Weird period...
 

Normally (well, since I moved back to Cali about six months ago) I get horrible double-over painful cramps for about a week before my period, then my period starts and I bleed extremely heavily for the first couple of days, then for the rest of the week (seven days total) it's barely any spotting. Accompanying the horrible cramping is bloating and really painful breast tenderness. Now, this period (that I am still on, even thought I 'started' almost two weeks ago) is completely different. I just started to spot out of the blue almost a week early, there's been no cramping what so ever, no bloating and no breast tenderness. I was on depo for over three years, then I had a copper IUD put in. Since I got the IUD put in, my periods have been more painful, which i'm attributing to the foreign object in my uterus but why would I do a complete 180 now? Have any of you girls gone through this? And I know, I should see a gyno, but I don't have a doc out here yet (I can't really afford it right now). Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

When did you have the copper IUD put in? Sometimes it can take a while for your cycles to regulate after getting an IUD (took me about 4 months, but I've got the Mirena). Also, was this spotting "out of the blue" timewise, or was it around the time you would have started your period? If it's between-period spotting, it could just be something simple. IUDs change the lining of the uterus, so it wouldn't be unusual to have some spotting, especially during the first 3-6 months. And since there's no pain, I wouldn't worry at the moment. If you start getting lots of spotting between periods, or it starts to be painful, I would see a gyno. Otherwise, stock up on panty liners.

Also, Planned Parenthood has a sliding fee scale for gyno visits. They're not just for birth control - I used to get my regular paps done there during college.

Storm, I did a 180 last month too - not hardly anything for cramps, but spotting forEVER, and one whole week late. And today I'm getting nasty cramps again but no spotting, and I'm due Thursday.

Like the lovely lurkette said, don't worry unless anything is really extreme - give it about 6 months before you start taking anything as "normal". Oh, I have the copper IUD as well.

Thanks for all your advice :) I've had the IUD for almost two years now, but do you guys think that it's taking my body longer to get used to it because of the Depo? This month the spotting started about a week before I was supposed to start, but my periods have never been regular so I was really just guessing when I should start.

Wait, it's been two years? But Depo was two years ago too, right?

Get thee to PP, missy. This is beyond what anecdotal evidence can really help with. You could actually be pregnant even with the spotting, or you just be experiencing your usual non-regularity, or something else that escapes our collective brain.... PP is actually really good, I went there for years too. Go!

get it checked out
 

My mom was having that sort of problem a while back. She experienced heavy and long periods. She would then be bleeding most of the time. She discovered that there was a cyst on her cervix. Although your problem is probably related to the new birth control you are using, I would definitely see a gynocologist.

Yeah jess, the depo was for over three years. I was hoping no one would mention I might be pregnant... that's a little scary. I know I need to see a doc and PP is out because I owe them money already.

Storm I had that EXACT same thing happen to me a couple of years ago and the doctor told me the cause of it was that for some reason I did not ovulate that month. I had no cramps, no tenderness and no sign of a period other then it just appeared and was really heavy. She put me on the NuvaRing and I never had a problem again. I think mine was stress related, perhaps yours could be too??

Go to your local health department- if your income is low enough you can qualify for reduced or free visits. I got my IUD for free that way. If it's just this month, don't worry about it- it could be anything, stress, diet, whatever. But yeah, check out your local health department, and don't worry yourself too much. By the way, the failure rate on an IUD is like... second to not having sex, so definitely don't get your panties in a wad about that :)

Thanks Nikki and Sage. My income wouldn't be low enough, it wasn't low enough when I was making minimum wage :) But I'll just not worry about it unless the same thing happens next month... And I'll go to the doc ASAP.