Brown discharge
August 6, 2010 1:16 PM   Subscribe

Female health filter: have had brown, stringy discharge for 3 days mid-cycle.

For the last three days I've had a brown, stringy discharge, enough to use a pantyliner for absorption. It doesn't seem like just blood since it has more of a mucus texture. It's more of a mid- to light-coloured brown than a blackish brown or a reddish brown. It has a bit of an odour as well.

Now the nasty details are out of the way, here are some relevant and possibly-relevant points:

- I am 24 years old

- I am mid-cycle - my last period finished 2 weeks ago and the next one's due in about 10 days

- I am not pregnant (I've been single for 8 months) and have never been so

- I take birth control pills, and have been using the same one for over 6 years - Femodene (combined pill)

- This has never happened previously that I remember, though I do often get a thickish (normal-coloured, non-odourous) discharge

- I have changed my diet slightly in the last 10 days, but only really to the point of cutting out snacks

Has anyone else experienced this? Googling seems to mostly get me results about pregnancy or miscarriage, which is not the case for me.

Thanks for your help.

throwaway email address: browndischarge@gmail.com
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)
 
Sounds like a bacterial infection to me. See a doctor.
posted by rhartong at 1:18 PM on August 6, 2010


If it was one day, I would write it off as a rogue clot or something. But since it's been going on for three days, you should probably see your doctor. It's probably just a minor infection, but better to get it cleared up before it gets worse!
posted by Eicats at 1:30 PM on August 6, 2010


If it were me, the only that would concern me is if there was pain, itching or a bad smell.

Your cycle could be changing and sometimes it gets "confused" and spotting can occur for a few days before the period.
Dietary changes & stress could change the time/dates of your cycle

In the last 5 months, I have experienced this (minus smell) about a week before my period UNTIL my period. So basically I have 12-14 day periods now with the first week being exactly what you're explaining. Doctor checked everything out. Doctor said it's probably because of stress/diet changes, etc and that it should go back to normal within a few months.

If you feel nervous about it, have it checked out.
posted by KogeLiz at 2:02 PM on August 6, 2010


Nth see a doctor.

A possibility: sometimes ovulation causes spotting, so your birth control pill might have failed this month and let an egg through.
posted by Jacqueline at 2:13 PM on August 6, 2010


google mittelschmertz to see if any of these symptoms apply - that's the name I learnt for the almost PMS like symptoms some get around ovulation. the colour is not normal though - do you wear thongs? or did you change recently to wearing thongs? they are absolutely the worst thing ever for basic hygiene and health
posted by infini at 3:11 PM on August 6, 2010


Have you changed your diet to include more grapefruit? It sounds weird, but earlier this year I bought a lot of grapefruit (it was on sale!) and after a week of eating it for breakfast I started my period, two weeks into my cycle. It was more of just heavy spotting, but sounds like it could be similar to what you are experiencing.

I had heard of grapefruit-drug interactions, but not with birth control pills. After googling and learning more (such as this--PDF warning), I found that grapefruit can and does interact with the pill. So after a week of eating grapefruit, my body thought I hadn't taken my pills and there was breakthrough bleeding. But see a doctor to make sure. If the discharge is smelly and not period-like it could be something else.

Now, the week of my period is the only time I'll eat grapefruit.
posted by Fuego at 3:24 PM on August 6, 2010


Something similar happens to me on occasion in between periods (same sort of discharge). However, it's not enough to need a pad and only lasts a day. I've not noticed an odour. I've chalked it up to old menses being cleared out. I haven't brought it up directly with my gyno but he gives me a clean bill of health.

Since there is a smell and it's new, I recommend you see your doc or Planned Parenthood if you don't have insurance.
posted by deborah at 4:17 PM on August 6, 2010


It sound either like garden variety BV, which is more common than yeast infections and easily settled with a doc visit, or a ruptured benign cyst. Either way I'd say give the gyn a call. I would not freak out - I've had both and even though 'ruptured cyst' sounds dead frightening it turned out to be pretty much a non-event.
posted by 8dot3 at 4:32 PM on August 6, 2010


did you take antibiotics or stomach acid remedies, or have vomiting or severe diarrhea recently? any of these can interfere with absorption of your bcp. nthing call your doc/planned parenthood.
posted by toodleydoodley at 6:40 PM on August 6, 2010


Agree with what internet fraud detection squad said -- possible cyst, or, maybe a fibroid. Neither are likely to be serious but it's absolutely worth getting checked out. And please, do keep endometriosis in mind. It's very common but often goes unsuspected, and *can* (but won't necessarily) cause fertility problems.
posted by 8k at 8:26 PM on August 6, 2010


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