Absent Period but BFN?

KristinNP · December 2014

***Warning this does mention miscarriage and loss below in case this will upset anyone reading***

Hi ladies,

Just a question if this is something someone has experienced or something I need to be worried about at all. Husband and I had our fourth miscarriage in September and the second one requiring a D&E (doctor uses suction to remove everything rather than scraping). Since coming off the pill in January 2013 I've had rather irregular cycles anywhere from 29 - 45 days in addition to a luteal phase defect where my luteal phase is only around 6 or 7 days typically. We are finally being referred to a RE and was told to give them a call on the first day of my next period. After the surgery which was on September 27, I had a "normal" albeit light period the first week of November. And now just no period since. I hate one spot last Monday which I took as my period arriving because I felt like I was getting my period as well. Then nothing else happened it just went away. I then thought perhaps it was implantation bleeding but have taken 5 or 6 tests since that time all of which are resounding negatives. I did not use my ovulation sticks last month because after my last D&E I didn't ovulate right away and to be honest I was not concerned with trying again right away. I wanted to see the specialist. But now I have to wait until my next period starts before we can see him, and my period seems to have taken a hike. Any idea what's could have caused this? I know stress and things can caused missed periods but despite everything thats happened the last two years, I've never missed a period entirely.

Any insight would be helpful. I'm just confused and wonder if I should call the doctor or if he's just going to tell me I'm stressed and don't worry about it? My body is annoying, I spend all this time hoping my period doesn't show up and it does and then when I want it to show up it won't! :P Thanks in advance ladies.

PinkCamino · December 2014

I'm so sorry for your losses and that you find yourself here.

Have you been charting? (Sorry if I missed it in your intro). That spot you got was it when your period was due?

Also, are you 100% sure there was no scrapping involved? Just suction? Final question, was that your first D&E?

ETA: So I went looking through your post history and it looks like you had a D&C in July as well right? Did you ever get AF post D&C before this last loss? At this point if I were in your shoes I'd be calling your doctor and asking to have a SIS. If you're getting BFN and seem to be getting the symptoms of AF with only minor spotting or very light bleeding the one thing that comes to mind is cervical or uterine scarring. I had both as a result of 2 back to back D&Cs and my symptoms were similar to yours. I waited nearly 100 days for my first "AF" post firs D&C. At the time I was not charting and had no idea that I was in fact ovulating but not getting AF because I had a substantial scar covering my cervix. I eventually got AF but it was really light and required nothing more than a panty liner. My doctor at the time told me it was normal (which it wasn't). It took nearly a year to get it diagnosed and eventually treated.

Clearly, I hope this is not the case but I would hands down put in a call to your doc to have this explored further. FX that it's simply the case of wonky hormones but it's best to have your doctor notified of what's going on.

In the meantime, I would start charting to see if your body is ovulating. If you're not picking up ovulation then the issue is most likely hormonal and not structural.

KristinNP · December 2014

Hi there,

I've been charting for the most part yes but the cycles are completely irregular with no pattern we've been able to not. In addition, I've been pregnant 4 times in the last 24 months so this also really messes up any charting because I only chart for a few months at a time before a pregnancy throws everything out of order. Some cycles are 32 days, some 45, some 38, and there's no consistency of which months are which. The only consistent thing is the short luteal phase.

As for if the spot occurred when my period is due, I really don't know because I never know when my period is due. I did not use ovulation sticks that month because I did not see the point in wasting them directly after having surgery as I was told you don't always ovulate after surgery and we were told to not try to get pregnant until a first period anyways.

And I was told no scraping was done. This is my second D&E and my doctor said that's what he chose to do for both. I was prescribed Prometirum during this last pregnancy hoping this would help maintain it and once I stopped taking it I still did not start to miscarry naturally so they had to give me Misoprostol the night before my D&E in order to start the miscarry and dilate my cervix. The Misoprostol worked quickly on me and I miscarried a significant amount prior to getting to the hospital so he had said there was not a lot he had to do for the surgery anyways. I did not require this for any of my other miscarriages, but I also did not use copious amount of Prometirum for any of them either.

PinkCamino · December 2014

@KristinNP see above. I extended my response.

PinkCamino · December 2014

Can you link your chart?

buggirl72 · December 2014

PinkCamino said:
I'm so sorry for your losses and that you find yourself here.

Have you been charting? (Sorry if I missed it in your intro). That spot you got was it when your period was due?

Also, are you 100% sure there was no scrapping involved? Just suction? Final question, was that your first D&E?

