Cervical and uterine pain and symptoms

[HKD1986]

I’ve had really bad HA for 2 months now. Convinced I have cervical cancer! So just like you. Occasional pelvic pain which I think could be stress related IBS as have loose stools every morning when my anxiety is at it’s worse. My last 2 periods have had really bad cramps (I have always had cramps but they seem worse since my anxiety has been bad) but they also seem light in that I’m not getting much blood on my pad. When I wee I get lots come out but not really heavy or any heavier than normal. Currently waiting on my smear results from last week. Hoping and praying they come back normal and my anxiety may subside a bit.

I hate doctors, terrified they are going to tell me something bad. I had a stillbirth at full term 12 years ago and I have a feeling it’s all stemmed from that, convinced I’m going to be told something bad.

---------- Post added at 16:20 ---------- Previous post was at 16:18 ----------

Can anxiety and stress affect your periods/pain?

---------- Post added at 16:48 ---------- Previous post was at 16:20 ----------

I’ve also come to think of it dropped 1st 8lbs in weight since January through diet and a lot of exercise. Could this be another reason for strange periods?

[Speranza]

Yes anxiety can. Yes, weight loss can affect periods if you go below your ideal weight.

So sorry for that awful loss. xxx

[O_O]

I’ve had really bad HA for 2 months now. Convinced I have cervical cancer! So just like you. Occasional pelvic pain which I think could be stress related IBS as have loose stools every morning when my anxiety is at it’s worse. My last 2 periods have had really bad cramps (I have always had cramps but they seem worse since my anxiety has been bad) but they also seem light in that I’m not getting much blood on my pad. When I wee I get lots come out but not really heavy or any heavier than normal. Currently waiting on my smear results from last week. Hoping and praying they come back normal and my anxiety may subside a bit.

I hate doctors, terrified they are going to tell me something bad. I had a stillbirth at full term 12 years ago and I have a feeling it’s all stemmed from that, convinced I’m going to be told something bad.

---------- Post added at 16:20 ---------- Previous post was at 16:18 ----------

Can anxiety and stress affect your periods/pain?

---------- Post added at 16:48 ---------- Previous post was at 16:20 ----------

I’ve also come to think of it dropped 1st 8lbs in weight since January through diet and a lot of exercise. Could this be another reason for strange periods?

I'm so sorry to hear of your stillbirth. How absolutely awful for you. No wonder you have anxiety around gynaecological issues. Have you other children?

Anxiety and weight loss can definitely affect menstrual cycles and even stop your periods all together. It's a defense mechanism, really, because your body knows that it's probably not a good idea to bring children into the world during times of high stress or lack of food! Reduced blood flow isn't a sign of cervical cancer, though. If anything, you'd be bleeding more. I hope your results come back clear - I'm sure they will.

In other news, I've found out the cause of my and my mother's miscarriages. It's not the balanced translocation, which is good because that's not really treatable. But I do have a C677T heterozygous mutation of the MTHRH gene! It's good that it's heterozygous rather than homozygous as that means it's less severe. But basically my body can't metabolise folic acid which is very important for foetal health. It can also cause blood clotting. I was diligently taking folic acid supplements during my pregnancy, not knowing that it was just building up in my body and doing my baby no good at all! Instead, I need to take high levels of folate, rather than folic acid, and possibly also a blood thinner. With these precautions I should hopefully be able to have a normal pregnancy.

Although I'd rather have nothing wrong with me, I'm glad that my problem isn't terrible and should be treatable. At least I know the cause and can try to fix it. I will be having a phone consultation with Mrs Pisal to discuss what I should do.

Worth the £900.

[Speranza]

How wonderful you have finally found out something.

[O_O]

Thanks! I find it hard to believe that this is the only cause of my and my mother's miscarriages as it seems like too easy a fix. But it's a start, anyway. I'm going to have my blood folate levels checked and then if they're low start on methylfolate supplements.

I still think there's something more insidious at play, but that could be paranoia. I might see if I can get my hormone levels checked too as perhaps my progesterone / oestrogen balance is a bit off.

[pulisa]

Leave it there, Jenny. You know it makes sense. Don't go down that rocky road of personal triggers.

[O_O]

I had a blood test for folic acid and B12. I was a little uncertain whether this was the right blood test to have as, since I'm not good at metabolising folic acid, could I have high folic acid levels but low folate?

The results came back normal. Apparently they said 'folate' so I guess they did check for the right thing rather than folic acid.

I was hoping they would be low to be honest. That would have been something I could fix. I'm at a bit of a loss now. If folate isn't the problem, what caused my miscarriages and all my mother's?

Since there is nothing to fix, the thought of becoming pregnant ever again is almost too scary to think about.

My only other thought is that it could be hormonal. Checking my hormone levels is a simple thing. I could do that if I ever started thinking about getting pregnant again.

Anyway, overall I'm doing ok. Since I am now more depressed than anxious, working is actually helping. It distracts me and gives me purpose. I find this mild depression much easier to battle than the absolutely debilitating anxiety. I'm also getting to the gym on a fairly regular basis.

Hope everyone else is doing ok!

[O_O]

I had a really useful telephone conversation with Mrs Pisal the gynaecologist yesterday. She kind of confirmed what I was thinking. She said the folic acid test was pointless as the only important thing is methylfolate and there is no way of checking for that. However, given my gene mutation I almost certainly am deficient and should start on 5mg methylfolate a day for life. She said it may have been the cause of mine and my mother's miscarriages, or it may not.

