I am very scared

[southlondonlass]

Hello lovely ladies. I am really scared I have had a small about of bleeding mid month I had a scan and it showed several fibroids they largest being 39 mm the ultrasound lady said there was fibroids and ovaries looked fine
I took the report to a gynaecologist privately we said vaginal ultrasounds are useless and has sent me for blood tests and a MRI scan. He said he can feel the fibroids by pressing my tummy. I am so scared xx

Anyone please x

Hey, try not to worry. I am an ex gynae nurse and fibroids are really really common, and can often cause mid cycle bleeding. They don't always even treat them just "watch and wait", and first line treatment is usually medication. Often start to shrink after the menopause. Hope that alleviates some of your worry x

Thank you lovely gynaecologist nurse
Why would the gynaecologist say ultrasounds are useless and I need a MRI scan?
Also is a 39 mm fibroid large? I feel like he is over investigating because it is private x

I am 56 and still having periods x

I had fibroids discovered during a miscarriage 13 years ago. They were left alone and I had another baby and never thought bout them til last year when I had one removed but left one (trickier to remove). A few of my friends have fibroids too, some live with and some have them removed or hysterectomy.

Periods at 56!!!! Poor you.

Oh I had an Mri too after an ultrasound. Two different gynaes, one wanted an mri.

Thank you FickleTickle. He just scared me so much. He felt my tummy from the outside and said he could feel them and that just scares me even more x

Hi I'm 58 and had a large fibroid diagnosed about 10 years ago. Think its about 5cm. My Dr could feel it when she pressed on my tummy too.The Dr said it would stop growing and hopefully shrink when I hit the menopause. My periods stopped when i was 50 thank goodness.It's still there now but not growing anymore. It pressed on my bladder though which was annoying as I kept feeling like I needed a wee!
It doesn't seem to bother me now though so I've just forgotten about it.
It showed up on an mri I had for lower back pain a few years ago.
It doesn't cause me any discomfort now.
When it was first diagnosed it contributed to very heavy periods which left me aneamic.
I was a a bit shocked when I first found out and kept worrying it was something worse. However fibroids are very common.

Thank you frippery.
I did not realise you could feel them from the outside. He implied that 39 mm was very large and could be hiding something on the 'strip'. I am not too sure what he meant by that x

God if he thinks 39mm is large he better not examine me! One of mine is 6cm and I don't plan to have anything done in the short-term just leaving them be!

A little bit of me (I could be wrong) thinks he is over investigating because it is a private hospital. I know that make me a distrustful person but I thought an MRI was excessive x

@southlondonlass You keep posting here. Maybe you need more help re your anxiety?

I don't know who you saw privately but they don't sound very professional or clued up.

Who was it and where?

Transvaginal ultrasounds are extremely accurate in looking at the ovaries, cervix, womb and vagina. I have had several as I had an ovarian cyst.

A 39mm fibroid is 4cms- just over an inch.

I've had one that size for over 10 years and it's not an issue. My private gynae knows about it.

I think you need to calm down and if you are paying for these tests, stop! If you have had a vaginal ultrasound and all is okay, leave it like that.

@southlondonlass 39mm is tiny. Friend of mine had one the size of a grapefruit.

He sounds as if he is playing on your anxiety. Really don't like the sound of it all.

Thank you for your comment. I actually totally agree with you I do need some help for anxiety. For obvious reasons I don't want to post his name but he is a consultant gynaecologist at a major well known hospital. I was rather surprised on his comment on ultrasounds and I do feel it is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut x

I've got a 10cm fibroid. It hasn't caused me any issues and was only found in pregnancy scans.

Thank you inwood I am glad yours did not cause you any issues.
Does anyone know what he would have meant by the fibroids by be hiding the thickness of the 'strip' I was too upset to ask him x

I think by 'strip' (sometimes called a stripe) is a thickness in the endometrium- the lining of your womb.

If there is a concern about the lining being too thick or uneven, you need a hysteroscopy with biopsy. This is usually done as an out patient procedure taking around 20 minutes. Some women have an anaethestic.

I think the issue is that you had a scan somewhere and took the results to this gynae.

The reading of a scan is a very skilled job and should be done by a radiologist, ideally.

If you went to a walk-in scanning centre on a High Street (the sort where they scan pregnant women) that is not necessarily the best way to be scanned.

Sorry if I am assuming and the scan was done by a consultant and looked at by a consultant.

Basically, if you are worried about the bleeding, your GP needs to refer you for another TV scan. Go back to your GP and talk this through and if they are not interested see a different GP.

I had been going to add that I got the Mri (i believe) because I am a private patient but thought that sounded cynical!

Why don't you ring him tomorrow and leave those questions for him if he's not available.

@southlondonlass I'm sorry but I've lost track of the timescale and investigations you have had because you have posted on 3 different threads about this.
Maybe if you start again here, we can help?

The normal process with erratic bleeding at 56(presumably still not post menopause) is:

1 See GP. They refer you under the 2-week rule for a scan and usually a hysteroscopy with a consultant.

OR
2 A scan and if all looks normal they might not do a hysteroscopy.

I think you said in a previous thread you'd had a scan (not sure when?) and it was normal.

Have you now had another scan privately? Who did this? Did you self refer to a gynaecologist who set this up, or did you go to a 'walk in' scanning centre?

If it was the latter, who looked at the scan and what did they say? Is there a written report?

I think your best step is to go back to your GP, express your worries and ask for another scan (if you want to go privately your GP will refer you.)

If this consultant you saw who is suggesting an MRI is being ethical, they ought not to be suggesting treatment you don't need.

An mri scan is not part of investigations for odd bleeding. The normal process is a hysteroscopy.

To recap I had a normal scan twelve months ago all okay some small fibroids
Monday I had a scan in a walk in place. I did my research the sonographer is an advanced sonographer working for the NHS .
She said all looked okay
Because of my anxiety I took the scan to a gynaecologist and he suggested an MRI
Hope this helps to clarify x

You really need a radiologist to do and read the scan, not a sonographer. The types of people who work in these walk-in centres are not specialists, whether they work for the NHS or not.

Why aren't you going back to your GP who should set up a scan on the NHS- it's been a year since your last one so it's reasonable to do it again.

OR if your bleeding is not cyclic (and not a period) you need to tell your GP that and he/she will arrange a fast track hysteroscopy. A hysteroscopy is the recommended investigation.

However, if your bleeds are monthly and seem like a period, it is probably just a late menopause.

You are making it all more complicated than it needs to be.

Go back to your GP.