Vaginal bleeding during ovulation after exercise

Exercising causes the adrenal glands to release cortisol to make more oxygen and glucose available to the muscles. Cortisol sends a message to the liver to convert sugar stored as glycogen back into more readily useable glucose which pours into the bloodstream where it travels to where it's needed. If you are on a low carb diet it may be that you have less glycogen stores and the body senses low blood sugar and sends a message to the adrenals to make more cortisol in an effort to convert more glycogen to glucose. The hormone progesterone can convert to cortisol and so if there is a higher demand for cortisol and there is not enough the body will raid the bloodstream to get progesterone for conversion to cortisol. This will cause a sudden drop in progesterone which causes a withdrawal bleed. Excessive exercise alone without a low carb diet is enough to cause a demand for more cortisol and a resulting drop in progesterone but even more so when the body is short of sugar.

This thread was the very first page I landed on when I started Googling mid-cycle bleeding after exercise, and I'm so glad it was- thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences. It's so valuable to read everyone's perspectives, so I'll add mine as well- Last year I came under a large amount of stress, and a couple of times during the year I had unexpected and very heavy mid-cycle bleeding. My doctor did a pap smear, blood tests and an internal exam, all of which came back fine, but she also recommended an ultrasound to check for fibroids, cysts or any other issues. There was nothing at all out of line, so the only answer they could give was that the stress was causing hormones to fluctuate. However, they did want to see me again if the problem continued. It's been fine for almost a year. Six months ago I started a diet and exercise program, building from a pretty poor state of health into a really good level of fitness, but doing so very gradually. I lost 14kg/ 30lb to get to a totally healthy weight, and never had a problem with exercise. But, stress came along again in different forms a couple of months ago. I travelled a lot, started a new job, and generally didn't get to exercise much at all during that time. Recently, I decided to start a running program, and after the first session, I found that I'd started bleeding. It was mild and only lasted a couple of days, but the following week after my next session, the same thing happened and it was much heavier (probably aligned with my usual period, which has been irregular anyway). I didn't do any other exercise for a fortnight, but started again this week with a cardio workout, and straight away- more bleeding! This is crazy-making. I'm going back to the doctor tomorrow for a referral to a specialist to decide what the next step should be, but reading through all your answers has really helped me stop panicking about it in the meantime. I'm expecting a similar answer- nothing exciting, because my health and fitness otherwise is fairly good and more blood tests recently have shown nothing out of line. It's just really good to know (while also frustrating) that it can be non-serious.

I was so happy to see that i am not the only one with this problem! It started with me about 2 years ago. Everytime I exercise mid cycle during ovulation I bleed and get a little crampy. It scared me so much and I finally went to the doctor. He did an ultrasound and found nothing. The problem continued and I went back the next year and this time a small cyst was found on my left ovary. (Very common apparently and no big deal) but he didn't think this was the problem. It scares me so much when it happens it makes me want to stop exercising!! Ugh the stress of being a girl.

Client whom is 45 and is spot bleeding sfter mat abdominal work in pilates

maybe it's uterine prolapse that is sometimes the cause of vaginal bleeding. it happens when you do intense exercise specially when it targets the lower abdomen and when you also do heavy lifting.

Is that bad that it is splitting? What does hat mean? Too much working out or what?

Is that bad or is it ok to keep working out?

I too have had this problem around ovulation, to the point where I thought I was going to pass out, and ended up throwing up. It was the normal ovulation cramp on one side, I got like "bowel cramps" but it was not that then got light headed and threw up and was spotty for a few days. Im an now ovulating again and it has happend 3 times this week each during intense exercise. Like menstrual status by I am not on. I am regular and its definitely during my ovulation week which is typically 14tg, 15th days of my cycle. I never had any cysts, and eveything always comes back fine. Its more of an annoyance. I cant take BC because it elevates my blood pressure. Hormones suck :( I also try and lower my sugar intake during and after my period because I think sugar play a role in womens hormones. Like polycystic ovarian syndrome.

I also have this...I also have on off spotting anytime between ovulation and my next period??

So, I'm pretty sure this was my post from almost 2 years ago! If not, the poster has the exact same details as me.

Updating my progress:

The original follow-up from the first tests mentioned above confirmed that I had undiagnosed Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which between the hormonal balance and the many cysts they found on my ovaries (none spotted on the first ultrasound, but they were located on the second a few months later), was thought to be the reason for the bleeding. I had an unrelated health issue arise (caught whooping cough- no luck!) that prevented me from running for many months, so the issue went on the back burner for a while.

Once I was better, I started exercising again. This time, the bleeding after exercise happened every time, and it got progressively worse and worse. It reached a point where I could do literally nothing without starting a full period-level bleed that would last seven days and included big clots. Ten wall push-ups, or ten lunges, or walking up three flights of stairs was enough to set me off bleeding for a week. Completely unliveable.

At the same time, I was starting to get symptoms like extreme fatigue and brain fog. I went back at the start of the year for more testing and they found that my insulin levels were very high (insulin resistance related to the PCOS), which I'm now correcting with diet. The doctor also found that my uterus was 'boggy' on examination, consistent with something like adenomyosis. An ultrasound then found two uterine polyps.

I had these surgically removed by hysteroscopy under general anaesthetic two weeks ago, and have just started exercising again (cautiously!) this week, which is why I'm revisiting this thread. I'm a little terrified of the bleeding coming back- it was affecting my life quite badly (inability to exercise was one of the key reasons why my insulin levels got so out of whack), so I'm hoping very much that the polyps were the key cause.

Unfortunately, there was a complication during the surgery, in which the doctor perforated my uterus with the scope. Still unsure if/ how this might affect me in future, but for now, I'm crossing fingers that they have an answer. Adenomyosis can be nearly impossible to spot on ultrasound or even during a surgical procedure, and the only conclusive treatment is hysterectomy, so I'm hoping not to go down that route. I'd never heard of it, so it's another consideration for anyone who doesn't have a concrete answer.

I'll update again when I have anything new to report...

Hey ! Wow - you've def been through a lot in a short period of time! I'm so sorry the surgery poked your uterus and I really hope you're ok for the long run. Just know that so many woman are with you. I actually avoided hard exercise after my heavy lifting related bleeding and miss it but also have in mind "I want babies" so I'm just praying we can conceive this summer and maybe things will change ... I hope you find some answers -- keep us updated

Hmmmm so on Monday I worked out to the point I got a headache. The next day (ovulation) I had pelvic pain and brown spotting. It stopped but was on and off until my period. I'm on a low car diet (whole 30). I scheduled a doctors appointment and waiting on ultrasound test results. But this solves a few missing parts of the puzzle. If you google spotting uterine cancer pops up so at least I have another view point to consider. Thank you.

I started the whole 30 low carb diet and was on for 30 days. Before that I ate awful for 6 months with little to no exercise. After a heavy workout which resulted in a headache, the next day I had clots and brown blood with pain for a day. The spotting continued throughout the month until my period which was only 3 days. I made two doctors appointments and scheduled an ultrasound just to rule out uterine thickening and other conditions that lead to bleeding or hormonal balance issues. I suggest everyone get those test out of the way just to be certain. I'm so happy to find these stories; especially the low carb diet since that's what I started.

How old are you? How did the spotting look at first and are you over weight? Did you go to your primary care doctor when this first happened to check for diabetes and high blood pressure?

Any updates from your d&c?