Ive Been Off My Period for a Week and Im Bleeding Again

You know when you're on your period. The blood is flowing, your mood is swinging, and your cramping uterus merely confirms what y'all already know to be truthful. When you're spotting, things might non be and so clear. Seeing a few red dots in your underwear could meansomany different things: pregnancy, ovulation, stress, a looming visit from Aunt Flo. Regardless of how well you know your trunk and your menstrual bike, unexpected bleeding of any kind tin be feet inducing. Don't panic—we've got the lowdown on spotting earlier, afterward, and in-between your periods.

The Difference Between Spotting and Your Menstruum

Generally, periods come every 21 to 35 days. Some women have shorter periods that terminal upwardly to 2 days, while others menstruate for up to 7 days. Still others tin bleed for even longer merely this is a sign of a heavy period (or menorrhagia) and, although common, is not normal and tin bespeak that at that place are underlying reproductive problems.

The first day of your menstruum is considered "day 1" of your monthly wheel and is oft accompanied by period pains: headaches, cramps, cravings, and the like. Though information technology may seem similar yous're bleeding out, the amount of blood women release is unremarkably between 4 and 7 tablespoons. The color of period blood tin can range but is typically red or, if your uterus is shedding off former tissue, dark-brown.

On the other mitt, spotting tin can occur at any fourth dimension during your monthly cycle and is most likely going to be merely a few drops of blood throughout the day. Spotting blood is usually either light pink or night brown. Though cramps and periods seem to be all-time buds, you probably won't feel any pain if you lot're spotting—unless you are experiencing implantation spotting but we'll go to that.

Now that you lot're clear on the differences between spotting and having your period, let's move on to the really important stuff: why you're spotting at different times throughout your menstrual cycle.

Y'all're Stressed

When our society glorifies busy-ness and often views a packed schedule as a status symbol, whoisn'tstressed these days? No one, that'due south who. Whether it's stress from a chaotic career, family unit issues, or merely general force per unit area to be amazing at everything (youreallyare enough, lady), increased levels of cortisol tin take a toll on your menstrual cycle. While missed or irregular periods are mutual symptoms of being then stressed that you lotcan't even,so is spotting.

If you can correlate your spotting to times when your stress levels are through the roof, you may have identified the crusade. Your all-time bet is to exercise what you lot can to tone downwardly on the stress — take a bubble bath, do some yoga, or just start saying no to things you don't want to exercise (or don'treallyhave fourth dimension for). Managing your stress in a healthy way should assistance your spotting subside and your menstrual cycle become back to normal.

You are Ovulating

When yous stop up your period, your brain signals to your ovaries that it's time to make an egg. When your ovaries release that egg into your fallopian tube, you're officially ovulating. This usually happens around day 14 of your cycle but, of course, this can vary if you accept a shorter or longer cycle. That 12 to 24-hour window that your egg is waiting for sperm to notice and fertilize information technology can cause bleeding. Though only almost 1 to two percentage of women take ovulation spotting, those who do may find that their pink or light brown spotting is mixed in with some "egg white" looking discharge, which is a sign of ovulation and fertility.

Your Eggo is Preggo

So, you know how your ovaries release an egg during ovulation? Well, if that egg isn't fertilized, it dissolves into the inner lining of your uterus, which is sloughed off during your period. But if information technologyisfertilized, information technology travels back upward into your uterus, sperm in tow, and implants to start growing a babe. While your egg gets cozy in your uterus, y'all may experience what is known as implantation bleeding. This is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy but is not ane thatallwomen experience. If you exercise go implantation spotting, it can last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple days and y'all simply might feel a little bit of cramping in your lower abdomen.

Your Catamenia But Stopped

Youjustput the unused tampons from your pocketbook back into the little black box on your counter (yay!) but –bam! – spots of claret in your favorite panties. WTH, right? Well, lady, hate to intermission it to you but this is one of the nearly common spotting times. The reason behind later on-menses spotting is unremarkably that your uterus didn't end flushing out its unused inner lining. Unless your catamenia starts again before long after it ends, you don't take anything to worry almost.