ETA: So I went looking through your post history and it looks like you had a D&C in July as well right? Did you ever get AF post D&C before this last loss? At this point if I were in your shoes I'd be calling your doctor and asking to have a SIS. If you're getting BFN and seem to be getting the symptoms of AF with only minor spotting or very light bleeding the one thing that comes to mind is cervical or uterine scarring. I had both as a result of 2 back to back D&Cs and my symptoms were similar to yours. I waited nearly 100 days for my first "AF" post firs D&C. At the time I was not charting and had no idea that I was in fact ovulating but not getting AF because I had a substantial scar covering my cervix. I eventually got AF but it was really light and required nothing more than a panty liner. My doctor at the time told me it was normal (which it wasn't). It took nearly a year to get it diagnosed and eventually treated.

Clearly, I hope this is not the case but I would hands down put in a call to your doc to have this explored further. FX that it's simply the case of wonky hormones but it's best to have your doctor notified of what's going on.

In the meantime, I would start charting to see if your body is ovulating. If you're not picking up ovulation then the issue is most likely hormonal and not structural.

I believe it was her second d&e.

OP I am sorry for your losses. How do you know that your LP is so short? Is it from charting and/or OPKs? I get the feeling that you are not charting since you seem unsure if you have ovulated yet. I encourage you to do that to have a better idea of when to expect AF.

PinkCamino · December 2014

buggirl72 said:

I'm so sorry for your losses and that you find yourself here.

Have you been charting? (Sorry if I missed it in your intro). That spot you got was it when your period was due?

Also, are you 100% sure there was no scrapping involved? Just suction? Final question, was that your first D&E?

ETA: So I went looking through your post history and it looks like you had a D&C in July as well right? Did you ever get AF post D&C before this last loss? At this point if I were in your shoes I'd be calling your doctor and asking to have a SIS. If you're getting BFN and seem to be getting the symptoms of AF with only minor spotting or very light bleeding the one thing that comes to mind is cervical or uterine scarring. I had both as a result of 2 back to back D&Cs and my symptoms were similar to yours. I waited nearly 100 days for my first "AF" post firs D&C. At the time I was not charting and had no idea that I was in fact ovulating but not getting AF because I had a substantial scar covering my cervix. I eventually got AF but it was really light and required nothing more than a panty liner. My doctor at the time told me it was normal (which it wasn't). It took nearly a year to get it diagnosed and eventually treated.

Clearly, I hope this is not the case but I would hands down put in a call to your doc to have this explored further. FX that it's simply the case of wonky hormones but it's best to have your doctor notified of what's going on.

In the meantime, I would start charting to see if your body is ovulating. If you're not picking up ovulation then the issue is most likely hormonal and not structural.
I believe it was her second d&e. OP I am sorry for your losses. How do you know that your LP is so short? Is it from charting and/or OPKs? I get the feeling that you are not charting since you seem unsure if you have ovulated yet. I encourage you to do that to have a better idea of when to expect AF.

In one of her other thread she said she had a D&C in July and then another one in September.

KristinNP · December 2014

My other D&E was in in July of 2013 not of this year. I had a natural miscarriage in May 2013, a miscarriage in July 2013 which required a D&E although I did start to miscarry naturally, a natural miscarriage in January 2014 and this latest miscarriage requiring a D&E in September/October 2014. All of my periods in between these pregnancies were "normal" or at least normal for me, and occurred within 30-45 days of eachother with the exception of the times I was pregnant. Other than the months directly following a miscarriage or surgery, I've used ovulation sticks and have always ovulated and then had a period. My periods are fairly light however which I want to talk to the RE about because I dont think I'm building a proper lining.

But I've always bounced back to "my" normal after a miscarriage and a surgery. After my first D&E I ovulated and had a period within 3 weeks of the surgery and then went back to a typical 35ish day cycle. I will certainly call the OB on Monday though to see if he's concerned with this absent period as my other period like symptoms have gone.

PinkCamino · December 2014

PetraStonegirl said:

Damn, @pinkcamino, you are totally right. I jumped over scarring, because of the D&E, but this does match my Asherman's symptoms too.

OP, don't let the word Asherman's spook you if you start Google searching. What might possibly be happening is cervical scarring, as Pink mentioned. Even with a D&E (with no scraping), the instruments still have to pass through a forcibly dilated cervix, and if there is any predisposition to scarring, it could happen. You should not have an issue getting your care level escalated to a SIS, simply because of the number of times your cervix has been manually dilated. If you do get push back, do not be reticent to seek a second opinion.

