Help me understand my options re bleeding between periods?

[raspberrymuffin]

This post comes from me having woken up at 3.30am convinced I have some sort of cancer or am infertile, so apologies in advance for the length.

I'm 34. BMI 28 if that makes a difference. No kids. Generally pretty healthy other than being overweight and I don't have a history of being particularly anxious about my health.

18 months ago I went to the GP about the fact that I get bleeding between periods. We had a chat about it which covered the fact that I'd had a smear about a year previously and it had come back fine, she asked if I thought it might be happening around ovulation and I thought that might be the case. She concluded it was probably nothing to worry about but if it bothered me I could try some sort of hormonal contraception. I said we were about to start TTC and wasnt bothered about it so long as it wasn't something I actually needed to worry about, she typed up some notes which looked from a distance like they included the word PCOS (though we'd never discussed this) and told me to take folic acid, and we left it at that.

Last summer we started TTC. I started paying attention to my cycle and concluded that yes the random bleeding does coincide with ovulation as does the random twinge in the area I imagine my ovaries probably are. Ok, fine. 7 months in I'm not pregnant and the ovulation bleeding and twinges continue. I think the twinges might be getting worse, but maybe I'm just hyper conscious of them due to TTC? They were pretty intense at 3.30 this morning anyway.

Since my GP visit Doctor Google has told me that bleeding between periods is a symptom of ovarian cancer and that ovarian cancer wouldn't be picked up on a cervical screen. I'm starting to get worried but if I go back to the GP now I feel like I'm wasting their time in a pandemic, that they'll think I'm just trying to skip the queue on infertility stuff, and that they'll tell me my only option is to go on hormonal birth control and also lose some weight and see if that stops it before they'll consider investigating anything else. I'll be 35 in a couple of months and DH is 42, I don't think we have time to be messing about with contraception.

Should I be worried? Are my options here either a) I suck it up and hope there's nothing seriously wrong or b) I wreck my chances of getting pregnant any time soon in order to get this looked at properly?

FWIW I lost an aunt to cancer a few years ago because her GP fobbed her off until it was too late so if I'm being overly mistrustful of my GP that's why.

I had bleeding around ovulation like this (plus sometimes bleeding after sex) and it turned out I had cervical ectropian (used to be called "eroded" cervix) which, I was told, is incredibly common in women around their 30s and not anything sinister.

To diagnose, a quick trip to the doctors who confirmed by taking a look with a speculum who then referred me to Gynae team at the hospital. Within 4wks of seeing the doctor, I saw Gynae and had silver nitrate applied to my cervix (not painful at all, just some odd discharge for a few weeks after).

Step away from Dr Google and try and get an appointment with your GP (or even a nurse/sexual health clinic as sometimes they're easier to get an appointment and see more of this type of thing).

I had this at about the same age as you OP. Nobody ever mentioned ovarian cancer, and although I puzzled over it, I didn't worry about it too much. I did get it investigated, but, other than saying that there didn't seem to be anything to worry about, no explanation was found.

Times have changed and and no doubt investigations & explanations are better these days.

Like most women, my periods changed over time anyway, and eventually I stopped bleeding in between.

Hmm. I have recently started bleeding between periods. Not normal for me, although it does seem to coincide with when I am probably ovulating.

I have been referred to gynaecology. However I phoned them last week to chase the appointment and apparently the earliest I will be seen is August. I need to phone again in one month.

I am a bit older- early 40s and wondering if this is the start of perimenopause. My periods are now really painful.

However I would book a GP appointment, at least then they can reassure you. Start the process off.

Good luck

I have this, started 18m after last smear so 18m before next one due. No exam but had quick scan of web and didn’t show any fibroids so no one was least bit interested. I was offered coil but was told could help or could make it worse.

Like you am concerned as over swear by 6m but guess with covid is delay in call ups. Would feel better once it’s been least had a glance at to check anything obvious going on.

womb not web and smear not swear

Thanks everyone. Seems no decisive answer, which I suppose is...comforting? I'm going to try ovulation test strips next cycle and see if that tells me anything useful. My small rural GP is overwhelmed with vaccinations at the moment and I can't bring myself to take up their time with this yet.

Honestly bleeding between periods should always be investigated so yes I would be bothering your GP and asking for a referral.

I had a similar thing happen but it ended up being down to massive amounts of stress and my PCOS. There is a 3rd option for you - you and your partner TTC whilst at the same time going to the Dr to sort out some examinations/tests that don't involve contraceptives to see what is happening? If it's really worrying you and you feel like your GP isn't being very helpful, you can ask to see someone else. Might be worth a think, its a bit of the best of both worlds.

I'm 38 and I started having a bit of mid-cycle bleeding about a year ago. First thing GP checked was whether or not I'd had a smear recently (I had). She then did some tests for infections and some blood tests to check thyroid. All that came back normal and I forgot about it for a while but it was still happening. So I went back and she examined my cervix and found a small ectropion (?) which she thought might be the cause of the bleeding. She also agreed to refer me for a pelvic scan (ovaries, uterus) to check if there might be any cysts, fibroids, polyps causing it. She did warn me that the waiting list for non-urgent gynae referrals is long!

In the meaning I began to panic about the ectropion, convinced myself I needed a second opinion (I have horrendous health anxiety). So I spent a bloody fortune on a private coloscopy and it was all fine and the Dr put some silver nitrate on the ectropion. However the mid-cycle spotting continued. Hey presto, last week I finally (after a five month wait) had my pelvic scan and they found nothing. Dr things the spotting/bleeding is hormonal.

So, if I were you, I would request a scan, just so that you know what is going on and can rule out anything benign that might be causing the bleeding. And try not to worry as I don't think bleeding is a common sign of ovarian cancer (obvs I'm not a doctor), but it's not one of the things that is listed on the NHS website as a symptom.

I have fibroids which can cause bleeding between periods and trouble conceiving.