Period questions

[dragonflyinlove.livejournal.com]

Prepare for possibly the most ridiculous question ever...

How do you tell your period starting from just spotting?

What about telling when its actually over?

Im attempting to track my periods for the first time in my life and after a lifetime of using birth control to skip them...I have had,at the most, 10 periods in the last 6 years and none of those were consecutive so Im not very familiar with my own cycle.

I had a son in October and had an IUD put in to avoid hormones messing with my milk supply and am now trying to keep track of my cycle...but sometimes I cant tell when its truly over because one day I will have no bleeding and I will think its done and then the next it will start up again..so confused and I feel really stupid.

Comments

[chardonnaydream.livejournal.com]

That happens with my period too.

I typically don't count "spotting" as the first day of my period because for me, it's inconsistent. I can usually feel my period coming on because it feels like something is about to drop out of my uterus. If I start getting that feeling, it clues me in to wear pantyliners for a few days in case I start. (I don't use HBC, so it's inconsistent of when it wants to start at times). I use the iPeriod App on my phone to track it and input day by day.

It may take a few months of trial and error to learn what "light, medium, and heavy" flows mean for your body.

I consider my period "over" when there is little/no blood my pad. If it pops up again the next day with at least a light or medium flow, I note it in my phone. However if it's spotting, I don't count that because again, it's inconsistent for me.

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

I sympathize! I was just thinking of this myself, since I seem to be having some funky spotting a week early. I have a Mirena and while it doesn't seem to have ended my periods (although I keep hoping!) it does seem to have caused them to be very light for several days, then very heavy, then so light as to be almost gone...it's weird.

I think the answers above re: red blood make a lot of sense. So mostly I think I'm thanking you for asking this question!

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Are you using a hormonal IUD (Mirena)? A common side-effect of hormonal IUDs is lessened and irregular bleeding. It may be difficult to track your cycles on a hormonal IUD.

Are you still breastfeeding? I hear that that can also make your cycle pretty wonky, even after your period returns.

If you are tracking for fertility awareness or similar, the first day of red blood counts as the first day of your period. For fertility purposes, that's the only day that really matters.

[dragonflyinlove.livejournal.com]

I have the copper IUD to avoid hormones and Im exclusively pumping.

Im mostly just tracking...to track I guess, I have never done it before and just figured most people do.

[oceansolitude.livejournal.com]

If you were using fertility awareness, your period would be considered to start the first day of red blood flow, which means the premenstrual spotting does not count. Similarly I do not count the after period spotting as my period, since for me it just seems to be residuals.

[chispita-666.livejournal.com]

Color and volume.

Spotting, for me, is brown, doesn't even require a pad - just normal wiping whenever I go to the toilet is enough not to get my panties dirty.