Anxious after vaginal ultrasound

[LuSmith]

Hi there,

Today I had a transvaginal ultrasound finally, because I was having pelvic cramps and rectal cramping that worsened around ovulation, as well as my periods suddenly becoming a bit weird and heavier than normal. I came off the combined pill about a few months back, which I did so because I was diagnosed with HPV (no abnormal cells) which concerned me that it might worsen the virus if I kept taking them. I definitely wonder if it was hiding some symptoms because since then I've had a lot of issues.

My most recent symptoms as well happened on my period, I actually had bleeding from the back passage when having a bowel movement. This caused me to have extreme anxiety because it was quite a moderate amount. I definitely checked in case it was just running from the front but it was evidently from the back passage. So I obviously have had some panic around that.

The ultrasound today I managed to get through okay, slight discomfort sometimes but easier to go through than the smear test haha. The sonographer didn't seem to want to tell me anything, whereas the last time I had a transvaginal ultrasound (a few years ago) the lady had said there and then that nothing was wrong. I asked if there was anything concerning and they said "nothing significant" but while I was changing I heard them mention something about thickened lining. Upon looking that up (which I shouldn't have) I started panicking and worrying about worse case scenarios.

Does anyone know what this could be? I was actually beginning to think I might have endometriosis due to adhesions in the past around my ovaries (and being stuck to my uterus wall) but I never had a diagnosis even tho I had a laproscopy at that time. But I guess it could be something else, which is frightening me...

Is it possible they wouldn't have said "nothing of significance" if there was anything to worry about? 7-10 days waiting for results from my GP feels like it's gonna be sooo long! I also have a blood test to check for hormonal issues on the 3rd of May due to constant night sweats, and now worried the night sweats are something to worry over...

[.Poppy.]

Hang in there. It will be a rough wait, I know, but you can do this.

In all honesty, a lot of the time they just don't tell you. I think they aren't supposed to because they are not the official doctor, but of course some do. I had a gallbladder ultrasound years ago and the tech told me right then that everything looked fine (and when my mom had hers years before that she had a lot of stones and they told her that then too). So when my dad went in for tests a couple of weeks ago I was hoping that they would give him good news on the spot and when they didn't I feared the worst - it turned out everything was fine, per the doctor, he just didn't get the good news then and there. So they really don't often tell you.

I obviously can't diagnose you but if it helps, I went off birth control a few months ago as well and have had all kinds of little quirks with my cycle and cramping. Saw my gyn for my regular checkup and all was well, it just really does kind of take time to get back to normal. But if something is wrong, they'll catch it and get you taken care of.

[LuSmith]

Hang in there. It will be a rough wait, I know, but you can do this.

In all honesty, a lot of the time they just don't tell you. I think they aren't supposed to because they are not the official doctor, but of course some do. I had a gallbladder ultrasound years ago and the tech told me right then that everything looked fine (and when my mom had hers years before that she had a lot of stones and they told her that then too). So when my dad went in for tests a couple of weeks ago I was hoping that they would give him good news on the spot and when they didn't I feared the worst - it turned out everything was fine, per the doctor, he just didn't get the good news then and there. So they really don't often tell you.

I obviously can't diagnose you but if it helps, I went off birth control a few months ago as well and have had all kinds of little quirks with my cycle and cramping. Saw my gyn for my regular checkup and all was well, it just really does kind of take time to get back to normal. But if something is wrong, they'll catch it and get you taken care of.

Thanks Poppy! The waiting is definitely one of the worst parts, seeing as it's generally the time I spend constantly overthinking and imagining the worst. And then I start ruminating and considering things like "the bad HPV result could have been because I have something sinister etc" and so on. Even though the cells were supposedly normal.

I think for me sometimes I'm used to them saying there and then if there's a problem, because the majority of the time they have. But I guess there are occasions where they don't because they still have to look into things more. I'm glad your dad got good news following his tests!

