Wondering about swaying as someone with lean PCOS

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gosh what a roller coaster ride! I'm sorry you're going through this.

The temp being low is obviously a complicating factor, but it IS possible to have bleeding in pregnancy, even very heavy bleeding, and still come out of it with a baby at the end. I had what seemed like a full five day period, heavier than a normal period, and had a baby about 8.5 months later. It is possible and not uncommon, so I second the suggestion to give it a few more days and test again because until that test is negative, you're still pregnant and it can still work out.

Since this spotting has continued for a while and you're past where your period would have been due, I would not consider this a chemical but (if it continues, that is - still hoping it resolves with a happy ending) a very early loss. My guess would be there was implantation near the cervix, which caused the early bleeding and it's still working itself out. That having been said, tubal pregnancy is also possible so if the spotting continues and the pregnancy tests stay positive we'd want to have that checked out to be sure.

Until you have a negative pregnancy test or it becomes glaringly obvious it's not working out (bright red blood + much lighter tests) I would operate under the assumption you're still pregnant. Don't start swaying again, just assume pregnancy until you have a considerably lighter test. Even if you have red bleeding, if the test is still dark positive, assume you are still pregnant and act accordingly. It's not over till it's over, and I know it's tough to believe it when you see spotting but more often than most people realize is even possible, it resolves happily.

If this is a loss, nothing you did caused it. The embryo would not even be attached at this stage of gestation and couldn't be affected by alcohol or caffeine (although stop both right away of course, or at least cut back on the caffeine if you were having a lot)

If it is a loss, it shouldn't take ages for you to ovulate again. In most cases with a very early loss, you'll ovulate pretty close to "normal" (meaning about 14 days after you lose the pregnancy). The longer the pregnancy continues, as a general rule it will take longer for your cycle to resume. But in most cases with an early loss - if that is in fact what is happening - it will be quite close to what you might have expected if you had not conceived.

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you so much for your reply!! How interesting. That must have been scary
To have bleeding throughout your pregnancy, but I’m so glad it worked out! I never had bleeding in any of my pregnancies, nor have I had a chemical before. I had wondered if I could actually be pregnant and just having bleeding, but with my BBT being low, I don’t think that’s possible. We’re you tracking BBT by chance?

I think it’s most likely that I had a chemical and maybe just a didn’t flush everything out which is why I’m having spotting now. And maybe that’s why I still am testing positive. I also have felt pregnant with slight nausea, but I know that can be due to any number of things. It sure seems like I’d be negative by now as it’s been well over a week since my “period” ended. It was a light period but dragged on with spotting for multiple days.

Your advice is very good - I will take another test in a week or so and see what’s happening. Not sure where that leaves me with swaying..whether I should keep swaying or take a break for a bit on the off off chance I’m actually pregnant.

Anyway, thanks again - I so appreciate hearing your experience! It makes me feel less crazy haha.


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If you're still having a positive pregnancy test then something is still there signalling the body to make HCG. Something is still attached or the test would have gone negative. I do think that a trip to the doc to rule out tubal pregnancy makes some sense, although they may not be able to see anything at this stage of gestation, they can run a couple of betas to see if the levels are doubling appropriately - it can help us see what is going on. It may be your levels are going up, which would be great news, and then they need to be monitoring you much more closely to rule out a tubal as quickly as possible. If the levels are low and are declining, then the pregnancy is probably wrapping up on its own and will not require any more intervention.

I don't say all this to freak you out or anything, the odds are that it's just going to work itself out completely on its own (either with a successful pregnancy or an uncomplicated loss) but just so you know what the next steps should be, if you've been spotting this long and are still having dark positive tests, it's best to get that checked sooner rather than later.

[emilyjo3]

Oh my goodness thank you ladies for your responses! I can’t tell you how helpful it is for me.

Atomic, thanks so much for your kind words. It’s incredibly helpful for me to hear your perspective, involving both the hopeful and the scary possible outcomes. You are such a wealth of knowledge. I had wondered about a tubal pregnancy too, but I wasn’t sure if there was anything I could/should do at this point. I will contact my midwife in the next day or so if things don’t seem be be resolving. The spotting has stopped so far. I just occasionally have tinges of pink. I’ve not had any cramping or anything, but I have felt slightly nauseous. I’ve had small amounts of ewcm, which I’m guessing is due to hormonal shifts.

