Can this wait? Post coital bleeding

[Sunshinegirl82]

@limeslime no nothing no coil or any sort of hormonal contraception, or any type of contraception at that, I have fertility issues been through a lot of treatments etc but no luck so don’t use any contraception and also I’ve been with my husband since I was 18 and I’m 39 now so 21 years.

My periods have always been clockwork to the point when I was struggling with my fertiltiy and was actively trying I used to hope that I would be late on my period so Atleast I can have a little hope … but no never bang on on time and no spotting etc. Even when I first started my period at 12 I never had period problems like all my other friends did pretty smooth sailing no pms no spots nothing. So you can imagine how I felt when I turned 36 and I started to have short cycles and then long then anxiety and then a single spot started to occur before periods, PMS, brown spotting after period and now spotting pink ! And along with it all panic attack and health anxiety

[Limeslime]

Ah sunshine, I understand your anxiety.
I’ve been reading ALOT about “abnormal uterine bleeding” though, and there are just soooooo many potential causes. I saw a statistic that said, in our age range, the chance of abnormal bleeding being malignant is 1:2800.
It’s much more likely to be PCOS, fibroids, cysts, polyps, bleeding disorders, thinning gynaecological tissues, endometriosis, infections etc…
In fact, your fertility issues might further support a long term benign condition.
I’m sure you’re absolutely fine. And I don’t expect you’ll be referred under a 2ww, so I’d get onto your GP sooner rather than later cos the waiting times are pretty nuts right now, and you sound like you need answers and reassurance!

[Sunshinegirl82]

Hey just an update, spoke to gp she said that what i am going through is something that is very common in people my age, she said this might be even a new phase in my cycles she said it’s very common in ladies my age with these issues.
She said I had an ultrasound and smear in 2019 so she is not worried about anything sinister occurring and as I have been only bleeding for a month she would even class that as normal.
She said she wants to see me again if this happens in feb and wants to see the pattern of my cycles she said she won’t be suprised going by my symptoms I am entering now the shorter cycles where they can be for 21 day.
She said as all my bloods were clear only iron that was on a bit of the low side of the normal range everything else was fine. And I’ve only had one month of spotting she said that we would class you as normal atm and as I had pelvic scan in 2019 she’s not in a hurry to order one atm.She did say that they can offer me the pill to rest however for now I have to wait and see what February brings and in all fairness even in the NICE guidelines it’s states women’s under 45 should only he referred if they have 3 consistent months of bleeding .
I did tell her about my worry that I feel like what if this is something sinister and we not taking action fast enough but she’s told me she’s not worried about that as I had a scan in 2019 and smear and yes also to do a pregnancy test.

[Limeslime]

Yeah, I guess that all makes sense! How do you feel about it?

[Sunshinegirl82]

Not really sure how I feel …. But i guess I did raise my concerns with her and I know her well enough to know if she was even a slight bit concerned she would have referred me but that does not help me still thinking there is something else going on but then i also know she is following the correct protocols she not really faffed me off she has admitted yes something is going on and with my age it’s most likely hormones and has offered me the contraceptive pill to reset and assured me that is not uncommon what I’m going through. I really have no choice but to wait and see how I go on… I want to book a private scan but I’m not going to yet as I don’t want to feed my anxiety ! I remember years ago I found a mole on my nipple went to gp and she said it’s normal but if it changes colour etc then I should go back … I completely forgot about it when I came out of the gps and didn’t even realise when it disappeared, I wish I could go back to that mentality now instead of worrying and thinking the doctors not doing enough and always keeping a watch out for my symptoms.

How are you doing limeslime? Hope you feeling better and more positive about your appointment on Friday, the thing is as you mentioned in your previous we may have one of the other 100s of reasons for our bleeding but has health anxiety sufferers we always zero on to the worsts case scenario, please do keep us updated with how you get on

[Limeslime]

I know exactly what you mean…I miss the days of feeling invincible too!
I had bleeding after sex when I was 25 too. I’d never had a smear test in my life, I was bleeding heavily during sex and for about 20 mins after too. It was inconvenient but I wasn’t worried. I made an appointment at the GP to get it checked, but I remember just feeling embarrassed by it, rather than frightened.
He just told me to book a smear test, and I accepted that and skipped merrily home knowing I’d done the hard bit!
I had the smear…CIN1. It cleared up on its own after 3 years. (And 6 monthly colposcopies and biopsies to keep an eye on it) No worries!.

Fast forward 13 years, and now I am absolutely freaking out over a few spots of blood that occurred only 3 times, the day AFTER sex. Even though my smear tests have been clear, I’m still convinced I have cervical cancer.

And then I got a weird, 2 week period too….so that must be a cervical bleed and not a period….cos that’s just how my anxious brain thinks now. 🤷*♀️

I’m glad this wait is almost over, but even though I’ve been calm the past few days, I can feel the anxiety ramping up.
Hopefully this time next week I’ll be feeling better 🤞🤞🤞

[Limeslime]

I’ve just got my period (8 days late) and my gynae appointment is in two days!
My body is being so cruel to me lately!
Do you think they’ll still be able to examine me? I’m guessing they can probably still do scans, but hysteroscopy and and cervical examination might not be possible?
Aaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh😢😢😢

[Sunshinegirl82]

Bodies are just so unpredictable aren’t they. Speaking from my previous experience when I used to go for for tests for my fertility the consultant said to me for cervical examination that she doesn’t mind doing it if I didn’t mind, so I think they should be able to do it. With an ultra sound I told her I was on and she said she’ll do a pelvic first and if she can’t see clearley what she wants to see she’ll call me back in after. But I’m sure these guys are used to dealing with these things on a regular basis, so it might not even bother them as long as you’re comfortable

[Limeslime]

Thanks sunshine, that’s really helpful information.
Weirdly, I’m suffering the worst cramps ever with this period (I never get cramps normally!)
I’m sitting with a hot water bottle and breathing through the pain like I’m in labour or something.
What the hell is going on in my uterus!!!

[Linze16]

Limeslime, I was on my period when I went for my gynae appointment. He said it didn’t matter. He still did the examination.

Bumble, thank you. I have my biopsy today at 12:30. Dreading it! But I spoke to my GP on Tuesday, he wasn’t worried any all, and when I asked if the Drs at the breast clinic were worried, he said, “not at all.” I really trust him, he’s a fantastic Dr. So slightly less concerned now. Xxx