??? re: strange af (TMI)

Cassie R. · 10-13-2006, 02:08 PM

Once again, I'm posting a question here that probably doesn't really match the subject matter of this board, but I've gotten such good advice from you ladies, and I know a few of you have dealt with cysts, so I thought I'd give it a go. And if anyone knows about a good website that I might check out for this kind of info, please pass it on!!!!

I did clomid in August, never got AF nor did I get ++htp, dr. gave me provera to get a new cycle started, then went in for my baseline US on first day of provera-induced af (so I could start another round of clomid). Unfortunately, I had a cyst, so dr. gave me bcp instead. Hopefully at the end of this cycle with bcp, cyst will be gone, and we can be back to TTC. Here's the problem -- this af has been really long . It started last Wednesday (okay, technically that was probably only pre-AF spotting, so we'll say Thursday) so I am now on my 9th day of bleeding -- and there is no sign of it letting up. It's not abnormally heavy, but it is substantial (basically what I would expect for days 3-4 of AF, which are usually my heaviest days, its not even like it is starting to get light and just not quite over.) In addition, the blood is really BRIGHT red, not the maroony-red that af often seems to be.

Unfortunately, my dr. only works PT -- Tue, Wed and Thur -- so she won't even be in the office until next Tuesday. Plus, she just switched to a new office, so I don't know any of her colleagues or how her office works, etc.

Here's my thought -- could this be from the cyst? If the cyst ruptured, would it cause extended bleeding? I don't have any pain or discomfort, so I really don't think anything is seriously wrong, but this is getting me really worried and frustrated.

Anyone have any ideas?????

**BC-DKNY** · 10-13-2006, 02:30 PM

cassie.....i wonder if all the extra bleeding is due to the build up from not having AF for so long. i don't know for a fact, but i don't think a cyst would really contribute to all the extra bleeding. aren't BCP's supposed to "shrink" the cyst?

if it would've ruptured, you would've had pain.

also, i wouldn't worry to much about the bright red blood. i have bright red every month with the exception of the beginning and end spotting.

you might want to post on a couple of the IF bbs. or go there and do a sesrch for cysts. i'm sure with all those bbs, someone has to have experience with this.

P.S. is this a uterine cyst you have, or ovarian?

Cassie R. · 10-13-2006, 02:50 PM

thanks for the reply. It is an ovarian cyst. Here's the strange part about the cyst -- the clomid resulted in a nice-sized follie on the right ovary, but there was nothing of any significance on the left. I had a trigger on CD 14. Then nothing. I started the provera on CD 38 (so 24 days after the trigger). Took provera for 7 days, and had the u/s showing the cyst two days after that. I was kind of assuming even before the u/s that it was a cyst, and figured the follie just never ruptured. But the cyst is (hopefully WAS) on the left. So over the span of approximately 33 days a fairly good-sized (5 cm) cyst developed from nothing.

You might be right that this af is just extra long due to being a long cycle, though I've gone for months in the past without a cycle, and don't remember af being this long -- sometimes she's lasted longer than I wanted her to

but it is usually 1-2 light days, followed by 2-3 days of heavy flow, followed by a tapering off, that just doesn't quite seem to end, KWIM? Like I think, okay, af should be done today, but I'll wear a pantiliner just in case, but then I'll have several days of that. This is serious, obvious flow.

sjuhawk04 · 10-13-2006, 03:55 PM

Cassie...so sorry to hear AF is still going strong with no signs of slowing down...I don't have any advice to give you about that, but I wanted to reassure you that the bleeding is not from a ruptured cyst if it's ovarian. Last cycle I had the same thing happen to me - I was on Clomid and developed 2 really large cysts on my left ovary...one was 1 inch and the other was 1.2 inches (yes inches!).....the 1.2 inch cyst ruptured and caused pain like I have never felt before. It was horrible. I have broken ribs and my tailbone before and that pain was nothing compared to the ruptured cyst pain. I was also really swollen because it caused me to bleed internally...I actually had to buy a pair of maternity pants because I was so swollen that I looked 3 months pregnant! People I work with actually thought I was pregnant and just not telling them the truth! All the blood reabsorbed into my body...not a drop came out of me...not even spotting and the doctor said that was expected.
So I don't think that your long AF is due to that...but that stinks your doctor isn't available more often for you. Hopefully someone will have a good explanation for you to hold you off until you can talk to you doctor on Tuesday.
This Tuesday coming I have an U/S scheduled to check the size of the one cyst that didn't rupture...hopefully that disappeared....and I hope yours vanishes too! Keep me posted! Keep your head up though...AF will stop sooner than later and you'll be back TTC in no time! I thought this was going to be a long cycle for me this time around because since I had/have the cyst problems....I had to stop Clomid and try naturally this month...and I'm already 3DPO and in my 2WW.

