bleeding and pregnancy

[velkoria.livejournal.com]

okay, honestly this is something that scares most women I know... but bleeding that seems like a period while actually being pregnant... I've heard and read a few things elsewhere but really... what is it supposed to be like? I have SHORT periods... 1-2 days but the blood is dark brown and not too heavy (I can usually use 2-4 pads) so I was wondering (not because I think I am pregnant but because I am a curious being) if I WERE to bleed while pregnant could I actually confuse it with my period?

Also... I'm ALREADY feeling much better and I just stopped taking Yaz for ONE day! Seriously, the change was almost right at at the 20 hour mark I started to calm down and stuff. Now I am still a bit anxious and stuff but no longer so desperate that I feel like a whole other person. My boyfriend and I spoke, he was soooo understanding and said he'd never want me to take something that caused me ANY kind of pain, much less emotional. I have an appointment with a new gyno on Thursday and hopefully this one WILL be more understanding and be able to see that filling someone like me up with that amount of hormones is s dumb idea =)

Comments

[fushigi-na-chou.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have to ask, because you mention it so often: what is decidual bleeding? Is it the same as implantation spotting? Or is it something completely different? ^^;

[archangelbeth]

Something Completely Different! O:D

Basically, it's bleeding. While pregnant. On approximately the same schedule as a period. Without signaling a miscarriage.

Decidual bleeding is usually lighter and spottier than a normal period. Not always! It depends on the person. Decidual bleeding usually only lasts through the third trimester -- but anecdotes abound of people having it their entire pregnancies! (My mom probably had it into the fourth month, or the fifth. I had it probably only the first trimester, and the second instance of it was much spottier.)

Decidual bleeding is frequently mis-identified as "having your period while pregnant." Pedantically, no, you can't have your period while pregnant. But decidual bleeding can, for some people, fool them entirely. (Especially if they have no other symptoms, and/or are unfortunately, for reasons sadly understandable, "living on a houseboat on an Egyptian river.") If you want more detailed data, don't google on period while pregnant because you will get so much cruft. Reliable data is best found by being pedantic. O:>

Doctors can't really tell decidual bleeding from miscarriage bleeding unless they are keeping track of hormones and watching whether the hCG and progesterone levels are good. Which they probably aren't, that early in, so all they can do is give "well, it can't hurt" advice like, "Hold off on orgasms for a couple of weeks."

Implantation bleeding, meanwhile, is the spotting that sometimes occurs when the blastocyst implants into the uterus. It basically self-buries itself in the highly vascularized (i.e., lots of blood vessels there!) uterine lining, and sometimes that can cause some noticeable spotting. That only lasts a day or two, and is generally not really on the same schedule as a period -- it would generally happen sometime during the luteal phase.

My decidual bleeding is why I am always less than reassured by "well, I'm bleeding, so I'm not pregnant, right?" I second-guessed a pregnancy test (that said, quite accurately, "Pregnant!"), because... I was bleeding! Maybe the blood contaminated the test? I called the company and asked; they didn't think that'd be a problem... I had nausea, bleeding, a degree of "fever" (pregnant people run hot, metabolizing for two!), went to the doctor, got sent for an ultrasound, and there was a pixel-flicker heartbeat! Eeeee! It was pretty cool. O:>

Then I got the "40% of all pregnancies miscarry, it's just one of those things" cautionary discussions with a doctor, and the "don't have orgasms for a couple weeks" advice, and the kid's 11. O:>

Gotta run to bed! Kid goes to school way, way, way too early, and daylight savings is already kicking my backside. O:(

[fushigi-na-chou.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, thank you so much for clearing that up. Again, and as always, I love when you explain things. XD

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

In your second paragraph you say "third trimester" where I think you mean "first trimester."

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Heh, and by "second paragraph," I mean "third paragraph."

[archangelbeth]

*facepalm* YOU ARE RIGHT! (Just want to emphasize that, since it's down here.) I blame Daylight Savings Time. They stole an hour so obviously I should "wrap around" all other time measurements yesterday, right?

*beth goes headdesk*

Thank you for catching that.