embarrassing questions

I am 33 years old and always had irregular periods my whole life ...sometime I would not have one for as long as 6 month.......... Anyway's I Had a baby two and a half years ago and again after  I was having my irregular periods. But for the last 5 month I have been having a brown discharge when I wipe sometimes with a little hint of red blood but no periods......... It last for about a week once or sometimes twice a month. I am overweight as I have been my whole life ....... I am not Pregnant and I am on no medications or Birth control pills ....... I had a leep about 9 years ago for HPV......What could be wrong with me?

[John Kim, M.D.]

It is not normal to have irregular periods like you mention. You should see your gynecologist. You may have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Here is some general information from my website:
PCOS can affect 5% of all women and common symptoms include irregular menstrual cycles, increased growth of hair on the body, loss of hair on the head, acne, and weight gain. Based on the 2003 ESHRE/ASRM sponsored Consensus Workshop Group, PCOS is diagnosed in women who meet two of the three following criteria: ovarian dysfunction (not ovulating regularly), hyperandrogenism (increased male type hormones on lab testing or clinically increased hair growth), or polycystic ovaries on ultrasound (ovaries which show multiple small cysts on ultrasound). PCOS is a common cause of infertility and puts women at an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. There is also increased risk of insulin resistance, hypertension, and abnormalities of cholesterol and triglycerides in women with PCOS. Due to these risks, we advise our patients with PCOS to have the complete metabolic assessment with complete lipid panel testing and a two hour glucose tolerance test.

[Shu_Shu]

Update!

All my test results came back normal! My doctor seem to think if I loose weight and
Eat health thing should get normal....... I have last 10 pounds so far and my period did come back!