ChrisNY · 10-13-2006, 05:44 PM

Hugs...I can tell you two things. The xtra bleeding is definitely not from the cyst..I just got over an 7.5cm on my right and an 8+ on my left in the past month..Yep..Never had anything this big and I got 2 back to back..Gotta love PCOS, even though they say that isn't what caused them...Ugh. Apparently if you are going to get a cyst from a left over follicle it will never be more than 3cm...Anyways..Both of mine disappeared between cycles and no bleeding occurred. Now I bet you that your heavier longer period is because of no Ov, no Af the month before your lining probably kept growing and now it had to shed it all with the prometrium. That used to happen to me if I went over 50 days. At one point my lining was over 12mm and not a follie in sight..That was a horrible Af.

Now for the good news. My cysts both disappeared within 3 weeks of being discovered and I am having a successful ovulation cycle on my own this month after going off BC this month. So hopefully next month will be your best cycle yet

Ferret Mommy · 10-13-2006, 06:36 PM

I have had many many cysts and some that had to be drained.. The flow had never been an issue, so I really do not believe that is from them.

However... Did you start the BCPs??? Sometimes.. if the hormone is too strong or not strong enough it can cause bleeding. I am not a Dr. but a pharm tech with much experiance and have heard many times about this. Also, sometimes that estrogen can cause it.

Also.. when you take provera.. strange things do happen. Maybe this is one of them. I know it is late today, but if needed, couldnt you have called the Dr office and have talked to a nurse?

I hope it figures it self out and those ovaries get back to normal!! Best Wishes!!

10-13-2006, 02:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cassie R. 1000-4999 post queen of hearts Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Midwest Posts: 2,609	??? re: strange af (TMI) Once again, I'm posting a question here that probably doesn't really match the subject matter of this board, but I've gotten such good advice from you ladies, and I know a few of you have dealt with cysts, so I thought I'd give it a go. And if anyone knows about a good website that I might check out for this kind of info, please pass it on!!!! I did clomid in August, never got AF nor did I get ++htp, dr. gave me provera to get a new cycle started, then went in for my baseline US on first day of provera-induced af (so I could start another round of clomid). Unfortunately, I had a cyst, so dr. gave me bcp instead. Hopefully at the end of this cycle with bcp, cyst will be gone, and we can be back to TTC. Here's the problem -- this af has been really long . It started last Wednesday (okay, technically that was probably only pre-AF spotting, so we'll say Thursday) so I am now on my 9th day of bleeding -- and there is no sign of it letting up. It's not abnormally heavy, but it is substantial (basically what I would expect for days 3-4 of AF, which are usually my heaviest days, its not even like it is starting to get light and just not quite over.) In addition, the blood is really BRIGHT red, not the maroony-red that af often seems to be. Unfortunately, my dr. only works PT -- Tue, Wed and Thur -- so she won't even be in the office until next Tuesday. Plus, she just switched to a new office, so I don't know any of her colleagues or how her office works, etc. Here's my thought -- could this be from the cyst? If the cyst ruptured, would it cause extended bleeding? I don't have any pain or discomfort, so I really don't think anything is seriously wrong, but this is getting me really worried and frustrated. Anyone have any ideas????? __________________ Cassie -- 7; -- 4 '99 Last edited by Cassie R.; 10-13-2006 at 02:11 PM.

