Anxiety about abnormal bleeding

[lucsnowe]

I wonder if anyone can help. A few weeks ago I posted to say I had had an unexpected bleed on day 23 of my cycle. I knew it wasn't my period as this was far too early and this was confirmed for me when my period started, just as I had expected, a week later. I did see the gp a few days after the bleed. She examined me and said the only odd thing was she could see lots of blood vessels coming through my cervix. She said this could just be because my period was due. Then two days later, my GP phoned saying that, having thought about what she saw, she would refer me to the hospital. I am now so worried and have made the mistake of googling abnormal bleeding. Does anyone on here have any knowledge or experience of uterine cancer? This is another health worry for me, after a huge amount of anxiety after a worrying mammogram. Thank God my breasts were ok. But now I'm really worried about this.

[GothMummy]

Hi - I dont have a referral date yet....

I do completely understand how worried you can be about abnormal bleeding. It is scary as we are always taught to go to a GP if we have abnormal mid cycle bleeding, and then we are frightened because we suspect the worst. However its very very common for non-scary issues as well and I have found that lots of people have similar issues even in my workplace.

My sister is 5 years older than me, she has bled every day for over a year now. She also has thickening of the womb lining, but she has not said much to me about what that means. She did tell me that she was incredibly tired because of it though.

Hmm, I think my periods have been longer (up to 14 days, was 10 days) for about a year now, but for the last 3 months I have had a full 14 day heavy period, followed by maybe up to 4 days of no bleeding at all, then 2 days spotting, then heavy bleeding again.

Im pretty fed up as I wanted it all to be fixed before the school summer holidays, I have a term time contract so am not at work then and wanted to enjoy the time!

I think you probably need to record your bleeding to show your consultant or even your GP. That is what I have been asked to do. I hope things settle down for you.

[lucsnowe]

Hi gothmummy, thank you, again, for your message. What are your sister's problems? She must be in some distress to want a hysterectomy? Your flooding sounds stressful. Are there points of the month when you are not spotting or bleeding at all? How long has it been going on for? I have my hospital appointment through for 4th August. I know that isn't so far away, but i wish it were sooner. My bleeding has started again, day 25 of my cycle. It is not heavy, but definitely there. What kind of bleeding would you expect from fibroids? This has all become a bit of an obsession for me because I keep fearing the worst and getting frustrated because I feel time is being lost. Then I try to convince myself all will be well. Then I think I am becoming complacent. It is a nightmare. Let me know what your gynaecologist says to you. When will you be seen?

[GothMummy]

Hi there
I have discovered that consultants and GPs and other practitioners may have different opinions on what constitutes "normal" but if your consultant said that your uterus was a normal size, I would stick with what she/he thinks, as they will be seeing a lot more "abnormal" wombs than your GP and have a better frame of reference.

Im certain that your GP knows about the 2 week referral if cancer is suspected. I am certain that is absolutely drummed into them. Please dont worry about that.

My mid cycle bleeding now is nothing like the bleeding that I had when I had low progesterone (where I would start spotting for the full week before my period was due). Sadly this bleeding has been like a heavy flooding period, but stop/start rather than consistently like a period flow. With extra fun days of spotting thrown in between!

My mother had a biopsy of the womb lining for irregular bleeding a few years ago, (she was fine) and my sister (who is 40) is asking for a hysterectomy because of similar issues. It seems that in my family we have very uncooperative wombs!

I hope you are OK.

[lucsnowe]

Hi gothmummy, thank you for the advice and further detail about your experiences. It is also helpful to learn what the scan could involve. I have also had 2 children so surely that could account for the slightly enlarged uterus in my case too? Were you also worried about uterine cancer when you had your scan? You sound so sympathetic! What do you know about the disease? When the consultant examined me in june, he said that my uterus felt normal. So I wonder whether it has actually changed since June or if the gp was not taking into account two pregnancies. Yes I did know about the nice guidelines but I am not sure my gp does as she is new. As for your situation, apparaently bleeds can happen for no apparent reason. But if you were previously low on progesterone, could that not be exactly why you have had erratic bleeding? I think bleeding occurs when progesterone dips.

[GothMummy]

Oh, no, sorry I forgot to say, I have not had any hormonal level blood tests recently. Previously I was low on progesterone but that was when I was trying to conceive some years ago. I assume I will get those kind of tests when my referral to gynea comes through.

[GothMummy]

A likely reason for a slightly bulky uterus is fibroids, which would also cause irregular bleeding and heavy bleeding with clots. There are other things that could cause it but I would not worry at this stage.... try not to anyway.
If it re-assures you at all, I got a letter with my last scan appointment that explained scan waiting times/referral waiting times and it said that if cancer was suspected then the patient would have a scan within 2 weeks. I assume this is a national policy and not just in my area, I think it was the NICE guidelines. How many weeks have you got to wait?

Actually, my scan report said that my uterus was bulky, (which scared me because the ultrasound technician mentioned it during the scan) but my GP said that was normal for someone who had had two children!

Just as a "heads up" I had to have a trans-vaginal scan, and it was quite uncomfortable as they moved it around to get a good view of everything, and it made me bleed :( So go prepared with wipes/pad etc.

Don't know if that was a particularly rubbish technician though, as I have had had several internal scans before and they have never made me bleed or been uncomfortable before.

Good luck. Fibroids are very common my GP said!

