When to See Us About Spotting Between Periods

You’ve become begrudgingly adept at figuring out your monthly cycles, and you can predict your periods fairly reliably. But then you started spotting in between your periods, which has created no small amount of hassle, not to mention concern.

Well, your concern may be valid as spotting between periods can often signal a larger problem that can benefit from our specialized help. The experienced team of women’s health experts here at Bay Area Physicians is well-versed in the many conditions that can lead to abnormal bleeding, including spotting between periods, and we want to share some of them with you.

Less concerning causes of spotting

Let’s first start with some of the more common, and less concerning, causes of bleeding in between periods, which includes:

Certain birth control methods

If we place you on hormonal birth controls, such as the pill or IUD, it’s perfectly normal to experience some light breakthrough bleeding as your body adjusts to the new hormones. Typically, this spotting between periods goes away after two to six months.

Perimenopause and menopause

As you near the end of your reproductive stage and transition through perimenopause and menopause, your periods can be anything but regular, and spotting is common.

Uterine fibroids

Up to 80% of women have uterine fibroids, which are noncancerous growths in the muscles of your uterus. These growths are associated with spotting between periods.

So, if any of these circumstances apply to you, we aren’t necessarily going to sound any alarms on your spotting, but we do want you to tell us about it, especially if it’s persistent.

When you should seek help for spotting

If you know your spotting in between periods isn’t related to any of the conditions or circumstances we review above, we want you to come see us. Several different conditions count vaginal bleeding between periods among its symptoms, including:

• Sexually transmitted infections, which are on the rise in the United States
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Thyroid disorders
• Certain gynecologic cancers, such as cervical, uterine, ovarian, and vaginal

We also want to point out that if you’re bleeding when you shouldn’t be having periods at all, such as during a pregnancy or after you’ve transitioned through menopause, it’s especially critical that you have us investigate your spotting.

As well, if your abnormal bleeding is accompanied by any other symptoms, such as pelvic pain, we definitely want to take a closer look.

The bottom line is that we’d prefer that you err on the side of caution when it comes to your reproductive health, and we want you to come see for any irregularities in your menstrual cycles. 

For expert diagnosis and care of spotting between periods, please don’t hesitate to contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule an appointment.