10-13-2006, 02:50 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cassie R. 1000-4999 post queen of hearts Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Midwest Posts: 2,609	thanks for the reply. It is an ovarian cyst. Here's the strange part about the cyst -- the clomid resulted in a nice-sized follie on the right ovary, but there was nothing of any significance on the left. I had a trigger on CD 14. Then nothing. I started the provera on CD 38 (so 24 days after the trigger). Took provera for 7 days, and had the u/s showing the cyst two days after that. I was kind of assuming even before the u/s that it was a cyst, and figured the follie just never ruptured. But the cyst is (hopefully WAS) on the left. So over the span of approximately 33 days a fairly good-sized (5 cm) cyst developed from nothing. You might be right that this af is just extra long due to being a long cycle, though I've gone for months in the past without a cycle, and don't remember af being this long -- sometimes she's lasted longer than I wanted her to but it is usually 1-2 light days, followed by 2-3 days of heavy flow, followed by a tapering off, that just doesn't quite seem to end, KWIM? Like I think, okay, af should be done today, but I'll wear a pantiliner just in case, but then I'll have several days of that. This is serious, obvious flow. __________________ Cassie -- 7; -- 4 '99

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10-13-2006, 03:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
sjuhawk04 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Posts: 105	Cassie...so sorry to hear AF is still going strong with no signs of slowing down...I don't have any advice to give you about that, but I wanted to reassure you that the bleeding is not from a ruptured cyst if it's ovarian. Last cycle I had the same thing happen to me - I was on Clomid and developed 2 really large cysts on my left ovary...one was 1 inch and the other was 1.2 inches (yes inches!).....the 1.2 inch cyst ruptured and caused pain like I have never felt before. It was horrible. I have broken ribs and my tailbone before and that pain was nothing compared to the ruptured cyst pain. I was also really swollen because it caused me to bleed internally...I actually had to buy a pair of maternity pants because I was so swollen that I looked 3 months pregnant! People I work with actually thought I was pregnant and just not telling them the truth! All the blood reabsorbed into my body...not a drop came out of me...not even spotting and the doctor said that was expected. So I don't think that your long AF is due to that...but that stinks your doctor isn't available more often for you. Hopefully someone will have a good explanation for you to hold you off until you can talk to you doctor on Tuesday. This Tuesday coming I have an U/S scheduled to check the size of the one cyst that didn't rupture...hopefully that disappeared....and I hope yours vanishes too! Keep me posted! Keep your head up though...AF will stop sooner than later and you'll be back TTC in no time! I thought this was going to be a long cycle for me this time around because since I had/have the cyst problems....I had to stop Clomid and try naturally this month...and I'm already 3DPO and in my 2WW.

10-13-2006, 05:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
ChrisNY 5000-9999 post king of hearts Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 7,849 Blog Entries: 812	Hugs...I can tell you two things. The xtra bleeding is definitely not from the cyst..I just got over an 7.5cm on my right and an 8+ on my left in the past month..Yep..Never had anything this big and I got 2 back to back..Gotta love PCOS, even though they say that isn't what caused them...Ugh. Apparently if you are going to get a cyst from a left over follicle it will never be more than 3cm...Anyways..Both of mine disappeared between cycles and no bleeding occurred. Now I bet you that your heavier longer period is because of no Ov, no Af the month before your lining probably kept growing and now it had to shed it all with the prometrium. That used to happen to me if I went over 50 days. At one point my lining was over 12mm and not a follie in sight..That was a horrible Af. Now for the good news. My cysts both disappeared within 3 weeks of being discovered and I am having a successful ovulation cycle on my own this month after going off BC this month. So hopefully next month will be your best cycle yet

10-13-2006, 06:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
Ferret Mommy 10000-15000 post ace of hearts Join Date: May 2005 Location: In My Place Posts: 10,907 Blog Entries: 42	I have had many many cysts and some that had to be drained.. The flow had never been an issue, so I really do not believe that is from them. However... Did you start the BCPs??? Sometimes.. if the hormone is too strong or not strong enough it can cause bleeding. I am not a Dr. but a pharm tech with much experiance and have heard many times about this. Also, sometimes that estrogen can cause it. Also.. when you take provera.. strange things do happen. Maybe this is one of them. I know it is late today, but if needed, couldnt you have called the Dr office and have talked to a nurse? I hope it figures it self out and those ovaries get back to normal!! Best Wishes!!