shortened period

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

I was set to start my period around the 10th of July. Well I started it and it only lasted 1.5 days. so i have a few questions...


i have never been really regular. but this is odd. i had my last period june 13th and it lasted about 3 days. i had unprotected sex (he did not finish inside me, i know this doesn't matter) but fast forward to a few days ago...i started my period on July 10th. I had a heavy flow, cramps and the whole 9. It ended the night of the 11th. I still have some brownish discharge.

i am in a semi stressful environment now (i am currently deployed to Afghanistan), the food here is playing tricks on my stomach (i.e diarrhea, cramps, bloating etc) and i am taking an anti malaria pill. so idk, i'm stressing myself out to the point of sickness and crying about this.

since i started my period and had a normal-ish flow after i had the unprotected sex, we could say stress and the environment can play a part in my shortened period?

Comments

[reflectionriver.livejournal.com]

Hi there,

I don't have any concrete answers, but I have been going through something similar, and maybe my story can help you a bit. :) I had a very light period (well, compared to my normal cycle, anyway!)last month. I then continued to have brown discharge for two weeks after, only to start bleeding again 18 days later, with a normal period.

I was able to see my gynecologist, who gave me a blood test and had me go in for both a regular ultrasound and a transvaginal ultrasound. I asked her if she thought it was anything serious, and she said no: at most, she thought it was perhaps a cyst or a fibroid, or perhaps something wonky going on with my hormones. But, in all likelihood, she deemed that it was probably a change in lifestyle and stress levels.

Now, my bleeding and discharge have both stopped, and I think my doctor was right about the change in lifestyle effecting my cycle (I recently graduated college). Your deployment could certainly be messing with your cycle, for sure! I don't know if this helps, but just know that this is not an uncommon thing, and probably not anything serious! If you can, or if it gets worse, it may be worth talking to a medical professional anyway.

Best of luck!

P.S. Also, you are not lame. It does help to talk about it sometimes! :)

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

thank you. i'm hoping it's all stress and the change in my life.

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Are you using hormonal birth control of any sort? That can really mess with some people's bleeding patterns. And definitely stress.

Why do you say it doesn't matter that your partner didn't ejaculate inside you? It significantly reduces your chances of pregnancy.

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

no i'm not.

and i said it doesn't matter b/c i know you can still get pg from pre-ejaculation.

[nickelshoe.livejournal.com]

Well, you *can* still get pregnant after getting your tubes tied. But it's less likely. I don't think you're pregnant. Withdrawal has a typical use failure rate of about 27% per year and a perfect use failure rate of about 4% per year. Typical use means that you use withdrawal, but maybe had miscommunications, mistakes, or last minute decisions not to use it. If you are confident he pulled out in plenty of time, you are closer to that 4% failure rate--which is per year, not per sex act.

I know your period was strange, so it wouldn't hurt to take a pregnancy test in a couple weeks (around 19 days after you last had sex). But a strange period is a better sign than no period! Best of luck.

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

thank you.

and yes i'm sure that he didn't finish at all. we made sure to stop before he even got close.

[archangelbeth]

Had he had a prior ejaculation and then re-entered without urinating? That would be a risk factor for viable semen, left in the long penile urethra, being flushed out with pre-cum. If he'd urinated prior to penetration, I'd say that your chances of pregnancy from that are low, and stress is the more likely cause of Wonky Period Funzors.

Luck! I hope you feel better soon!

[meowkitten.livejournal.com]

i'm not sure...but i am sure he had urinated throughout the day...as we had sex at the end of the night after his shower.

[archangelbeth]

If he wasn't ejaculating in the shower, I'd say the odds are good on Not Pregnant. (Is there any way for you to get a pregnancy test for additional peace of mind?)

[dkwgdk.livejournal.com]

I've been meditating on this all day -- yep, if he pulled out long before ejaculation I think there is a very low likelihood that you are pregnant and a very high likelihood that the stresses of deployment are causing the problem. I've also had periods where it seemed like everything happened in the first 24 - 48 hours and then I just had brownish discharge for a few days. This often happens when I'm under extreme emotional stress.

I don't know how easy it is for you to get a pregnancy test -- is it possible? Not that i think you are pregnant, but as Beth says, it might help ease your mind.

Safe Space Reminder

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

Hi meowkitten,

I hope the answers you've gotten from other VPers have been reassuring, and that you're feeling better. I agree with the others that it's definitely possible for stress and other environmental factors to have an effect on your cycle. It doesn't sound like pregnancy is likely, but it might not be a bad idea to take a test, if only to give you some peace of mind. :)

That said, I'm also writing as a VP maintainer to remind you that VP is a safe space. Would you mind editing your post so that it does not include the word "lame" in a negative context? I understand that you weren't intentionally using it in a hurtful way, but as this excellent blog post explains (http://disabledfeminists.com/2009/10/12/ableist-word-profile-lame/), it still has the potential to hurt others.

This is a friendly reminder to please review VP's policies to help us make VP a nicer place for everyone. You can follow these links for more information:

--What are VP's rules? (http://wiki.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ#What_are_the_rules.3F)
--What is "safe space"? What does "empowerment" mean? What does "accountability" look like? (http://wiki.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ#Safe_Space)
--What is VP's language policy? (http://wiki.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=VaginaPagina_FAQ#VP.27s_Language_Policy)
--Feminist With Disabilities: Ableist Word Profile (http://disabledfeminists.com/category/ableist-word-profile/)

Please don't think we're scolding you or don't want you here. We issue safe space reminders to help our members acknowledge and include everyone, and to help keep VP a safe space for all. We hope you'll continue to participate in VP with this in mind. Safe space means a lot to many of our members, and it's amazing how much we can help just by being a little more careful with what we say.

If you'd like to talk more, your thoughts are welcome in contact_vp or via email (vpteam@vaginapagina.com). However, we just ask that you not discuss your reminder in this VP thread.

Thanks for understanding.

Jocey
for the VP Team (http://www.vaginapagina.com/contact.php)
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