Will I ever stop bleeding?

[ShowOfHands]

I have had a lifetime of predictable periods. 28 day cycle and manageable. Over the last 18 months or so, they've become slowly closer together and I now have a 21 day cycle and bleed for 8 days, often heavy with flooding and clots and it's more painful. I don't think I'm ovulating anymore either as I used to have clear signs.

I'm currently 16 days into bleeding and for the first 13 days it was so heavy. I'm on norethisterone from the GP to try and stop it but after 3 days, it's slowed down massively but still there when wiping.

I'm clearly anaemic and the GP has given me iron tablets and referred me for blood tests for everything she can think of (no appointments for 2 weeks for that), and ultrasound but that will take a few weeks and she's recommended a Mirena but the GP can't do them and the clinics have a 6 month waiting list and will only give them for contraception. So I have to lie given that DH has had a vasectomy and I don't think I'm fertile anyway.

Meanwhile, I swing between thinking this is normal and just the perimenopause and being terrified that it's something sinister.

I am so so so so done with bleeding. I feel grey and lifeless and exhausted and I don't understand what is happening and if it will ever stop.

I don't even know what I want from this thread.

Oh I swear McDs always smells better when other people have it as well. LOL.

OP I hope you are on your way down to surgery very soon! I am so sorry to hear all you have been through - this really is inhumane treatment. I remember reading your thread last year and being shocked by the delays in your treatment. I am facing similar issues myself (not as bad as yours) and have had to push so hard for any sort of treatment. I wish you a speedy recovery.

I would encourage you to take as long as you need off work for recovery - I mean mental as well as physical recovery. You have been through so much in the last year and you may have a trauma response to it. Don’t feel shame about this either - major surgery for any other condition would be taken seriously - you deserve that same care.

As a teacher - you should be able to access counselling or other support through your local authority, trust or union for free. I used our local service and found it very useful to talk through things with an impartial person!

Please let us know how you feel afterwards if you are able!

I know I was able to read before I was up to typing any replies so OP if you’re the same I hope all went well and you’re resting up now. And I hope you’ve been able to eat something now too.

Best wishes OP. Hope you are recovering now and are resting.

Hope you've had an ok night

Well I survived!

It was a bit more complicated than anticipated. The injections to shrink everything appear to have had the opposite effect. Fibroids and uterus were very bulky so had open surgery and a larger incision than planned. Adhesions from previous CSs made it a bit trickier too. Took 4.5hrs in the end. I've kept "most" of my cervix whatever that means.

I'm sorry I wasn't up to typing last night. I was in a lot of pain in recovery and had a lot of morphine. I'm still sleepy and just looked at my abdomen for the first time. I've got 4 incisions and am rather black and blue.

I want them to take the catheter out so I can get up but they won't until I've seen a doctor and they're on a skeleton staff so no idea when that will be. Still got a morphine pump, a couple of drips and v sexy support stockings.

I do think seeking some counselling will be a good idea. I feel so weirdly vulnerable and exhausted by it all. I don't really know myself right now.

I can't thank you all enough for your kindness. It's made such a difference.

Glad to hear from you OP and sorry it ended up more complicated. Hopefully the doctor sees you soon.

I’ve got my sexy compression socks on still as I’ve got to use them for another month still so we can be sock twins now. 😁 I don’t know about you but they’re a little too long for me so I keep ending up looking like Nora Batty. 🙈🤣

Counselling sounds like a good idea. It’s such a huge thing to come to terms with anyway but you’ve had such a journey to get here and with the complications that can be a lot to deal with on top of everything.

Be kind to yourself and more importantly be patient with yourself too. I know how frustrating recovery can be (you don’t want to know how many times I’ve cried just because I’ve dropped something on the floor) and even just coming off the morphine I found made me really weepy too.

More un-MNetty hugs and flowers for you.

I've been a silent follower, but I'm pleased you have at last had surgery, albeit more complex than anticipated.

Don't underestimate the effects of a GA. They mess with your mind and mood, which coupled with pain and hormonal changes can really knock you sideways.

It was a good 10 days after my hysterectomy before I began to feel like I was improving.
Peppermint oil capsules were also a great help in dealing with the trapped air from surgery, so might be worth your DH getting some for you. Any pain from trapped air will likely hit once you get out of bed and it starts to gravitate, so just be aware it's a possibility.

Rest, rest and more rest is essential. You may feel it's boring but it is the key to recovery.

Sending you best wishes for a swift recovery.

I've been out of bed since lunch and Oh My God the gas pains are unreal. I've got peppermint capsules but they haven't helped. They've resorted to oramorph to try and help. I've got hideous hiccups as well and they're pulling on my incision constantly.

My stockings are too long as well. I look a right state!

They did say I could potentially go home tonight but that was hours ago and they've all buggered off. They're on such a reduced staff that finding somebody to speak to is hard work.

DH and DS called in to see me earlier but I'm so sore I was grumpy with them. I feel pretty fed up. And although I'm in a private room, the woman next door has a television on our adjoining wall and is listening to it at such a volume that my ears are bleeding. I'm going to garotte her with an NHS pillowcase.

Windsetlers are best for gas. Anything with simeticone in it. Fart at the bitch with the telly on.

Honestly the best thing that helped the gas pains for me was just farting. 🙈 Wasn’t ideal when I had visitors after getting out but I did have to warn them as I couldn’t just get up quickly and leave the room.

I’ll wish for the TV in the next room to go on the blink. Although I’m really hoping that you’re just out and home soon instead of having to deal with that any longer.

