Period not ending, spotting and cramping

[whatsthatnow74]

Hi,

I’m 45 and having a weird period. Currently on cd11. It started normally, seemed to tail off around day 5/6 as I would expect then reappeared on day 7 with bright red blood, not heavy but enough. Like that for a day or so then seemed to stop again. Day 10, more brown bleeding again when wiping, bad cramping yesterday and today, mainly pinky brown spotting now. This is not normal for me at all.

[emmathedilemma]

This sounds like how mine started to go before I got diagnosed with fibroids. It was almost like having 2 short periods back to back, it tapered off and then came back with a vegence. See how it goes the next few months but I'd see your GP if this becomes the norm.

[whatsthatnow74]

Thanks @emmathedilemma.

It was a normal period and had just about finished in day 6 then came the fresh red blood on day 7, then light brown on off spotting since then. Constant dull stomach cramp since yesterday morning. I don’t need to wear any sanpro, it’s now just a slight brown pink tinge when I wipe, but it’s really sore 😕

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

As someone who has experienced similar problems relating to perimenopause I would make an appointment with the GP and ask for a referral to a gynae. Do not take no for an answer (I was also checked to see if fibroids were present).

(My GP was really of no real help here and I ended up referring myself to a gynae because the menstrual bleeds over time became worse in terms of heaviness and length of bleeds)

[whatsthatnow74]

Thanks @attilathemeerkat. Did you have the cramping? That’s what’s bothering me more than anything. Still the same this morning. Stringy brown blood when wiping first thing, then just light brown tinge subsequently. Still the stomach ache. Seems to be worse in one side do I don’t know what that means.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Not this time around but I have had such problems in the past, it was determined I had endometriosis.

[LHMBF]

I'm having something very similar and it's really getting me down as I'm concerned it's menopause, I am 38 and don't want to be going through it yet

[whatsthatnow74]

@LHMBF I think hormones are at the root of it. I can’t see an end to it. I’m in the fourth day in a row of constant cramping and brown spotting 😕
@AttilaTheMeerkat sounds like you’ve been through the mill. Can endo appear out of nowhere? And does that cause the cramps?

[LHMBF]

I had a baby in December so I don't know if it's related to that

[Bluewater1]

Maybe a trip to your GP. Could be menopause could be fibroids, not an issue with a retained tampon by any chance? I had that once and it was recurrent bleeding that highlighted the issue

[whatsthatnow74]

@bluewater the tampon thing did cross my mind but I don’t think so 🤔
@LHMBF I would imagine having a baby so recently could well be the cause of your issue. Congratulations by the way!
I’ve got a gp appointment booked for Friday.

[LHMBF]

whatsthatnow74 thank you. I hope that's what it is, spoke to health visitor and she said it's most likely my cycle is confused as I mostly formula feed due to a low supply, and that only occasionally breastfeeding could cause spotting and may be periods trying to come back.
Good luck with your appointment, hope you can get to the bottom of what's going on as well

[Elieza]

I had that and I’ve got fibroids. I get most pain on my left side and that’s where the biggest fibroid is pushing my womb over so it’s now hitting my ovary. Great.
Add that to my age (peri) and it’s great fun!
I have been to acupuncture Cyrus to get the periods down in length and lighter with no brown stuff at the end for days of spotting. Gross.
It’s private and expensive but I didn’t want to get moon hormones. That’s not for me. I chose a more natural method of sorting the problem out.

[whatsthatnow74]

@elieza that’s interesting. Did it just come about suddenly? My periods have always been straightforward and this is the first time I’ve had anything out of the ordinary. The pain is quite bad. The spotting is minimal, but persistent.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

In my case I now realise I had problems relating to endometriosis since onset of menses but it got a lot worse during my mid 20s

Now I am perimenopausal and have had problems the last few months related to bleeding heavily and without a discernible cycle length, it has all become very unpredictable

My GP was frankly out of his depth and his only suggestion was to have a blood test done, when those results came back as normal no further action was taken. A few days later I flooded and this was a highly distressing experience, bleeding almost constantly was taking a toll on me mentally too. I referred myself to a gynaecologist and have been under this persons care, now I am going to have ablation surgery . I pray it works otherwise I am more than prepared now to undergo a hysterectomy.

[whatsthatnow74]

Oh @attilathemeerkat, that sounds terrible. So debilitating 😕. I hope you can get some relief with the ablation.
I’ve just been to my GP. She didn’t seem massively concerned and has told me to track it for three months, then if still a problem, they’ll check my thyroid (my TSH levels were borderline high last summer) and do an ultrasound. She checked I’m not pregnant (did a test there and then!) and sent me on my way. Hmmm...

[TabbyStar]

Mine does the stop start thing, has done for a while, no other issues afaik, though now I'm wondering whether I should get checked out too! I just assumed the peri.

[Elieza]

The reason I went to my gp initially was the pain. It didn’t come on suddenly but I did notice it over a few months and it seemed to get worse just before and during my period.
I was sent for a couple of scans and eventually got told about the fibroids. One is nearly 11cm long apparently.

[TheCunkOfPhilomena]

Hey @whatsthatnow74, I had the same thing last/this month. I went to the GP after bleeding for 2 weeks and she examined me and it turned out I had a very common (nobody told me!) thing called cervical ectropion which isn't anything to worry about and can happen quite suddenly.

I'm having a scan this afternoon (why I'm on here, looking for posts re fibroids etc) as my periods can be heavy and my thyroid blood test was borderline.

Please see your GP if it's something different for you. My GP was great and assured me that it was always something worth checking. I was bleeding more after sex (clots) and brown blood the rest of the time. She said if it went on for another cycle then I could have it cauterised. It's not linked to cancer and normally clears up on its own.

[whatsthatnow74]

@Thecunkofphilomena (good name btw!), thats interesting. I haven't heard of that. My GP didn't examine me or suggest that type of cause.
My spotting stopped about a week ago and hasn't returned yet. My period is due around now (assuming my cycle hasn't been too messed up), so I'm waiting to see what happens this time. I feel certain that mine is hormone-related.