Noticed Brown Stringy Discharge. Have Bloating, Mild Craming And Diarrhea. Pregnancy Test Negative. Scared To Go To Doctor?

Posted on Mon, 15 Jul 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 15 Jul 2013 Answered on

Mon, 5 Aug 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I'm 34 years old, I excercise and eat healthy. Recently, I started spotting brown stringy discharge (except when I have a bowl movement, then it's red), it started a week before my period was due and has gone on for 9 days. I've been terribly bloated and have had diarrhea twice this week. I've also had mild cramping every day. It feels like the worst PMS ever, but I have yet to get my period. I took a pregnancy test and it was negative. I'd normally go see a doctor, but my husband and I are living in Kiev, Ukraine and I'm a little scared to go to the hospital here. Thanks for your insight!

Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (3 hours later)

Hi,

I presume you always had regular periods. Based on your description, I feel your menstrual hormones have got disturbed and causing early spotting and bad premenstrual symptoms. Since this is going on for 9 days and you are late by couple of days, the first priority is to exclude pregnancy absolutely.

Routine home pregnancy test can show false negative results especially in the initial days. You need to repeat the test after 2-3 days to exclude pregnancy for sure.

If pregnancy is ruled out, normal period would normally resume within a week's time. But if the current symptoms are not tolerable, progestin analogues like provera can be help you. You can consult a gynecologist nearby and get a prescription of this drug. That being said, the first priority right now is to exclude pregnancy.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need clarifications.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar