Am I riding the crimson wave or what?

March 8, 2009 5:08 PM

FemaleFilter: What is this discharge? (probably graphic or gross)

I just finished my period about a week ago. Or I thought I did. Today I stood up after sitting for about an hour and felt a gush of fluid rush out of me. Upon inspection it was bright pink and almost watery. I'm still dripping, have no pain, but was hit with nausea and lightheadedness. Enough to make me have to lie down. I'm probably not pregnant = barrier + hormonal contraceptives, but I am sexually active so I guess that means that there is a slight chance. Is this just breakthrough bleeding? Or something else? I've never experienced anything like this before. I could take a pregnancy test, but I believe it is too early to take one even if I did turn out to be pregnant. Planning to find a Doc first thing in the AM, but wonder if this need attention now. I'm sorry, I know you are not my doctor. I just am home by myself (husband away on business) and we just moved to Portland from Michigan. I don't know anyone here or the neighborhood and I'm a little nervous. Any suggestions/advice/ideas?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (21 comments total)

Might you have accidentally left a tampon in?
posted by kimdog at 5:11 PM on March 8

How old are you? If you are Of A Certain Age, weird hormonal stuff has a lot of effects on one's, ahem, system.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:16 PM on March 8

Seconding kimdog- check for a forgotten tampon if you haven't already.
posted by headspace at 5:24 PM on March 8

Thirding kimdog and headspace.
posted by lalex at 5:25 PM on March 8

[Update from anonymous]

I'm in my mid-twenties.
posted by cortex at 5:29 PM on March 8

barrier + hormonal contraceptives

HBC makes breakthrough bleeding a likely culprit but anything, including a low grade uterine infection, is possible. You should see a healthcare practitioner tomorrow, but if there's no pain, I personally would not rate this as urgent care. If there is pain, I'd be concerned about an ectopic pregnancy and go to the ER.

IANAD.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:40 PM on March 8

Have you been really stressed out (with your move, maybe?) lately? Possibly it's breakthrough bleeding because of stress.
posted by pised at 5:51 PM on March 8

My first thought was ovarian cyst rupture, because I had a friend with similar symptoms, and that's what it turned out to be.

Ovarian cyst rupture question on OBGYN - L

Lectures on the diseases of Women (googlebooks) discusses ovarian cyst rupture.

The good news is that ovarian cysts are rarely dangerous.


Note that I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the intarwebs. Please see a medical professional as soon as you can.
posted by dejah420 at 5:52 PM on March 8

I've had this several times. I am prone to ovarian cysts and always assumed it was a cyst bursting, although I don't know that for sure. It definitely was not a retained tampon and I don't think that would create that pinkish, watery discharge anyway.
posted by HotToddy at 5:57 PM on March 8

I assume Portland means Portland, OR.
If so, here's a doctor's practice that I like and you can usually get same day appointments if you call in the morning:
Portland Family Practice.

Hope everything is okay.
posted by j at 6:23 PM on March 8

This has happened to me twice-- once an ovarian cyst rupture, and once about an hour after I got out of the tub. I'd somehow managed to trap water up my hoo hoo, and it all burst out at once. I did get nauseated from the tub incident because it felt so... alien.
posted by Maisie Jay at 6:34 PM on March 8

I was thinking sort of what Maisie Jay mentioned - have you been swimming or in a hot tub recently? Sometimes water can get sucked up into the vagina. The pink could be because of residual menstrual fluid. I would still see a doctor ASAP because of the lightheadedness. Can you follow up with us?
posted by peep at 6:56 PM on March 8

Of course see a doctor (IAND) but a similar thing has happened to me and like others, an ovarian cyst was the culprit.
posted by bluesky43 at 7:30 PM on March 8

As the resident grandma here, I'd chime in to say it sounds like a cyst OR you are ovulating, however the fluid is usually very thick, sometimes with blood during that time. BTW I thought I left a tampon in once and called the Tampax hotline, they say that the tampon will always find its way out on its own. Feel better and don't worry!
posted by ~Sushma~ at 8:21 PM on March 8

Personal experience suggests ovarian cyst ruptured. See your MD.
posted by cior at 8:46 PM on March 8

If you don't have a doctor already, call the helpline for your insurance. They might know an emergency OB-GYN or else direct you to another clinic. Usually the insurance websites have lists of doctors in your area, organized by specialty and whether or not they're taking new patients. The nurse on call will have suggestions as well -- if you're not in pain and it's not anywhere NEAR hemorrhaging (i.e. it's more like a regular period than anything else), you can probably wait until morning to start. But I'd get checked out ASAP because it can be anything from no-big-deal to something bigger.

Good luck, feel better soon.
posted by barnone at 9:25 PM on March 8

From the postings above, the ovarian cyst rupture sounds pretty plausible. But since I was on Allegra last year and it really screwed up my period, I'm going to throw that out there.
posted by i_love_squirrels at 11:29 PM on March 8

Exactly the same thing happened to me yesterday . . . . I couldn't feel a tampon, but as it was about a week since my period I searched more thoroughly than I thought possible.

(I'm not easily grossed out).

It was difficult to find, but there was one embedded up there - and no problems since.
posted by Flashduck at 12:23 AM on March 9

a tampon will not always work it's own way out.
Especially if, having forgotten to remove it, you have sex.
posted by Wilder at 5:19 AM on March 9

No idea what might be going on, but if you're in Portland, OR and need a gynecologist and are comfortable seeing a man, Dr. Russell Dow is fantastic. I can't recommend him highly enough.
posted by dizziest at 2:13 PM on March 9

Probably a bladder infection, which you;ve prob now addressed. : )
posted by Penelope at 10:29 AM on March 10