had what was surely implantation spotting. I've never spotted in my life plus the color, flow, types of cramps, timing, etc. all pointed to implantation spotting. bfn on 10dpo.

on 11dpo, I woke up and went to the bathroom. there was only one more drop of blood on my pad. however, I excreted a bunch of blood (more than the entire previous day's spotting) into the toilet. since then, I've had to use a pad/tampon and it's been kinda heavy. bfn. my period was due 5 days past 10dpo... in other words, it came 5 days early thus giving me a 22 day cycle. the thing is, the blood has been really dark, and often actually black (the color of implantation bleeding), for the most part... and much more full of clots than usual (I warned you about TMI!).

I just want to know - definitively - that I'm out of the game (or maybe not) this round. I think it's too heavy to be implantation bleeding, but the whole cycle and some characteristics of the bleeding are leaving me with a glimmer of hope. I also don't know on which day a HPT would tell me for sure now that my cycle's all messed up. whatcha think?

ball.and.chain

Are you using FRERs?  In my experience, it is pretty unlikely that a FRER wouldn't turn positive at 12DPO if you were pregnant.  Not impossible, but unlikely.

Many women experience strange, unusual periods when TTC, and/or have symptoms that they usually don't get or do not remember ever having before.  Some of it may be legitimate differences in your cycle due to the stress of TTC; some of it is probably noticing things you may not have noticed before because you weren't paying such close attention.

Are you charting?  If you got your period and started a new cycle, your BBT should have dropped.  If it stayed high, you may still be in the game.

Good luck!

2MamazInSeattle

Agree with ball.and.chain - a FRER should show positive by now if you are. And if you are temping, bingo on that too.

I did have a friend who had full, pretty much regular periods her whole pregnancy and how has a 3-year old little girl from it. I mean, anything is possible. Another option is to just go ask your doctor for a beta. They aren't that expensive - but, even if it is a BFN, you could see if you had ANY HCG levels at all and thus if you were briefly pregnant...just as information.

However, I guess if you are having heavier bleeding + BFNs on FRERs, I would likely vote BFN (sorry). See if you could get a beta though to be sure.

StacyLH24

I've not been pregnant yet, so I can't comment on implantation bleeding or not. What I will tell you is that we actively started TTC in August, with a practice round in July. Not one of my cycles has been the same as another since then. Even these past two which I was benched for.

I don't remember if you used fertility meds or not, but I fully believe those change your cycle to a certain degree. Things that I had never had happen before, started happening. One cycle, I started spotting lightly about 5 days before my period was due. It lasted all the way up until my period actually started. Before TTC, it was normal for me to spot about two days before. This most recent cycle, my period was an entire week early. I had taken no fertility meds this past cycle nor the cycle before. I don't think I have ever been that early in my life.

I also agree that as we are all hoping for any early sign of pregnancy, we over analyze anything that happens. Even things that might happen every month that we just never give attention to normally. It's hard not to over analyze. I thought for sure during my third cycle that I was pregnant. I felt small, dull cramps around the right time and everything. I never had a chance though, I just didn't know it.

Everyone is different though. I found that you can find anyone online who had the same symptoms as you and ended up pregnant. You can find anything online. It is hard not to look, but if you don't look already, I would say keep it up! It will drive you crazy.

Take care of yourself. I hope this isn't a BFN for you, but I agree with @herbabymama...wonky AF.

KH826

So, I have to agree with previous posters - this sounds more like a whacky cycle and start to AF to me (but I am hoping for your sake that we are all wrong!).

I also agree that while TTC, my cycles changed a lot and really messed with my head. I convinced myself on several of my IUI cycles that I was pregnant, and I never was. Some months my period came as early as CD25 and some months it didn't come until CD32. Pre-TTC I had always been a steady 28 or 29 day cycle lady, and I had also never really experienced cramping or PMS symptoms much at all. All of that changed during TTC. Also, my period following my first IUI was a MONSTER. It lasted twice as long, was twice as heavy, and gave me cramps that had me balled up on the couch in tears. I had never experienced any of that before. Whether it was stressed-induced, had something to do with the fact that my body had never been exposed to sperm before, or had never gone through the IUI procedure before.... or whether perhaps my body was trying to get pregnant and it just didn't take... I will never really know, but that first cycle was painful (physically and emotionally).

My point (and like @herbabymama I may not actually have one either...I am a rambling, hormonal pregnant lady) is that while it is difficult to hear you, what you are experiencing is relatively normal for someone just starting TTC. Your body will change and react differently, you will be 100x more aware of what is going on than ever before, you will be super emotional and stressed and that will impact your cycle and response to your TTC efforts... and all of these things will make you think that you might be pregnant, which is why TTC can be SO hard, and totally not for whimps (in my opinion)!