She said that considering I sometimes bleed lightly for up to five days before the period, I may have a progesterone problem too. Again, she said blood tests for hormone imbalances actually aren't always that useful as there can be such a range. However, if I try to get pregnant again I should take progesterone supplements as a precaution.

So that's two things I can do. Methylfolate and progesterone. My miscarriages may not be related to either of these things, but at least it's something to focus on. Whether I'll ever be brave enough, or even in a position, to get pregnant again... I don't know!

[O_O]

Hello everybody!


I don't know if anyone will see this but I thought I'd post an update anyway.


I'm doing okay. I haven't had any debilitating bouts of anxiety and the symptoms of traumatic stress are manageable. Unfortunately I have moderate depression but I find it much easier to deal with than whatever it was I was dealing with before. I seem to be able to function fairly normally, even though I feel pretty awful most of the time, and I don't take any medication. I have my fingers crossed that the depression will ease in time.


I know that my recovery is fragile as it would only take a missed period to send me back to a truly horific place. My periods come pretty regularly every 27 days, even though I bleed lightly for three days before they start and they are still almost completely painless. I find this change disturbing, and it is a reminder of everything that happened, but I try not to dwell on it.



I've been doing well at work and have actually just accepted a new job in another town, only about 40 minutes away. It is a pay rise and I will be glad to move to a much larger town where maybe I can meet somebody. I thought that if I was offered this job I would feel much better, but actually I feel worse at the moment. I don't know why. I will be very sad to leave my current company, who are a bit like family to me, but I just feel that I can't stay in this place where so many terrible things happened. I want to start anew. I hope I can keep my shit together.


I wrote a memoir about everything, from getting with my ex a couple of years ago to when things finished for good. I got a little obsessive over it but it's done now. A mere 220k words! Any keen proofreaders out there? It was upon its completion that I started feeling to urge to escape. I hope I am doing the right thing.


I still find my situation very painful. I am 30 in January and no closer to being a mother than I ever was. I do not think I am mentally stable enough to ever allow myself to become pregnant again, even if by some miracle I meet somebody. I have developed a new theory on the cause of my and my mother's miscarriages. I believe we both have excess androgen (or free testosterone). We both suffer from hirsutism (sorry) and are the only ones in the family to do so - I've had lots of laser hair removal to deal with the problem and my mother found it so distressing in her youth that she was prescribed antiandrogens which did help while she took them. We also have problems with our skin - my mother is in her late 60s and still get spots, and unless I apply 2.5% benzoyl peroxide every day I get spots too. Other symptoms of excess androgen, such as missed ovulation and excess weight, we do not have a problem with - but I still believe androgens could be the culprit.


In a recent study, 100% of women with androgens over a certain level miscarried their babies. Unfortunately, antiandrogen treatment is just as harmful to a foetus as androgens themselves. However, there are two natural medications, N-acetyl-cysteine and Inositol, which do genuinely bring androgen levels down without being harmful to a foetus. So, I have that to hold on to. I will get my androgen levels tested soon.


The main cause of my depression, I think, is heartbreak. I haven't slept with my ex for a year, seen him for 8 months, or spoken to him in 4 months, but I still love him just as completely as I ever did. I know that I am in denial because I cannot fully accept that he isn't going to change my mind and come back to me. That reality is not one I want to exist in. I just can't believe that it has come to this, given how compatible we were and how much I truly believe he loved me. I don't think you can stop loving somebody, can you? Real love is unconditional. If you fall out of love then I suppose it was never real, or maybe you loved an idealised version of the person. Something that didn't exist. Maybe he never really did love me. I don't know.


Anyway, the thought of finding somebody else seems an insurmountable task - never mind starting a family. I don't date so much now. It seems pointless. I think I'll focus on my work, if I can, but I find it extremely painful to see everyone around me happily settling down and having children, the most natural thing in the world to most people but an impossible dream for me.

[O_O]

I am in my new town now and starting my new job on Monday. I have been feeling quite lonely and depressed.

On top of that, everyone has been telling me to put my dreams of having a family on ice for a while, which seems like good advice on the face of it. At 29, I should be able to wait at least a couple of years before seriously thinking about starting a family.

However, I was finding it very hard to get the thoughts out of my head and so last week I had a consultation at a fertility clinic to discuss IVF with donor sperm, since I can't see myself meeting a man any time soon. The consultant, like everyone else, encouraged me to give it a couple of years, in which time I may meet somebody, as that should have very little effect on my fertility.

While I was there, he did a 3D pelvic scan to count my ovarian follicles and I could tell from his face straight away that there were fewer than he'd expected. He immediately ordered me a blood test and rang me up two days later to tell me that in fact, very unexpectedly, my ovarian reserves are that of a 40 year old.

Suddenly, if I wish to have any chance at having children, I need to move forward with IVF in a matter of months with donor sperm. There is no time for me to meet a man and it is very unlikely I could have a baby the traditional way.

If I'm lucky enough to get some viable embryos I can at least freeze them for a year or however long and then decide whether to try to carry the baby myself or get a surrogate.

I'm so scared to face this alone. Everything is too much. The new town, the job on Monday, imminent hormone treatment and egg harvesting before an agonising wait to see if any embryos are viable, and on top of it all the man I love has been messaging me (clearly out of guilt) and asking if he can explain to me why things had to end the way that did.

I'm all alone and I'm scared.