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Yes. It is just spotting before the af. The brown is older blood just now making it's way down. Your lining is breaking down. You have to have at least 10 days after you o to sustain a pregnancy.

is it normal or does it have an underlying meaning -for instance my hormone levels are not so good. this is not the first time this is happening in my cycle.

Hi
I am not sure if this helps but I have the same symptom for about 4-7 days before every period. The doc has done a number of tests and everything ok. I think its hormonal as I have terrible pms symptoms aswell but he seems to disagree and said it should not affect ability to get pregnant and sustain a pregnancy. he's a fertility specialist so I have to believe him. Good luck!

I WONDER IF OVARIAN CYSTS have anything to do with this brown wipes.

I am so happy I came upon this post. I have been having the same problem for the past 3 cycles. Last couple months I thought I was pregnant as I had the worst PMS symptoms ever (sore boobs, swelling in ring finger, blue veins, gagging, acne, severe lower back pain) and I know that I am not pregnant so it's just really awful PMS. My GP thought it was due to a hormone imbalance, post-pill my body is trying to adjust. I have been off the pill for 7 cycles now though, She thought it was low progesterone/estrogen dominance....but if your fertility specialist says no then i'm confused.

Oh, my SIL had this same problem but she has a shorter cycle then me (25 vs 29) and I ovulate around day 14 so she may have had a short luteal phase problem. Anyway, she just had her 1st baby on Monday and the month she got pregnant she had the spotting on day 22 and nothing after that, she would have had her a/f on day 25 but it never came. she went to see the ob/gyn fertility specialist and she felt there was nothing wrong with her and that it was too early for her to be seeing a specialist and that she would be pregnant in 3 months - lone behold she did, her 12 month trying. She is 33 and I'm 28 so I hope i will be lucky sooner....

I did so much reading about this it was untrue and I came to the same answer as your GP (too much oestrogen)-my symptoms sound exactly like yours. I wondered if I needed progesterone tablets or something but the specialist did not agree. He didn't think the spotting would stop implantation either-sounds like from what your SIL said that is correct. The symptoms are unpleasant though-I feel positively ill for about a week every month-I also get nausea and convince myself I must be pregnant!! I do incidently also have a simple ovarian cyst but appraently this wouldn't cause the spotting either.

are these ovarian cysts dangerous when ttc-for example they will NOT get us pregnant? so what is they deal? is this spotting normal? it doesnt sound very normal to me- has anyone ever consulted a doctor. i am ttc for 6 months- i think it is time i go see a specialist.

Yep, my SIL had brown spotting the months she wasn'tpregnant and the month she got pregnant so maybe the fertility specialist is right. However, she didn't have all the horrible PMS symptoms I've been getting. They tested all her hormone levels because she was concerned about the spotting and all was normal. It's hard to tell who is right, the FS or the GP. I can't say I trust the GP over an FS.....
Patty, you must be in the US so you would be able to go see an ob/gyn or FS on your own. For me in Canada, we have to be referredby our GP and she won't send me as she feels my body will regulate itself (if in fact it is a hormone imbalance)....

hi rachel----i am from the us--but i got married and moved to italy !!!!!! so i feel i really must go see a gyno at this point because i am ttc for 6 months and no result. i seem to be getting these brown wipes for days before af! these brown wipes have been going on since my june cycle !!!!!!! i really would love to be pregnant because going to te gyno is scary ---because i am so scared about the unknown. your sister in laws story is encouraging. it is so sad how every month i pray to god that i will be pregnant and then nothing !!!!!!! i feel as as soon as i see these brown wipes i feel crushed !!!!!!!!!! it has been a roller coaster ride-good luck and keep me posted ! oooohhh-what does the fertility specialist say---in most cases these brown wipes mean......?

I am only ttc for 3 months now and so I am not yet allowed to see any specialists (which makes sense). In Canada, they will not send you to a specialist until you have been ttc for one year. This day and age it takes that long sometimes, especially with women working stressful jobs, poor diets, getting pg later in life. I don't think ttc for 6 months is reason to worry just yet.

the reasone i worry is because in the past i have had cysts-they went away on their own-but also because i ahve irregular cycles. so maybe sometimes i do not even ovulate and i do not even knew if i did or did not ovulate. also i am concerned that i have been getting these brown wipes before every af since my june cycle !

Hello ladies. You have given me hope with your SIL story. I also have brown spotting for 3-5 days before AF. GP and RE don't seem to think it is a big deal. But I only bleed red for 1-2 days, then more brown spotting. I have been this way for at least 2 yrs since getting off BC. No one else seems to think it is even odd. It can't be normal and no one will listen to me. Do you girls have a normal AF (5-7 days bleeding red)? I got the book "The Infertility Cure" which talks about traditional chinese medicine. In the book there is a 5 page questionaire on symptoms, so you can "diagnose" yourself then treat using accupunture, accupressure, herbs, and diet. The book is the only source I have found so far that states that spotting is bad and a short period (less than 5 days) means that I have insufficent blood (and thus insufficent lining) and probably can't sustain a pregnancy. I have been taking herbs for several months to help and last month I thought I was on the right track since my AF was very heavy on the first day when usually it is very light. But then it just stopped. It was only 1 day long (but heavier). Since I have been going to GP and RE for 3 yrs now without success (and they don't care what I say anyway), I thought I would give TCM a chance. Lauren, where did you find out about too much estrogen being the problem? This book says the opposite, that not enough estrogen in the first part of the cycle (before Ovulation) is the cause of an insufficient lining. I haven't been able to find anything online about it.

Hi everyone! I'm so relieved to find this post and read everyone's stories. I had a very early m/c last june and have been ttc ever since. Ever since my m/c I have 2 days of brown spotting (pretty much only when I wipe) before af arrives. And then my period only lasts 3 - 4 days. I did not have the brown spotting before my m/c so I'm pretty sure it's all related and definitely hormonal. I had my progesterone level checked and it was normal so I really don't know. I am trying to use an OPK this month to determine if I'm ovulating or not. I really pray this pre-menstrual spotting is a bad sign of anything.... Any more info from anyone would be great! Thanks, girls!

Sorry - I meant to say I hope this ISN'T a bad sign of anything....

I have had the brown spotting 1 day prior to AF for the past few months while TTC. I went to my OBGYN because I had some of the same concerns as many of you have. She said it is normal and nothing to worry about. I didn't get blood levels checked or anything though. Wish I had...cause I still wonder. I recently moved, so I will need a new Dr. so I am anxious to get another opinion, hope to go this month.