Spotting constantly

[heya]

Hey all,

I went to my GP recently and I'm just frustrated/worried.

I have a whole host of problems down there. I'm 33 and spotted last month's cycle during ovulation. OK, that's fine and normal, but then I started spotting again this month during ovulation (pink/red/brown and gloopy) and now its daily (just one brown spot every day pretty much)... Although at the moment it seems to be ramping up again into more pink/red because I'm due on in about 4 days - again it's really not the usual for me :S.

I've had regular periods my whole life. When I was 18 they put me on the pill because my periods were so painful that a few times I almost went to A&E for help. Thankfully these days now that I've been off BC for about ten years they are not so painful.

To complicate matters, the minute I knew something was wrong, I went to my GP. I suffer with vestibuldoynia so I've never had a smear and though I'm married, honestly, never had penetrative sex. I've been back and forth about it. Been on a number of steroid creams. They didn't work, only caused me to develop cysts on my vulva. And just... Yeah. Very frustrated. The doctor said there is a very low risk of it being something like cervical cancer because of my situation but obviously she wants the gynae to have a good look at me and see what's going on. I have a wonderful supportive husband and I'm so grateful for his support / help.

Right now? I'm really worried I might be getting menopausal? Can that happen? Hubby has said he wants a baby which is going to be a big step for us in the next few years but I want to work towards anyway. I really want one too. The only other thing I can think of is that I am under a lot of stress as one of my parents has cancer and I've had a lot going on in my life right now. It's either that or it could be my SSRIs which I've been taking for over a year? I don't know.

I'm kind of at my wits end. I know I've done the right thing by going the Doctor immediately but it doesn't help that I'm in this cycle of anxiety and worrying about my fertility in particular (which seems daft as, well, it could potentially be something much worse!)

Thanks for reading :(. Does anyone have any experience with any of this? Has anyone here ever spotted for an ENTIRE cycle at my age and been OK?

I got lots of bleeding inbetween periods from about 36 and still have it. I'm mid 40s now and still no menopause so wasn't that. I got referred to gynae and they did a scan which found fibroids, and a hysteroscopy and fibroid removal. I still get the bleeding though one fibroid couldn't be removed. Fibroids are harmless almost always and uterine biopsy and smears all negative.

Its worth seeing gynae for a scan etc but the overwhelming majority of the time its harmless. I would also let doctor know you will be trying for a baby. I also bled a lot in pregnancy too for first three months (some large bleeds) but both babies fine so if you bleed then its often fine too.

Hi there,

Just to let you know, I’m 33 and am going through the same thing right now. Had an exam and swabs done last week, exam looked fine so am waiting for the results. Like you I’ve been under a lot of stress, so am hoping it’s that. Just wanted to let you know you’re not alone, hope it turns out to be benign (and in all likelihood it probably will be).

Hey both,

Thank you for the kind and helpful messages.

Unfortunately it also looks like I will be missing this month's period (or it will be severely delayed). Another thing that's never happened to me before.

Can't wait for appointments to shed some light on what's going on with my body!

No chance you could be pregnant?

No. None at all. I have vulval clinic for vestibulodynia as I cannot have intercourse :(.

Hey,

I thought I would give a small update for any other women going through this.

I saw the gynae this morning. He's quite convinced it's PCOS. I had some bloods drawn to check my hormones plus I'm booked in for a scan (which they are going to give a shot at considering my issues.)

I put on 10% of my body weight in the last 6 months through stress/comfort eating (which is a shame because I was on a diet and doing so well) so they think that along with my age has set off this cycle of irregular bleeding. My treatment for now is a diet along and they will reassess in 3 months to see if I'm still bleeding or not.

As an FYI, just for anyone going through the same thing, I did have my period (it was late, which I'm never late in my cycle) and I stopped bleeding only to get to ovulation this cycle and start spotting again.

Hope this helps anyone else.