Is Spotting Between Periods a Concern?

Under normal circumstances, your periods aren’t exactly the highlight of your month, but you get through them well enough. Spotting between periods, however, is an entirely different matter — not only is it inconvenient, but you’re also wondering whether the bleeding outside your normal menstrual cycle is cause for concern.

Between 10% and 30% of women experience abnormal bleeding, which includes spotting, and for a wide variety of reasons, some of which we get into here.

The team of women’s health specialists at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health are well versed in the many roads to abnormal bleeding, and the one thing that we can report is that there’s no single cause. In fact, there are dozens of drivers of spotting between periods, the most common of which we review below.

Please note that we’re discussing spotting between periods and not spotting during pregnancy, which you should have us investigate right away.

Age matters

The age at which you experience breakthrough bleeding between periods is a factor. If you’re just starting your menstrual cycles, it isn't uncommon to run into abnormal bleeding as your body settles into a reproductive rhythm.

On the other end of the age spectrum, if you’re in perimenopause, spotting between periods is par for the course as your body winds down your menstrual cycles.

If you experience spotting after menopause, this is a concern, and we want you to come see us.

Birth control and spotting

If you’ve just started hormonal birth control, some breakthrough bleeding can occur during the first few months of use as your body adjusts to the hormones. If the spotting continues after three months, please let us know.

Conditions that can lead to spotting

There are some gynecologic conditions that count spotting among the symptoms, such as:

• Polycystic ovary syndrome, which affects 7-10% of women of childbearing age 
• Uterine fibroids
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Reproductive cancers, such as uterine, ovarian, and endometrial

There are also conditions that aren’t gynecologic that can lead to spotting between periods, such as thyroid and liver disease.

When to seek help for spotting between periods

We want to provide you with some good rules of thumb for seeking our help for breakthrough bleeding, which include:

Duration of the spotting

If you experience spotting once or twice and then it goes away, it likely isn't cause for concern. If, however, the problem has been plaguing you for months, please come see us for an evaluation.

Pain

If you’re experiencing any pelvic pain alongside the spotting, come see us at your earliest convenience.

Other symptoms

If your spotting between periods is part of a larger constellation of symptoms, such as fertility issues, abrupt changes in weight, acne, and anything else that you wouldn’t consider “normal,” it’s a good idea to have us check you out.

The bottom line is that you should let common sense prevail, and we always advise to err on the side of caution when it comes to abnormal vaginal bleeding.

To meet with one of our specialists to assess your spotting between periods, please contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule an appointment.