Heavy periods, pelvic pain, menopause or something else? Ask a gynaecologist

[LibbyMumsnet]

Heavy or irregular periods that don’t feel normal? Pelvic pain you’ve just been putting up with? Questions about menopause, fibroids, endometriosis or PMOS? Or perhaps there’s something you’ve always wondered about but never quite got round to asking a doctor.

Over the next four weeks, specialists from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust will be joining us each week to answer your questions about gynaecology and women’s health.

You can ask about symptoms including abnormal bleeding, possible causes, tests and diagnostics, treatment options or anything else related to your gynaecological health. No question is too small, and you don’t need to know exactly what might be wrong before asking.

The experts are part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Specialist Care, which has recently launched a new private outpatient Women’s Health service at its Wimpole Street Consulting Rooms and Diagnostic Centre in central London. The consultant-led service covers both routine and more complex gynaecological conditions, with access to diagnostics, screening and related women’s health services across Guy’s and St Thomas’.

Post your question below and the specialists will answer a selection each week.

Everyone who posts a question by 8th November 2026 will also be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 voucher. T&Cs apply.

Experts

• Mr Ahmed Abdelbar - Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist
• Professor Deborah Bruce - Consultant gynaecologist
• Mr Azar Khunda - Consultant gynaecologist and subspecialist urogynaecologist

(more detail about the experts below)

About the experts
Mr Ahmed Abdelbar - Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist
Mr Ahmed Abdelbar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist with a sub-specialty in the early detection of gynaecological cancers and minimally invasive gynaecological surgery. He is an expert in complex open and keyhole surgery and has a special interest in advanced endometriosis and fibroids.
Ahmed has led on various quality improvement projects within the NHS with his latest project focusing on reducing the waiting list time for gynaecological surgery through innovative approaches in surgical planning.
Ahmed is dedicated to advancing women’s health and offering the highest standards of personalised care to every patient.

Professor Deborah Bruce - Consultant gynaecologist
Professor Deborah Bruce is a consultant gynaecologist and nationally recognised menopause specialist, and senior medical educator with over 30 years’ experience across clinical practice, research, leadership, and undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.
She is the lead for menopause services at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and has developed rapid-access menopause clinics for NHS staff, specialist services for premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), oncology and complex HRT, and regional GP guidelines, significantly improving access and quality of care.

Mr Azar Khunda - Consultant gynaecologist and subspecialist urogynaecologist
Mr Azar Khunda is a leading consultant gynaecologist with subspeciality expertise in urogynaecology. He is the Clinical Lead for gynaecology at Guy’s and St Thomas’ where he runs a tertiary-level urogynaecology service.
Azar’s expertise includes treatment for a range of conditions including urinary disorders, bladder conditions, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse and menstrual disorders.
Azar has been an active member of the British Society of Urogynaecology (BSUG) since 2013. He has held a series of leadership roles within the Society, serving first as Chair of the Governance Committee, then as Honorary Secretary and later as Vice Chair. He is currently Chair of the British Society of Urogynaecology.

Hello and thank you for answering questions for us, I realise the waiting list for Gynae is one of the longest so we appreciate your time.

Am unsure what background is needed so sorry if this is too much:

1.5 years ago I had an internal ultrasound and they discovered x3 fibroids and noted my ovaries were "resting" on my retroverted uterus. There was some debate about whether the uterus had always been like that or if the c-section had caused it but my emergency section was 42 weeks +2 and was born 10Ib 1Oz. I always have to have smears up at the hospital as it is so retroverted it still takes half an hour to get to the cervix. I can feel it pressing on my bowel when I sit and have done for decades.

I had an eptopic pg in 2021 when a cyst that had been refused for operation despite pain, blocked the egg leaving the tube. I had laproscopy surgery after bleeding and they managed to keep the tube. They forgot to give me the IV drip after this (nurse realised just as I was about to leave) and I feel this triggered anemia which has only recently been resolved.

I started HRT a year ago and had a tricky smear about 8 months ago, where atrophy was noted and smear came back clear.

For the last 4 months my abdomen has visibly distended, is very painful and causing back issues that were intermittent before. I am struggling to sit without pain and am waddling when I walk. I feel sick when I eat - feel it is pushing my intestines up or maybe pressure on bowel...also get loose stool every morning.

