Were your cycles irregular after childbirth?

[JoyNChrist]

Sorry if this is a TMI question, but I'm rather annoyed with AF right now and looking for some answers.

Some of you may remember my bitching post about AF returning a few weeks ago (DS is 9 months old and we're still breastfeeding). Anyway, that period lasted 8 days, and was much more heavy and painful than I remember them being before I got pregnant with DS. Then, 4 days later, AF returned for 5 days. So guess how super-excited I was when AF showed up again last night?

:32:

Before DS, my periods were only regular when I was on the Pill. Otherwise, I only had one every 3 months or so. I've had some problems with ovarian cysts which have caused some pain, but normally my periods aren't particularly painful.

Is this normal for everyone? Is my body just adjusting, or do you think I should make an appointment with the doctor? My old OBGYN retired, so if I need to go in I have to find a new doc, which is gonna be so annoying. But 3 periods in a month is also pretty darn annoying, so I guess I could deal.

[o_mom]

I would POAS first, then maybe call your family practitioner if it happens again in less than a month. I know that when DS1 was about 11 mos old, I had some odd bleeding and they did blood work just to check on things - turns out DS2 was on the way.

[trentsmom]

Yes. Very annoying. I was like clockwork before; haven't been the same since. I went on the pill and was bleeding every 2 weeks. So now I'm off of it and trying to get my cycles back to normal.

[Rachels]

It sounds like your body is still adjusting to all the hormonal changes, but you might run it by your Gyn. Sometimes being anemic can lead to very heavy, painful periods.

[elizabethkott]

Oh yeah. AF is a BEAST after childbirth. More painful and WAY heavier than I remember her...
I would like to send her to Siberia. Alas, I don't think that's happening any time soon...

[elektra]

I think I am the California version of you!
DD is also 9 months old, and my period is now giving me problems too, I was not regular before DD, and my OB retired as well!
I actually already made an appt with the new Dr. already to deal w/ my AF issue. My problem was actually headaches. My period came back after only 5 1/2 months though, and I am still BF.
After 3 straight months of migraines each time I got my period I had to just make the appt to see if there was anything that could be done.
The dr. ended up prescribing me Nuvaring. And although I wasn't necessarily looking for birth control, he said the headaches were probably caused by hormones and the Nuvaring would help even that out. I was a little worried about my milk supply dropping but I haven't noticed a drop (although I did notice a drop after AF returned).
He also said that at my old age (32) my body requires higher hormone levels or something like that to ovulate and have periods, etc. and childbirth also contributes to the manifestations of those wacky hormones. Hence the headaches or for you the crazy bleeding.

[C99]

My first 2 post-partum cycles were irregular after the births of my first two children. The first period was very light, followed by an abnormally (for me) heavy and long period. My GP checked for anemia following the return of my cycles with my first child, but the test was negative.

My cycles were irregular before I went on the pill, and like clockwork afterward and between my pregnancies. Truthfully, however, I have only had about 5 periods since June 2002, when I got pregnant with DS1.

[klwa]

After DS, my cycles went a little nuts, although I haven't had 3 cycles in a month since I was 14. They started even-ing back out a little bit lately. They've been anywhere from 27-42 days since LAST September when it started back, though.

[ThreeofUs]

Same here. Completely annoying. Happened to my niece, too.

Our problems both turned out to be thyroid. Apparently sometimes after childbirth, your thyroid can have a hard time getting back to normal. I agree with PP who said to see your GP and have some tests done.

[scoop22]

i try to forget about that time period.. when AF returned i had it constantly. i would have a day or two off and then it would be back again. i had to go on the pill to get back on track.. it was painful and exausting!!! i don't miss that time. i hope things get better for you! i would call the dr. as well. they were very helpful for me.

[kijip]

For me it was the opposite as many posters in terms of pain. I was 28 day regular before Toby and was afterwards (never late, not ever). Only difference is before Toby the bleeding was 7-10+ days with serious cramping, a could days of vomiting etc and post Toby it is 3-4 days of bleeding, light at that with essentially no cramping. I need that ducking smilie, LOL. In short, I don't think all women have irregular or harder periods post baby. The women in the family have all had much the same situation as me.

[brittone2]

Have you ever had a blood workup for PCOS? The fact that your cycles have always been irregular except when on the pill (and they are quite long cycles), and the fact that you have ovarian cysts, in combo raises a flag for me.

