Thicking off the womb results

[ch145]

Hi everyone

I recently had a bleed, I'm 56 this year and on HRT. the dr told me to come in and she would check over and she said everything looked and seem fine but would send me for a ultrasound to see what causes the bleed, my smears have came back normal. My ultrasound showed thickening of the womb. So she is referring me on to gynaecology.
Has this happened to anyone else?

Which progesterone are you on?

Yes, mine was due to incorrect prescription - oestrogen gel & pessaries but no progesterone, & I have the implant.

A different doctor spotted the error and corrected medication to patches, but sent me for ultrasound as too much oestrogen can cause thickening of uterus lining and have a risk of cancer

Lining was very thick so I had to have a hysterectomy & biopsy. (Which is a separate, long, hideous story)

Thankfully biopsy was clear, but have got fibroids which 'should hopefully disintegrate during menopause' apparently

Hope the scan goes well, it does give you peace of mind

The very same happened to me OP.

I had the ultrasound and my lining measured way thicker that it should be. I just had a D&C to remove the lining and I'm waiting for the results.

Diagnosed with hyperplasia, but don't know the degree as yet until results come back.

I went off my hrt patch immediately as a precaution. It's caused by high estrogen and low progesterone.

I have to say that I can see my ankles for the first time in a while. This must have been from excess estrogen. I am also already a lot less bloated than I have been.

I hope you get your appointment through before too long.

I had my bloods done yesterday, it was Ca125 & I feel so sick with worry. I shouldn't of googled it. They said it will take a week to come back. So worried

Not on hrt but it happened to me.

I hadn’t had periods for a while following breast cancer, but had a bleed, so went to gp and got referred to a consultant and tests. The results showed thickening of the womb. They said had a higher chance of womb cancer (because of breast cancer link?) .

I gad three options going forwards - hrt, regular hysteroscopies (to monitor situation) , or hysterectomy.

Couldn’t have hrt due to the type of breast cancer I had. I started with regular hysteroscopy, but found the only way I could have them was under general anaesthetic, so opted for a hysterectomy, as I felt this was the safest (and least hassle) option.

I was told I had thickening from ultrasound. Went for hysteroscopy where I was told it was not thickened. For me the ultrasound was showing the top of a bicornuate uterus.

Did you get your bloods took? Ca125?

Try not to worry, OP, it's quite a common check. I've had it (all fine) and know others who have (all fine). In my experience the NHS jumps on any unusual bleeding post menopause age and puts you on a possible cancer pathway before you can catch your breath! A bit scary while you're waiting but they're just following the pathway. Hopefully it will be nothing to worry about and maybe just a procedure to thin the womb lining and an adjustment to the hrt.

Despite what they’ll tell you(!) it seems incredibly common to me. My sister and I and at least half of my friends have had exactly the same bleeding and gynae escalation thereafter 6-12 months after starting HRT. Most of us were offered a biopsy or hysteroscopy on the two week pathway as a thickened endometrium in a post menopausal woman can suggest / increase risk of endometrial cancer I believe. All of us without exception were fine.

After this experience, half of my group stopped HRT outright and the other half continued with HRT and had an IUD fitted to deliver progesterone ( I think) locally as most efficient way to minimise risk of a thickening endometrium. Choices were made depending on each woman’s personal tolerance for being a longterm gynaecology patient (low in my case!) and comfort/ discomfort at having foreign object (IUD) in body as weighed up against loss of HRT’s many benefits. It’s a hard call.

Did yous have to get the blood work done too?

I had my ultrasound done for my pelvis and all they said was the womb was thick, nothing about the ovaries

Do you struggle with health anxiety generally, OP, or is this in particular worrying you? I would suggest no more googling if you can stop yourself, you'll only read about the worst possible outcome. Is there anything you can distract yourself with until you get your results?

It's just this. I was moved on to hrt and ever since that it's been thr worst now this has happened. Just worried as never happened before

I hope you can take some reassurance from all of us here who have had the same tests and everything has been fine. It's much more common than you might think

Thank you so much. I had made me feel a bit better. Why is it we always this the worst

The risks of anything being wrong when you're on HRT are very small @ch145
Post meno bleeds are more serious potentially for women not on HRT.

The C125 test is used for ovarian issues but it's also very inaccurate.
I assume they were doing it as a 'routine' test.

If anything like this happens again, don't be afraid to ask your GP or the medical staff why they are doing it.

No one should be ordering tests for you of any kind without a thorough explanation of what they're looking for, and the reassurance that all are unlikely but just to tick all the boxes.

I think it's human nature to fear the worst, it's as though it helps us prepare and cope better but in fact we just get scared and upset about things that usually don't happen! Distract yourself as much as you can and tell yourself the reassurances you would give to a friend if they were scared. And let us know how you get on.

Thank you all, I most definitely will let yous know how I get on.

Yous both have really made me feel more at ease. Maybe will get a better night sleep 🥰

No I don’t think so. It’s a worry when these things come up. I hope you get some answers soon.

I hope you did @ch145

I posted earlier as I am in the same situation as you. I had a d&c and the lining was removed and sent for testing. I got the results yesterday and thankfully nothing abnormal was found. But it will be checked again in 6 months.

I have decided to stay off of HRT for now. It is an imbalance that can be the cause of the thickening, and I actually feel okay not on anything at the moment. I suppose the only way to know if you do need to be on, is to come off and just see.

I did not have the blood test done that you are referring to.

I hope you get some answers soon.

Aw that's great news @Highlighta

I'm hoping it's all ok. It's seems to be very common

I went into the drs. So my womb is at 6.2mm. I honestly thought it was going be higher

Anything above 4mm will be investigated.

I hope the Dr was able to talk you through what the next steps are for you.

If you're on sequential HRT the guidance is totally different. It can be as high as 10mm depending on the time of the cycle.

It's also quite hard to get an accurate measurement as this depends on the skill of the person doing the scan. It can easily be 'out' by 1 mm.

The problem is that the person doing the scan doesn't have the experience (usually) to make a judgement. It's then being passed on to a dr who can only see the figures, but didn't do the scan.

If the person scanning is very experienced (a gynaecologist) they can often tell from the images if anything is wrong. They don't just rely on the measurement.

Try not to worry OP. The risks are very very low when using continuous HRT. (assuming you are?)

I'm in your position @ch145 and I know how worrying it is, but I am reassured by others that it is unlikely to be cancer. I am booked in for a hysterscopy and biopsy next week. I really don't want an IUD fitted or to come off HRT altogether as it's been life changing for me. I'll have to see what the outcome is first.