Menopausal spotting

I'm 51 and have not had a period for about 2 years. Noticed slight spotting last night. Bright red in colour. I'm a little itchy too. Not noticed anything like this before. Up to date with smear tests. Have had cervical polyps and uterine fibroids before. Lost my husband to bowel cancer just over a year ago so am panicking about all sorts of possible cancers myself now.

Itching sounds like a possible infection, but best to get to the GP with this one as soon as possible.

Hiyer, I know it must be really terrifying to have this happen after 2 years of no periods, with the awful loss of your husband only a year ago its not surprising that you are jumping to a very worst case scenario. You will know that any post-menopausal bleeding does always need a check with the doctor and an assessement - BUT - the good news is that there are much much more common and more likely causes than 'C' (especially as you are not that far into menopause and only 51 years old, uterine cancer highest diagnosis incident rate is around the 75-80 age range). You can get thinning and inflammation of the vaginal tissues (would tie in with your itching), and the uterine tissues, caused by low oestrogen levels, which can cause spotting. Inflammation and thinning can of course course infection, so that is another possibility. You can also get polyps just about anywhere in the system - same result - spotting.

You don't mention if you are on any HRT or not, if you are on any HRT then endometrial hyperplasia can occur. This is when the womb lining gets too thick and because regular periods are not happening you can get non-menstrual 'break away' tissue and some bleeding.This would be determined with something like a transvaginal scan, where lining can be measured. Basically DON'T PANIC - easier said than done. It is surprisingly common to hear of this post-menopausal spotting happening (I was on a meno forum for quite a while) and for many of the reason I've listed above. Of course you will want to be cautious and see your GP (with a clear description of symptoms and bleeding amount etc), and they will probably want to be cautious also and I would expect they may want to run some checks and tests. You would be doing absolutely the right thing by seeking some medical help, but honestly there are many other causes before 'C'.

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Originally Posted by Carys

Hiyer, I know it must be really terrifying to have this happen after 2 years of no periods, with the awful loss of your husband only a year ago its not surprising that you are jumping to a very worst case scenario. You will know that any post-menopausal bleeding does always need a check with the doctor and an assessement - BUT - the good news is that there are much much more common and more likely causes than 'C' (especially as you are not that far into menopause and only 51 years old, uterine cancer highest diagnosis incident rate is around the 75-80 age range). You can get thinning and inflammation of the vaginal tissues (would tie in with your itching), and the uterine tissues, caused by low oestrogen levels, which can cause spotting. Inflammation and thinning can of course course infection, so that is another possibility. You can also get polyps just about anywhere in the system - same result - spotting.

You don't mention if you are on any HRT or not, if you are on any HRT then endometrial hyperplasia can occur. This is when the womb lining gets too thick and because regular periods are not happening you can get non-menstrual 'break away' tissue and some bleeding.This would be determined with something like a transvaginal scan, where lining can be measured. Basically DON'T PANIC - easier said than done. It is surprisingly common to hear of this post-menopausal spotting happening (I was on a meno forum for quite a while) and for many of the reason I've listed above. Of course you will want to be cautious and see your GP (with a clear description of symptoms and bleeding amount etc), and they will probably want to be cautious also and I would expect they may want to run some checks and tests. You would be doing absolutely the right thing by seeking some medical help, but honestly there are many other causes before 'C'.

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Thankyou for your response and understanding. I will try to stay calm and go and see my GP asap xxx

hello there...did you get yourself checked out ?