Another one recommending Windeze/wind settlers. At least you should now be on the road to recovery OP, though I can see it will be long!

I'm home - got home around 6pm last night- and dh has bought some stuff with simeticone in it which appears to be helping. However, due to delays with my discharge I ended up not taking enough meds yesterday afternoon and evening and was in agony late last night. I've started another thread to ask somebody to tell me what to take and when because I just can't get my head round anything at the moment. I made the mistake of having a proper look at my abdomen. The biggest wound is hip to hip and I have several others from the keyhole attempt. The whole thing is black and blue and very swollen. I sobbed at 3am that I regret having it done. Which isn't true but having bounced back from two CS, I feel like I'm drowning this time round. It all looks and feels such a mess. I don't care about how I look really, not on a normal day but the swelling is remarkable and I just look lumpen and distorted. I know it's temporary, I've just lost all perspective and haven't slept properly.

I'm glad you're home. You will recover so much better now.
Remember you're exhausted, you've had major surgery and an anaesthetic that plays havoc with your body. Your body needs to heal. You need to rest and take things slowly.

Try and start eating some fibre rich foods - apricots, kiwi, prune juice to help that first poo along.

You won't regret having it done.

@ShowOfHands 💐I am so pleased for you that you have finally had the surgery. The recovery will take time. It is a much bigger operation than a C section. More rummaging, more cuts, more pulling and prodding. Only small by comparison but I was surprised how much more my 3rd CS hurt because I was sterilised at the same time.

Take all the painkilling meds you can. Rest all you can. I dont know if the advice is the same but it used to be that you shouldnt be lifting anything heavier than a cup of tea.

And look forward to a period free life. Once my periods stopped my iron levels recovered naturally quite quickly. I couldnt believe how much more alive I felt.

I am thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery.

I was about 44 when this started happening to me- it was horrendous and every day at work I'd be checking I wasnt bleeding through my trousers etc.

After an ultrasound they found my uterus was enlarged due to various sized fibroids. I ended up being put on a waiting list for a hysterectomy which I had at the beginning of this year. It has transformed my life. I have energy back, I am back running (I was also anaemic before and felt like a shell of myself), my Garmin watch shows all my measurements are getting better (eg HRV has gone from low 20s to 70) and my sleep has improved massively. Having it out was the best thing I ever did and having no more periods is bliss. Push for an ultrasound and ask for a referral to a consultant gynaecologist

I’m so glad you’re home OP. Just focus on resting your body for now - it isn’t selfish to do that. And I mean this kindly - don’t be a martyr. You should accept from people and let them care for you. Your body and mind have gone through a huge ordeal.

Try to keep on top of the painkillers - they really do have an impact but sometimes need time to build up. Have you been given a combined approach?

I am taking multiple medications currently and have downloaded an app (Medisafe) to keep me on track. It beeps with reminders at the right time and has info on any combination issues. I can tick off when I take my meds so I don’t forget!

Have you got support from your family?

I've got paracetamol, ibuprofen and dihydrocodeine with permission for oramorph if needed. I'm currently just jotting down what I'm taking in a notebook but the app sounds great. I don't like feeling so bloody helpless. I've tried to empty the dishwasher and clean surfaces today but dh moaned at me so I'm back in bed. I can't sit around doing nothing but even small things seem exhausting.

DH is here today and going to get our eldest from university tomorrow so I'll be alone for a day but then they'll both be back to help out. I haven't told my parents anything because I don't want to worry them. My dad has dementia and it wouldn't be easy for him to process. I also prefer people not to know.

My consultant gynaecologist removed my uterus and dozens of huge fibroids on Friday @movemountains !

So glad you’re at home now@ShowOfHands

I second that med app, I used to use it when I was on lots of different meds for my other conditions but ended up just on a couple so stopped using it then but it was so handy to keep track of things when I had so many.

Like I said before, be kind to yourself. It’s a huge thing to come to terms with and I was the same with randomly crying afterwards too. I even had the “why did I go through this” tears despite the fact it would have been much worse for me not to do so.

Because you’ve got the bigger incision definitely take it super easy, I had a chair beside my bed to lean on when I was trying to get up and I borrowed my mum’s walking stick to get up from the sofa, as well as avoiding lifting I found that I couldn’t open patio doors because of the weight of them. If you have a grabber to get things from the floor then that will be a huge help too (I didn’t have one at first and I think I said before how many times I cried at dropping things 🙈).

Hoping for a good recovery for you and hope you’re on top of the pain now as well.

Your body has been being assaulted for literally years and now you've had a major organ removed. If someone told you they had had a lung removed you wouldn't think they should be emptying the dishwasher a couple of days later! I think for the sake of your long term health you really need to give your body a chance to rest.

If you're someone who struggles to do nothing could you think of something you could do from bed to keep you occupied for a bit?

Maybe find a really addictive TV series, or start an audiobook of War and Peace or whatever book you've been meaning to read forever but haven't. Or get a jigsaw puzzle, or learn to do cryptic crosswords, or learn to crochet. I totally get you may be too fried for most of those but they might be an option in a few days when you have slept more etc etc.

Maybe give audiobooks a try? I like them when I'm having a bad day and don't have the energy to do anything much.

I'm very much enjoying Dungeon Crawler Carl at the moment!

You absolutely can and must sit around doing nothing. Your body is recovering, healing and working very hard to do that.
Trying to push on will only delay that and your recovery time will be longer.

Sorry to sound stern but this really is what's needed. As a HCP i find we simply don't emphasise the importance of convalescence enough these days and health problems can become chronic as a result.