I will also watch what the pregnancy tests are showing. Unfortunately the ones I used are expired (I know, I know..I’m not supposed to use those, but it’s all I’ve got at the moment), so I’m not sure the accuracy of the darkness of the line. But I just tested this morning and it was definitely LIGHTER. Two days ago, it was showing medium-dark, maybe about half as dark as the control line. (I even ran a control using my toddler’s pee that was conveniently in the little potty haha..it was stark white negative.) Who knows how accurate the darkness of expired tests are, but I suppose it’s better than nothing until I can get new ones.

I appreciate you confirming my thoughts that I should stop my sway for now. Believe me, it was hard to pass on all the yummy thanksgiving cocktails when I was feeling pretty sure I was miscarrying.

And thank you for reassuring me that I didn’t do something wrong that could have caused this. How quickly I can go down that hole sometimes.

It’s amazing that you also had so much bleeding and went on to have a healthy pregnancy! I know a couple women who had threatened miscarriages with lots of bleeding, where it ended up fine. But, in my case, the low BBT seems ominous. And now, with the line getting lighter, I’m pretty sure I can move forward expecting it was an early loss. Emotional roller coaster for sure, but it’s good to remember that usually our bodies know what is best.

Thank you again - I know I keep saying that, but hearing some input from other ladies is helping me think more clearly.


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[atomic sagebrush]

While they can't actually see via ultrasound at this point in time it's always a good idea to get in and be seen by someone if tubal pregnancy is a possibility. There are some cases where (and while you seem very knowledgeable, it has happened often enough so it's best to rule it out) where people are further along than they think, and by the time bleeding from a tubal conception starts it can be a true medical emergency even if dates were off by just a week or two. So yes if the tests stay positive (even if they're just a weaker positive, as some tubal pregnancies make less HCG and thus yield lighter tests or start off darker and then go lighter but STAY positive, that's what we want to have checked!) Again, not trying to scare you but just so you're aware of the possibility.

Expired tests are fine, no worries with those, people use them all the time. The darkness is really not as informative as people think; it's VERY common for tests to dance back and forth in early pregnancy between darker and lighter, and even sometimes between positive and negative before they just get very dark and stay there. So we're not necessarily going to read too much into a somewhat lighter test. If it goes from very dark to much lighter then that's when we know the score. But if it's just a little lighter then it can be darker again the next time you test.

In my case I was pregnant with twins and one was lost (we know this because the placenta continued to develop right alongside the other pregnancy). But 15-20% of pregnancies have bleeding, in many cases extreme bleeding much worse than mine was, and still end up making it! It's crazy until it happens to you or you see enough people for whom it has happened.

I do agree the low BBT seems, as you say, ominous, but even low BBT can turn around. Keeping my fingers crossed for clarity very soon.

[emilyjo3]

Ok I have an update. The hcg line stayed positive for about a week and then finally started to disappear. This morning it was barely there. Bleeding had stopped after a week. Over the weekend I had tons of ewcm. I assumed I’m not able to ovulate with hcg still in the system but we dtd anyway just in case. I’m 3 days past peak ewcm with no BBT spike (although at 98.3, it is slightly higher than it had been, but I’d normally be up to at least 98.5 by now. I realize this is splitting hairs and probably over obsessing…) I’ll temp again for two more days to be sure but otherwise assume the ewcm was just a hormonal shift or anovulatory. I have not been temping other than to confirm O, but I’m not sure if I should go back to temping for a bit until my cycles seem to be back. This is new territory for me.

I had stopped swaying for the most part while I waited for things to work themselves out (less coffee, no alcohol, still sort of LE diet, although we had visitors in town so I was eating a bit more meat than normal). Now I’m back at at. I guess the good news is that I CAN get pregnant doing what I am doing. I feel that this miscarried pregnancy would have been a great girl sway.