I would really just like the whole uterus removed as everything that is disrupting my life is centered around it but no one seems to be in any rush to help while I am left in pain. I am already on HRT so would presumably just carry on with that and not cost NHS further for scans or smears or GP appointments. Can I opt for this with my history? I imagine it would take as long for this operation as another check on fibroids then and debate as to whether they can be removed and then a further wait if removal was approved, which I imagine would be around 2 years?
What would you advise?

I had an ovarian cyst - discovered when having ultrasounds of DC2 - It was drained, how would I know if it came back ? No pain the first time. TY

Is it normal to be on your period for 14 days? If not, what is the cause for the other bleeding?

This is from my dd (29) who isn't on here. Hopefully one of the professionals will be able to help her out as she not having much success at the moment

I have heavy periods that are often irregular in duration as well as when they start. I also struggle with depression and suicidal ideation for about two weeks prior to my period starting, and the whole thing aggravates the chronic pain condition I have (CRPS), making it challenging to do anything. After being on depo since 2018, I was taken off it due to developing osteopenia (the wheelchair use due to the CRPS probably contributed). Since my periods returned I am struggling with the same symptoms I struggled with before, but I now also get a tearing sensation horizontally in my pelvis, often when moving but it's somewhat unpredictable. It initially wasn't that painful, but now often leaves me doubled over in pain, unable to move while I wait for it to pass. I do take painkillers for my CRPS, and I wouldn't say it's as bad as the CRPS pain, but it is surprising. I now also have a general aching sensation in my pelvis pretty much constantly. My external ultrasound, urine test, and smear all came back clear (smears are painful for me, leading to days of pain even with the smallest speculum). My GP is getting a physio to check me out, in case of it being musculoskeletal, but otherwise I'm not too sure what else I can do.

I have just been diagnosed with a 7cm cyst on my right ovary and I also have fibroids. I have been referred to gynaecology.
How long should expect to wait?
What treatment should I expect?

I have had issues for a few years. I went on Desogestrel a few years ago as I had started with heavier more painful periods, I have been experiencing irregular bleeding on and off and have had digestion and bowel problems? Could the cyst and fibroids have caused this?

Since my transvaginal scan a couple of weeks ago I have now started to notice twinges and heaviness in my pelvis and aching in my hip.

We all have mammograms - do you think we also should have 3 or 5 yearly ultrasounds on ovaries and womb - if not why not ?

I’m in my early 40’s and recently had my periods change from a fairly regular (give or take a few days) 4 weekly to the last 2 being 3 weekly- is this normal at my age or something I should be seeing a dr about?

Good afternoon, I have experienced very heavy bleeding with clots for the past twenty years. These can last anywhere up to.three months and I soak through two incontinence pads within ten minutes when the flooding happens.

Over the years I've had the mirena coil, Tranexamic Acid, Norethisterone and the Depo injection. Norethisterone worked intermittently, but the bleeding and pain when I came off it was awful. I expelled the coil with the bleeding twice.

I've been diagnosed with Endometriosis. PCOS and Adenomyosis. I've also been diagnosed in the last few years with Endometrial Hyperplasia. The medication, Provera, caused severe bleeding which was even worse than usual and blood was tricking down my legs day and night despite using incontinence pads and tampons.

I've begged my gynaecologist for a hysterectomy as my quality of life is severely affected but he refused citing my BMI, however I've had many hysteroscopies and biopsies at this weight under general anaesthetic and recovered quickly.

I'm at my wits end and my mental health is a mess. My clothes and furniture is ruined from the constant flooding and leaking and I can't tell you how many times I've bled onto my chair at work.

I've read about other overweight women getting a hysterectomy. Is it a possibility I can get one at this size? I'm 5 foot 6 inches and 22 stone.

I had a TV uss for heavier than usual heavy periods (days 1+2 I cannot leave the house) and a cervical polyp was found. There is a history of painful examinations so I declined it to be removed in a community gynae clinic, I would prefer a GA but this has been declined. Obviously with my other symptoms I’m concerned about the risk of cancer. All I’ve been offered is repeat scans and the POP which I’m not keen on due to risk of adverse bleeding and mood swings.
I then passed a large flesh clot (def not blood) could this the polyp? What are my next steps? can I ask to be referred to an acute hospital gynae dept instead?

thank you