PCOS has health implications beyond reproductive issues. For that reason, you may want to consider getting tested eventually. I was dismissed for my concerns about PCOS when we were ttc DS with a regular ob/gyn, and he even did bloodwork. It wasn't a full panel, and it was "borderline", but w/ a history of long/irregular cycles, infertility, etc. he should have figured it out. The catch is a lot of doctors are operating on outdated notions about pcos. They think all women that have it are hairy and overweight, which simply isn't true. Some were told to only look at certain bloodwork like FSH/LH ratios, which doesn't tell the whole picture. When I saw an RE, I got diagnosed right away. A 2nd RE confirmed. When I read about PCOS initially I thought...no way! That isn't me. But the symptoms can vary greatly person to person. My original OB/GYN flat out told me if anything I was underweight, and there was no way I had PCOS. But I do. I just didn't look like what he learned classic pcos looked like. There is a lot of new info out on PCOS and a lot of docs aren't up to date on how to diagnose it.

PCOS is a syndrome, and the symptoms are kind of "Mix and match" as a result. You don't have to have them all. 2-3 is in many cases enough. The cysts plus the really long cycles can both be consistent w/ PCOS. It might be worth checking out more extensively in the future. Not everyone w/ PCOS has trouble getting pg, especially while young, and if I remember right, you are on the younger side?

I'm not trying to diagnose you and I'm not an MD, but your comments on always being irregular when you weren't on the pill, long cycles, and cysts make me think you might want to get checked. If it is PCOS, you want to know in advance as it puts a person at increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and a bunch of other health issues that extend beyond fertility/periods/gynecological issues.

You can have cysts and not have PCOS, and you can have pcos without cysts in some instances. But the cysts plus routinely wacky cycles when not medicated (and very long ones at that) is worth investigating, IMO. I was on the pill for 10 years because I went on it in my teens to regulate my cycles. I was a hard core runner in high school so it was always blamed on that. I had no idea that I was going to have issues when I went off the pill. That sort of story is very common w/ women w/ PCOS. The other catch is PCOS symptoms often get worse w/ age, so if you are younger, and have mostly been on the pill or pregnant in recent years, many symptoms could be masked if it is something like PCOS.

ETA: you could be having anovulatory bleeding right now. I think it is pretty normal for people to not ovulate while their body is getting back to normal. You can still get a period, and it can make for short or long cycles if I remember right.
adding a link to soulcysters, which is a great resource. There is a list on the left hand margin here of possible pcos symptoms. Remember, because it is a syndrome, someone can be diagnosed w/ PCOS and only have 2-3 of those symptoms, or they may have many of them.

http://www.soulcysters.com/do_have_pcos.html

[JoyNChrist]

Wow, thanks Beth.

What kind of tests do they do to diagnose PCOS? I'm asking because there is a history of ovarian cancer in my family (three great-aunts, two aunts, a grandmother, my mother), so when I first started having pain from the cysts they did several different tests to monitor the situation (since I'm at a greater genetic risk for developing ovarian cancer). I don't remember what all the tests were (I was 17), but I'm wondering if something might have come up then that I should ask my doc about now.

And yeah, I'm 21, but I've already had 1 (unexpected) miscarriage, so I would want to know if there could be fertility problems in the future.

[brittone2]

They will do a big hormonal workup. It usually includes things like:
FSH
LH
testosterone and free testosterone
DHEA-s
estradiol
androstenedione
prolactin
thyroid

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/pcos-3.html

soulcysters has some good links on tests and results (not all doctors know how to read tests. My original doctor didn't diagnose me because my numbers were technically within the normal range, but at the higher end of normal for the things he tested. But he didn't test everything, and the big picture was that coupled w/ my history of irregular periods, cystic/enlarged ovaries, etc. it should have lead to more testing/diagnosis. So it is important to know how to interpret your own results because not every doctor is great at picking up PCOS from bloodwork.
if they think there's a decent chance you have it, they should also refer you for a glucose tolerance test (GTT). The GTT should be *with* insulin levels. Fasting insulin levels don't give the right information for diagnosing insulin resistance as related to PCOS (a mistake many doctors make). The last I heard, the GTTs tended to give a better picture the longer they are (so a 3 hour is probably better than a 2 hour).

With PCOS, even if someone doesn't technically test positive for insulin resistance, there's a good chance they have it anyway. The test just isn't sensitive enough to pick it up in everyone (but if you hook people up to IV glucose for 24 hours and take insulin draws periodically, it would be more likely to show it, but that won't happen outside of a research setting). I never technically tested positive for insulin resistance, yet am helped by an insulin sensitizing drug called Metformin. Metformin is becoming used more and more often for women w/ pcos, even if they don't technically test + for insulin resistance.

People w/ PCOS are at an increased risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. which is why it is important to get diagnosed if you suspect it. I'm not trying to diagnose it for you, but you don't want to miss it if something is going on. Women w/ PCOS are also at an increased risk of m/c, and metformin can help lower that risk in women w/ PCOS. That's another reason to pursue testing if you have any concerns.