Thank you so much for your advice. I appreciated having the support and a place to process what was happening. I contacted my midwife as well as my cousin who is a doctor and has sadly had multiple miscarriages herself, and we all felt comfortable giving it another week. But, atomic, I’m so glad you brought up the possibility of eptopic so I could be aware that it was a real possibility. Having information is so important.

To be honest, I’m feeling low motivation right now. The timing for a fourth baby is feeling less and less ideal as the months go on, but I’m REALLY REALLY trying to trust that things will work out as they are meant to be. So, I want to keep swaying, but I’m also struggling with feeling discouraged and not knowing when my cycles will come back. I know I need to track calories and macros, but I’m just not feeling motivated, plus we are just very busy right now. One step at a time I suppose. This surprise pregnancy/loss was a strange experience, but I am very grateful that things seem to have resolved on their own.


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[atomic sagebrush]

Oh gosh I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back to you. Thanks so much for your patience!

While yes, you're not supposed to be able to ovulate through detectable HCG levels, we have had a few cases where "ghost lines" were actually negative pregnancy tests and a couple times people did ~seem~ to ovulate while still getting very light positive tests. Please keep in mind this is just what people tell me and I have no way to know if it's accurate info (as in, "I tested three days ago and it was positive then so I'm assuming it's still positive" sort of thing)

That having been said, from what you're describing I doubt you've ovulated although your body may be considering the possibility. I would keep testing with OPK or having unprotected sex every 4 days and/or temping if you want to.

The most important part of the tracking is simply ensuring you are eating ENOUGH. If you are getting adequate food intake then you can largely let go of the tracking but you need to be ABSOLUTELY certain you're not inadvertently cutting back without realizing it.

[emilyjo3]

Hi it’s me again. I found out last week I’m pregnant! I’m so excited! Quite shocked to be honest! Buuuut I’ve been swaying for close to a year, and the week I got pregnant I was not following my diet as closely because we were on vacation (still good amounts of coffee and alcohol though haha). To make matters worse, we had two attempts, one 4 days before and one 2 days before ovulation (at least I’m pretty sure that was the timing. I wasn’t feeling like I normally do.) It’s the first time our frequency has slipped all these months, but we were having a lovely time on the Oregon coast and it just felt right! I did immediately jump and dump but I’m assuming that doesn’t do a whole lot for lowering sperm count. We’d abstained (due to generally being busy) for probably at least a week before that. It was just a chaotic time with travel and such. But in the end, the frequency was quite boy friendly.

I’ve ovulated pretty consistently (for me anyway) for the past 5 months or so, but my luteal phase has been stuck at 8-9 days. I was SHOCKED to be pregnant because I kinda just assumed my hormones were not balanced enough to sustain pregnancy…this is also why I was a bit lax with my sway.

I’m trying to stay positive and focus on the excitement of baby number 4. By in large, I have been at ease with the very real possibility of having another boy. I’m trying very VERY hard to trust that whatever happens is meant to be. However, there are also times I am gripped with fear of how I will take it if we find out we are having a fourth boy! I’m just writing this out here because I know people in this group understand. We also haven’t told anyone about the pregnancy yet, so it’s fun to talk about

I welcome any words of wisdom or encouragement.


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[atomic sagebrush]

Aww, huge congrats!

Being off diet for a short time - particularly when it's just "not following it closely" cannot possibly a dealbreaker. If anything, that may even have helped you conceive if you were cutting back too far (I recall you weren't eating enough, and if you've been having a short LP that still may have been an issue). So don't worry about that at all.

An attempt 4 days before O is not an attempt. The odds of conception are 1 in 1000 according to a really good study done a few years back. This is very much in line with what we see too, where people who insist on 4 day cutoffs have absolutely terrible rates of conception (as in, virtually nonexistent).

I think you did a lot to sway pink, far more than you realize, and you have just as good a chance as anyone! Good luck and pink dust headed your way.

[treens]

Congratulations! I have everything crossed you get your perfect healthy baby girl!

[LMSM]

Congrats & heaps of pink dust coming your way!