Brown blood

Hi there

For the past 2 years I have had brown blood 2 or 3 days before my period (only spotting), and from about day 1-3 of my period. By day 3 it starts to have a red tinge to it but it’s still very dark. My period is also very light until about day 4 when it starts increasing in flow, it is then heavy until about day 7. My period used to be the opposite, it used to last 4 or 5 days, the first few days used to be really heavy then it would get really light towards the end, and it was always a healthy red. At the time it changed, and the change was very sudden, I had just moved away and had met a new partner so lots was changing. But it is still the same now even though things are much more settled.

I have the copper coil, but this was inserted about 5 yrs ago. I am aware this can cause heavier bleeding, but I don’t know if it causes brown blood? Maybe it could be part of the problem? My acupuncturist informed me that it’s a sign of liver stagnation. Generally I eat quite well, lots of organic fruit and veggies, but I can go through periods of snacking too much on sugar and junk food. I don’t feel like this is too excessive though, my worst days involve maybe 2 or 3 sweet treats. I live an active lifestyle, I hardly ever drink alcohol and I do my best to lower my stress levels. In January I went for a month and a half with no sugar and this did not reduce the brown blood during my period. Maybe I need to go for several months with no sugar or unhealthy oils, as I know these are the main culprits for liver stagnation? That just feels quite extreme and difficult for me though.

Any guidance much appreciated, thanks!

Answer:

We can’t and don’t answer medical question in AAC. If you are feeling concerned, we highly recommend scheduling an appointment with your GP as soon as possible. What we can, and are are happy to do is coach you on some of your thoughts about this situation. Let’s create a model for this.

C: Acupuncturist said that brown blood is a sign of liver stagnation

T: Cutting out sugar and unhealthy oils seems difficult and extreme

F: Stuck? Overwhelmed? Paralyzed? What are you feeling?

A: Focus on what I’m already doing and not doing with food intake and activity levels, research what helps reverse liver stagnation – what else are you doing? What are you not doing?

R: I see this situation as difficult and extreme

What I’m seeing is that there is a focus on food intake and activity levels. It could be possible that what you eat or don’t eat, or how active or inactive you are are only a few factors that could be impacting your menstrual cycle this way. What is an option, or what are several options that are available to you that you don’t think are difficult or extreme and could be a next step for you to gain insight into what’s happening in your body and why? How do you feel when you think about that? What might you do from that place? What might you not do? What result do you think taking those actions would create and how does it relate back to your thought? What, if anything, is standing in your way? Come back to us when you’re ready for more coaching on this in a post titled, “Brown Blood pt. 2”.