Bleeding after pelvic exam

[cath34]

Today I had a pelvic exam and during it, my doctor said "it's normal to have a little bit of spotting after" and I figured she was just letting me know just in case. But when she was finished and I sat up I noticed a bit of blood on the sheet and it scared me as I've never had that before after an exam. She again said it was normal but I looked it up (I don't know why I did but I did) and it comes up as a symptom of cervical cancer. But I also found lots of sites that say it's perfectly normal. I'm going to try as hard as I can not to worry, but I just wondered if anyone else had experienced spotting after a pelvic exam? Any replies would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[WiseMonkey]

Today I had a pelvic exam and during it, my doctor said "it's normal to have a little bit of spotting after" and I figured she was just letting me know just in case. But when she was finished and I sat up I noticed a bit of blood on the sheet and it scared me as I've never had that before after an exam. She again said it was normal but I looked it up (I don't know why I did but I did) and it comes up as a symptom of cervical cancer. But I also found lots of sites that say it's perfectly normal. I'm going to try as hard as I can not to worry, but I just wondered if anyone else had experienced spotting after a pelvic exam? Any replies would be much appreciated. Thanks.

It's normal to have spotting after a pap test, I had it in my younger years

[ErinKC]

I get spotting and cramping after my pelvic exams. Did you get a pap today? It's always worse for me the years I get a Pap smear.

[cath34]

Thanks to both of you for your quick replies. Yes it was a pap. And it was a new doctor, she's replaced my old doctor who has retired so it's the first time I've had a pap with her, and it seemed like when she took the sample it was a little more painful than other times - like she scraped the cervix a bit harder, so maybe it's that too. Unnerving though since it's never happened before. Thanks again for replying to me.

[ErinKC]

Definitely unnerving, but it seems really logical that it was the pap. I never used to get the bleeding when I was younger, it was only in the last several years. Our bodies change over time, too, so that could contribute! My cervix has been through a lot over the years!

[cath34]

Thanks again Erin. What I don't get is why if it's normal and common (and I totally believe it is) it's listed as a symptom of cervical cancer on so many websites. Isn't that totally misleading? I guess I'll just get off Google now

[ErinKC]

Yes - that's just Google being Google.

[MJunderway]

Hello!

Just wanted to share that I had a pelvic exam last week, manual but no pap and I had some cervical mucus that had blood in it a couple of days after the exam. I'm older (47) and this didn't happen when I was younger but seems to be a new normal as I age. I asked my NP about this and she said that if it were to continue for more than one cycle and outside of something like a manual exam or pap smear then I should schedule a visit to discuss additional testing.

[cath34]

Hello!

Just wanted to share that I had a pelvic exam last week, manual but no pap and I had some cervical mucus that had blood in it a couple of days after the exam. I'm older (47) and this didn't happen when I was younger but seems to be a new normal as I age. I asked my NP about this and she said that if it were to continue for more than one cycle and outside of something like a manual exam or pap smear then I should schedule a visit to discuss additional testing.

Thanks MJunderway. I'm 43 so I'm wondering if mine had something to do with getting older as well. Yet another side effect of aging

[MJunderway]

For me, it's only been after I hit 41. I never had these issues when I was younger. However, I've not had a good perimenopause so a lot of stuff down there has been "not the norm". I think it's hard for folk with HA to know when things are normal/not-normal and when they are a point of concern. I'm going to set up an appt with my primary doc for a second opinion. He's pretty sympathetic to my HA and is a straight shooter, so we'll see what he has to say. Hope things settle down for you too!