[lucsnowe]

Thank you for telling me about your experience, gothmummy. You must be reassured that nothing has been found? i dont think all hormonal disturbances necessarily indicate menopause. Have you had tests for that? I have just seen my gp. She is referring me for an ultrasound scan and was generally reassuring, telling me not to worry etc, that uterine cancer is rare in someone my age (41). However, she felt my ovaries and uterus. She said that while the ovaries felt fine, the uterus is slightly swollen, which could indicate fibroids. I didn't really gather whether it could also indicate uterine cancer. What else could I expect from fibroids? The gp said that the ultrasound appointment would be in a few weeks. I don't know if I can wait that long, I feel so anxious. But I can't afford to go privately. At least the bleeding has slowed down today, though. I thought it never would.

[GothMummy]

Well....this month I started bleeding again a few days after my period ended. But its been quite erratic. I have had a transvaginal scan, internal exam and the GP has now put me on the mini pill to try to regulate everything. If things dont settle in a couple of months she will refer me. In my case i have a gut feeling its early menpause, my mum was just the same. But its still worrying isnt it.

I hope your appointment goes well

[lucsnowe]

Thank you goth mummy, for your reassurance. I am seeing the gp tomorrow. Did your bleeds (that were not periods) happen at particular points of your cycle? And how long and how heavy were they? Have they just stopped any investigations?

[GothMummy]

Im sure you are ok, i am having similar issues myself with irregular bleeding and erratic heavy periods, its hard not to worry. My scans have all come back fine so am assuming its hormonal in my case. Im 36 but i know that is not too young for menopause.

I think you should go back to your GP if you are worried.

[lucsnowe]

Thank you goth mummy. I have had ovulation bleeds before too, but they have been lighter than this. I am also certain that I ovulated about 5 days ago. But thanks for the suggestion.

[GothMummy]

When i was younger, i used to get a little bleed on my day of ovulation, could that be what is happening to you?

[lucsnowe]

Thank you, again, to everyone for your input about this. I did not take further action, despite the advice of many. I received a letter from the consultant confirming that he found nothing wrong when he did the cervical examination. Then I had a normal cycle and put the whole thing to the back of my mind. However, today, day 19, I have had another bleed. So I wish I had insisted on the ultrasound and am really worried again. I am seeing my GP on Monday about something else, so will of course ask to be referred again. In the mean time, can anyone offer any advice or insights?

[InSpaceNooneCanHearYouScream]

One single episode of bleeding doesn't warrant an ultrasound. A consultant won't do an unnecessary ultrasound just to reassure a patient, quite rightly. IF you continue to have the problem, THEN have more investigations. Just be reassured- consultants know what they're doing.

[Tholeonagain]

Hi mine sent me for an ultrasound as I am over 40 and had a couple of months of abnormal bleeding, I think yours should do the same.

[isitnearlytime]

very surprised they didn't do ultrasound, it was the first thing my gp referred me for after ruling out infection and checking smears were up to date. It's a very quick and presumably inexpensive procedure. Mine showed fibroids. Definitely go back to gp and insist you're referred for one. My gp referred me, not gynae, and appointment was within 3 weeks.

[NCFTTB]

Might be worth a try? It depends what your GP is like I expect? In my experience they take any unexplained bleeding very seriously as there are so many things it could be (mostly fairly minor and easily treated) from an infection to cancer so a trip to gynae and tests are the only way they can determine what's wrong.

[lucsnowe]

Thank you meg and NCFTTB. Yes, meg, it is frustrating as I felt I made myself as clear as possible, but he still refused. NCFTTB, do you think I should just ask to be re-referred anyway, before waiting for more bleeding?

[NCFTTB]

Yes, definitely go back to the GP if needed and ask to be re-referred.

[MegGriffin]

It's a shame he didn't do an ultrasound as i'm sure they could have done it there and then. However it is reassuring what he has told you. I guess if you have any more bleeding go straight back to the gp as suggested by the consultant. It is frustrating as there is not much else you can do.

[lucsnowe]

Thank you to everyone on here who has commented and supported me. I had my appointment at the hospital today. The doctor examined my cervix with a camera and said all was ok, which I am very pleased about. However, as I have said here and as I made clear to him, my real anxiety is that I could have uterine or ovarian cancer. The doctor dismissed these possibilities saying they were very unlikely and only if I continued to bleed abnormally would he consider doing an ultrasound examination of my uterus and ovaries. So while I am partially reassured, I still have a fear and anxiety at the back of my mind. It seems to me that once I was in the hospital it would have been sensible to do the ultrasound examination, which is surely not expensive. He did not even take a cervical smear. Whilst I am encouraged that the doctor was not worried, I am wondering whether he might have missed something and that time is passing when action should be taken. I did make clear I would like the ultrasound examination, but he just refused. I wonder what other people think?

[BubaMarra]

Sorry OP to come back a bit late to this thread. Yes, I think hormonal bleeding can be followed by normal menstrual bleeding. There are no rules and as mentioned before it could be a sign of perimenopause.

[skinnyamericano]

I think it is also a fairly common symptom of peri-menopause (hope that doesn't upset you!!)....but definitely better to get checked out. I have had similar and had smear, ultrasounds etc. GPs tend to refer quickly for this as it is fairly easy and cheap to have a quick ultrasound.

[MegGriffin]

She did wonder about cervical erosion but said when she looked it looked healthy. I am up to date with my smears, due next year I think so I have not been offered another smear. I have a history of endometriosis but have jever had abnornal bleeding as a symptomcof that in the past.

[lucsnowe]

Meg, thank you for your message and thank you for describing the bleeding. I will look up your other thread. Did anyone suggest that your bleeding could be cervical erosion? I do hope the hysteroscopy goes smoothly.