DARK BROWN DISCHARGE?

[glitterswirl]

i am 14 and i am virgin.(well, of course.)
i had my period on 17-21 nov 10 and my period was supposed to come around 17-18 dec, but before that, i got this brown discharge for 1 week.
i expected my period to come right after the brown discharge, but it came 2 weeks later on the 27dec and ended on 1jan.
then, my period was supposed to come on the 31st, but i got this dark brown, clumpy discharge on around the 15jan, and it has not stopped till now.
sometimes, there are traces of more reddish blood but usually the discharge is dark brown and clumpy.
it does itch sometimes, not all the time, but i reckon its got to do with the pad i wear now to prevent the discharge from staining my underwear.
i have heard from somewhere that late periods sometimes cause old blood to oxidise or something like that.

i have some sort of irregular sleep i guess, i sleep at 12 and wake up at 6 and sometimes i sleep for 3hours in the afternoon.

i daren't tell my mother about it, i'm way too embarrassed.

is my sleeping pattern affecting my cycles?
are there any recommended foods i can take to stop this brown discharge?
i have heard from somewhere that late periods sometimes cause old blood to oxidise or something like that.
but is this more than just old blood?

please please help me, i'm only 14, i still got alot ahead of me!

thank you so much!!!

[glitterswirl]

nope i've had my period since i was 11 in 2008.
my periods usually are a bit irregular, a few days late or early, and i have never missed a period so far.
and yes my periods have been normal.

and i'll tell my mum about it.
thank you so much!! :D

[jamnavywife]

Was your period in November your first period? For the first year after you first period they can be very irregular and you can even miss them for month. You may have some spotting or brown/red discharge. The URL below goes over different reasons for missed periods.

www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/generalhealth/womenshealth/missedperiods

I want to add though, that you should talk to your mom. I know it seems embarrassing and maybe gross, but its important. If you or her have any concerns then you should go to the gyn.

Hope this helps.

[AnnieBrooke]

Dark brown means the endometrium that is coming out is not straight off the uterine wall, there is a delay before it leaves your body.  The axiom is "brown blood is old blood."  In other words, rather than the endometrium directly shedding out of your body, there is some small delay (possibly it is just not flowing hard enough) before it gets all the way out of the uterus and out.  

Have you had normal periods up to this point?  In other words, red blood, full flow for 4 or 5 days?  If so, this is obviously an unusual round.  My guess (and it is only a guess) is that you might have an ovarian cyst, which can make the next period or two kind of weird.  Ovarian cysts can happen 'just because,' and it can take a few months for them to resolve.  You might look up the topic.  I'm talking about a simple, fluid-filled cyst, that comes as a result of normal ovulation, not some of the more complicated solid ones, so don't freak yourself out over some of the descriptions of those.  :)

(If you haven't had any periods at all up to this point and this was the first menstrual activity, it is not too surprising that it would be unusual and irregular.  But since you're 14, I am assuming you have had normal periods already.)

Anyway, if it doesn't resolve by the time you would expect your next period, tell your mom that you think you might have an ovarian cyst, and ask her if she'd book you a doctor appointment.  (It's a lot less embarrassing to tell your mom something like 'possible ovarian cyst' than to go on about bleeding and color and so forth.)  Even if it turns out not to be a cyst, you'll learn what it is and can put your mind at ease.  Incidentally, if you don't have an ob-gyn yet, this is a good time to start.

Good luck!