With all of that said, good luck, and keep us posted either way.

ATXmommas

PPs have all made excellent points that I won't repeat, but thought I would share that my first IUI ended similiarly. I had spotting one night (11 or 12dpo I think), which I was hoping was implantation bleeding because I never spotted before starting my period. AF started the next day. I had a beta anyway (RE required it to definitively rule out pregnancy before rx-ing next round of fertility meds), and it was negative.

I think you are doing at at home insemination? If you continue to have short luteal phase, you may want to consult with an RE or OB about using progesterone. I had borderline short LP, so started using progestetone to lengthen it after the first cycle.

Good luck!

wishiwaspreggo

My understanding is that if you have enough blood to fill a pad or tampon, it's considered AF rather than implantation bleeding but as others said, if you're working with a doctor allow him/her to be the final authority on this before you completely rule yourself out.

I'm not sure if you're doing BBT but it really is very accurate.  My temps hover between 97.3-97.8 before ovulation, then jump to 98.3-98.8 after ovulation so I can see the distinct rise in temperature.  Do you have a fertility friend account?  Check out my signature.  It's really helped me understand my body.

For some reason my partner thinks it's as reliable as reading tea leaves and wants me to use OPKs but I've had really, really bad results with OPKs in the past.  One time the OPK said I had an LH surge on CD 7.  Yeah, no.  My cycles are 32-35 days long.  Turned out I didn't ovulate that month anyway!

In any case, keep us posted!  I hope you get your BFP soon Don't give up and don't get too discouraged.  A lot of us have to try several times before we get a positive result.

wedinpitt

hi all. thank you so much for your responses. to answer a few things... no fertility meds, we're doing at-home AIs, and I am charting. I went from 96.8 to 97.1 on the first day of spotting. then to 97.0 yesterday and 97.7 today. BFN this morning though. and still a consistent AF. I'm not going to bother with a beta. :-/

what would progesterone do? I don't know anything about that.

so is the consensus just a wonky AF? or do any of you think this could have been a chemical pregnancy which brought on a weird and early AF? whatever it is.. it sucks. these BFNs and the TWWare harder than I expected. I learned a lot this cycle though and I won't be making the same mistakes twice.

thanks for all your support. it was so lovely to wake up to all of your replies.

ATXmommas

I don't have a very scientific answer for you in regards to progesterone other than it will lengthen your LP (thus delaying your period). A shorter than optimal LP reduces the chance that a fertilized egg will implant in the uterus. Progesterone helps buy you some time. I think an ideal LP is around 14 days (from what I remember). Your short cycle this time may have been a fluke - so maybe just something to keep in the back of your head as you move forward.

KH826

I found some good info on progesterone (b/c I didn't think I could articulate it well in my own words):

Progesterone is an essential hormone for embryo implantation. Even if you produce a good egg, achieve fertilization and have the egg float down the fallopian tube to arrive at the uterus ready to implant and grow, pregnancy will fail without adequate progesterone levels. Progesterone prepares the uterine lining by increasing the blood flow and changing the composition of the tissue so the embryo receives enough nutrients to grow. Certain signs are signals that your progesterone levels may be lower than normal.

Spotting after ovulation and before the start of a next menstrual period can indicate implantation of an embryo, or it can mean that the uterine lining isn't getting enough progesterone and is starting to break down. Low levels of progesterone can also cause abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding due to the imbalance of estrogen and progesterone.

The luteal phase is the time period between ovulation, release of an egg from the ovary and the start of the next menstrual period. The luteal phase normally lasts between 12 and 14 days. A luteal phase shorter than 12 to 14 days indicates a lack of progesterone. Progesterone sustains the uterine lining and keeps it from breaking down. In a normal menstrual cycle, the corpus luteum, the remainder of the follicle that once contained the egg, produces progesterone. If no pregnancy occurs, the corpus luteum disintegrates and stops producing progesterone. If the corpus luteum doesn't produce enough progesterone, progesterone production stops prematurely. Your next menstrual cycle will start sooner than it should.

I know folks (like @ATXmommas mentioned) who were on progesterone supplements during an IUI cycle (and after the IUI during the TWW) to help even out their cycles and help a possible embryo to implant.

As part of my IVF protocol, I was on progesterone injections from the day after my egg retrieval until week 9 of my pregnancy (this is standard for IVF since the pregnancy originated outside of my body, and my body may not have known that it needed to produce the amount of progesterone needed to support a pregnancy).

Anyway, all of this being said, this might be something for you to ask your dr about. I know you said that you are doing inseminations at home, but do you have an OB that you could consult about this? It might be helpful...

wedinpitt

thanks everyone