All of this.

The fact that your periods have been lighter is what is concerning me. Please don't google, I googled my brains out and terrified myself. If this is the case (FX it's not. FX for fucked up and jacked hormones and nothing else) it is treatable.

KristinNP · December 2014

whoops, responses came in while I was responding

And I know my LP is that short because of my ovulation sticks. Typically when I get a positive for ovulation I keep checking afterwards and within 6-7 days of the positive I get a period if I am not pregnant. I really did not check this month which is causing all these problems because I felt it was a waste of money to check ovulation after a surgery. However, I am regretting that decision now but never had a issue with that in particular previously.

And when I say my periods are lighter, I should clarify. I mean they are lighter (and always have been) than what other people seem to have. Even when I was on the pill they were quite light and since being off of it, they are heavier than when I was on the pill but still quite light in comparison to what other women seem to have. This is probably TMI but if it was not for a hygiene factor, I could get away with using one or two pads my entire five day period without leaking. That how little I tend to bleed. Sorry for the TMI!

But that is not since the surgery, that's just since always.

BookishMomma · December 2014

I agree with @PinkCamino‌ that you should get checked out to make sure everything has passed & there's no scarring. I had retained tissue after my May d&c. My HCG was below 5 and I ovulated twice and had 2 periods (light ones) before the tissue was discovered. Not that this is necessarily what's going on, but it warrants looking into. Sorry you're dealing with this.

PinkCamino · December 2014

KristinNP said:

whoops, responses came in while I was responding

And I know my LP is that short because of my ovulation sticks. Typically when I get a positive for ovulation I keep checking afterwards and within 6-7 days of the positive I get a period if I am not pregnant. I really did not check this month which is causing all these problems because I felt it was a waste of money to check ovulation after a surgery. However, I am regretting that decision now but never had a issue with that in particular previously.

And when I say my periods are lighter, I should clarify. I mean they are lighter (and always have been) than what other people seem to have. Even when I was on the pill they were quite light and since being off of it, they are heavier than when I was on the pill but still quite light in comparison to what other women seem to have. This is probably TMI but if it was not for a hygiene factor, I could get away with using one or two pads my entire five day period without leaking. That how little I tend to bleed. Sorry for the TMI! But that is not since the surgery, that's just since always.

Gotcha.

I would still put in a call to the doctor. I think the first thing they try to do is induce a period via a progesterone test. If you respond to the provera and it induces a period then I think they stop there. But, to be safe, I'd probably explore the potential of cervical scarring as the culprit. FX there's nothing but it's always best to have all the answers ya know?

best of luck!

KristinNP · December 2014

Thanks for the responses everyone

I will give the doctor a call on Monday to see what is going on with my body this time!

KristinNP · December 2014

And I'll add all this info to my signature once I figure out how to do that to make things easier for everyone else trying to help me out

PinkCamino · December 2014

When you feel up to it you should into so everyone can get to know you better.

KristinNP · December 2014

@PinkCamino yes I will do that as well. I was not sure I was ready to move to this board but now that we are going to get an RE (and hopefully some answers), I will be sticking around here

PinkCamino · December 2014

KristinNP said:

@PinkCamino yes I will do that as well. I was not sure I was ready to move to this board but now that we are going to get an RE (and hopefully some answers), I will be sticking around here

You don't need to see an RE to qualify to be part of this community. The ladies here all have different histories so we really are a mixed bag.

zapgurl44 · December 2014

I'm going to ditto what everyone has said previously. My experience was similar after my third and fourth mc. I was on progesterone to sustain a pregnancy but when it was no longer viable I stopped and waited a few weeks with no signs of mc and had to have d&c. I went close to 90 days before provera to induce AF was given. It worked both times thankfully. My cycles/body hasn't really been the same since. But I would def give my doc a call.

KristinNP · December 2014

Thanks for the additional responses ladies. I called my OB this morning and he said that if I haven't had a period by the first week on January (the 60 day mark) to come in and we would have a look. So I have an appointment booked for 430pm on the 6th and can just cancel it if my period shows up.

@crimpgirl I also had positives for a few weeks after my surgery as my levels returned to 0 but then I did get a light period. I had no issues after my first surgery but this one I was on progesterone as well as had to take the misoprostol to induce the mc so I'm not sure if that's playing a part in all of this? Or now that I'm wondering where my period is if I'm just stressing enough to keep it away. Guess we will see in a few weeks!

Nikolie93 · December 2014

Glad that you called and hopefully it will come and you will be able to cancel the appointment!

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