You Just Started, Stopped, or Switched Birth Control

Though men can't seem to handle the side effects likewise as women tin can, birth control is still such a great invention. Especially for those of us who don't want children (even so or ever), dealing with the side effects is well worth it if it means preventing pregnancy. One of those side furnishings is spotting.

If you lot just got an IUD, spotting is a normal symptom that tin last several months. Thankfully, many IUD users somewhen accept lighter periods or no periods at all. Similarly, starting, stopping, or missing a dose of an oral contraceptive tin can cause pinkish or brown spotting. This is due to your estrogen, which keeps the lining of your uterus in place. Doing anything that alters your estrogen levels can cause spotting.

You Took a Morning After Pill

That nighttime of fun ended with you popping a Plan B on your manner home the side by side morning. You thought all was adept in your uterus only at present yous're spotting. Don't mistake this as a sign of pregnancyoryour menses. The hormones nowadays in emergency contraceptive—estrogen and progesterone—tin can cause light spotting. Information technology should go away pretty chop-chop so put on a pantyliner and go celebrate not being meaning with a mimosa (or 3).

You Take Uterine Fibroids

Uterine fibroids are a type of benign tumor that grow in and effectually the wall of the uterus. Though doctors haven't identified a specific cause of fibroids, they do say that African American women and overweight women are more at adventure for developing them. Spotting is one of the main side effects, along with infertility, painful sex, lower back pain, and a chronically bloated feeling. In other words, don't assume yous have uterine fibroids just because you're spotting. At that place are a lot of other causes that are far more likely.

You're Sick

So this is a little tricky. Existence sick with the cold or flu isn't probable to cause spotting just not feeling well when you're spotting could be a sign of another health trouble—annihilation from an STI, like chlamydia, to a miscarriage to cervical cancer.

Don't jump right to this conclusion, though. It's another factor yous can consider merely isn't necessarily a chief crusade of spotting. Rule out stress, birth control, and pregnancy before yous outset Googling symptoms and diagnosing yourself. Actually, don't even attempt to diagnose yourself. Get to your doc if you call back something is wrong—you know your body meliorate than anyone.

Y'all Recently Got YourCommencementMenstruation

Reaching your menarche may exist the get-go of a decades-long menstrual bike but rarely are the first few years of bleeding consequent. In improver to irregular periods making it hard to know when yous're safe to rock your white shorts, spotting is a common occurrence for girls who are just getting acquainted with tampons, cramps, and an undeniable peckish for chocolate.

Should you worry?

Don't worry until it's time to worry. Basically, if y'all tin can link your spotting to stress, birth control, the morn-after pill, or your first period, you're in the clear. If you call up y'all accept an STI, cervical cancer, are pregnant, or accept uterine fibroids, it could be time to schedule an date with your doctor.

Overall, spotting is normal and nothing to freak out about. It'southward not something you can (or need to) try and finish. Only let your uterus do its thing. On that note, if you are spotting for more than than a week at a time, have any hurting or discomfort during spotting, or just accept a feeling that something isn't right – trust your gut instinct and head to your gynecologist.

One final indicate on spotting:don'tutilize a tampon (fifty-fifty a depression-absorbency one) to control spotting. This tin greatly increase your risks of getting Toxic Stupor Syndrome. Though using organic tampons eliminate the fearfulness of having toxins in your vagina, spotting doesn't produce nearly enough moisture to make using a tampon condom. Stick with a pantyliner and you'll be only fine.

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Janet Brito.

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**We love reading your comments, but unfortunately are unable to postal service or respond to comments or questions that outline specific medical issues and seek medical advice. For any medical concerns, we ever advise consulting a medical professional. If y'all'd similar to larn more nigh your menstruation, we'd recommend checking out other Blood and Milk articles.**

Featured image by Lana Abie

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