Yeah I definitely know what you mean about the menstrual cycle being all kinds of weird after coming off birth control. I actually feel like I fared better on it haha, but oh well. I wasn't worried about the slightly heavier periods at first, but then the rectal bleeding happened, and the weird pelvic and rectal cramping around ovulation time and my mind just started going wild with theories.

Hopefully this week or so will pass quickly and I can get a reassuring answer haha.

[.Poppy.]

Yeah I definitely know what you mean about the menstrual cycle being all kinds of weird after coming off birth control. I actually feel like I fared better on it haha, but oh well.

I did too! Maybe TMI but I have pretty heavy periods and painful cramps and birth control really helped get those in check, but it wasn't good for my migraines so I went off. Traded one for the other, lol.

I think really they're just not qualified to tell you anything. I suppose in my and my mom's case it was super obvious that I didn't have stones and she had so many they were hard to miss. But for most things they likely wouldn't say anything because they don't necessarily know how to read them properly or your full history. My dog actually had an abdominal ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and I got the images - I certainly had no clue what I was looking at.

Be kind to yourself, give yourself lots of treats and breaks and hang in there!

[Scass]

I’ve had a few TV ultrasounds and on my 1st one he straight out said that he was going to refer me to a gynaecologist because of a cyst on one of my ovaries). That scared the pants off me, especially when he wouldn’t tell me anything else (the cyst turned out to be fine).

The last one, I can’t remember her actual phrase but it was so reassuring that I burst into tears. So I do understand how the words they use can affect you. However, they said “nothing significant” and they are sending results back to your gp. It sounds like it will be up to them to read the results & make any decisions.

Try not to let this run your life for the next few days. It’s done now and you can’t change anything, so just keep your mind busy.

Let us know how you get on x

[LuSmith]

Thank you! So weirdly the results had come back already (next day) which makes me even more concerned. But the GP just signed them off as satisfactory, no action needed. I'm a little skeptical because he's one of the doctors who dismissed previous symptoms I've had which I was taken more seriously for by other doctors, but I guess what I would like to know is if the report is written by the radiologist with all the info or if the GP is the one who has to interpret the results.
I just would have preferred it to be a call with a doctor who could explain why all the weird symptoms (pelvic floor pain and cramping around ovulation, bleeding from back passage, weird periods) if it's "satisfactory" rather than just brushing it off. But I guess I'll have to call them to make an appointment if I want to talk about it.
I'm hoping the actual radiologist doctor looked at the results and wrote the report first and the GP just reads the results.

It was just shocking how quickly it came back after they said it would take 7-10 working days, and for it all to be clear? I know it's probably partially my health anxiety making me panic but.. I do worry something has been overlooked.

[Catkins]

Doctors don't usually diagnose things based on the scan, they would be sent a report of the findings and make their decision based on that. At work when we send someone for an x-ray, they don't send us the x-ray, they send a report of the findings i.e. degenerative changes to whatever or OM to whatever and a decision would be based on those findings.

Hope that helps.

[LuSmith]

Doctors don't usually diagnose things based on the scan, they would be sent a report of the findings and make their decision based on that. At work when we send someone for an x-ray, they don't send us the x-ray, they send a report of the findings i.e. degenerative changes to whatever or OM to whatever and a decision would be based on those findings.

Hope that helps.

Ah okay that's good to know. So the radiologist/sonographer would have sent the findings in the report and the GP would have made a decision based on what they found, if anything.

I guess that does help a little but I guess it means depending on whether the GP thought it was anything worth following up or not. (for example there could have been something that was slightly abnormal but not significant, which the GP decided wasn't worth following up on or worrying about). The problem is I would have preferred the GP to speak to me anyway just because I have ongoing symptoms that I would still like to get some understanding of, whether it's to do with the findings from the scan or not. I don't like that he's the sort of person to always close the "case" on things immediately just because the test results don't report something necessarily. I guess I'll try and call the GP tomorrow to see if I can maybe discuss the findings anyway and see what the next steps are. Thanks!

[LuSmith]

So I managed to look up my notes myself through the results portal for my GP, and it states that:

• The endometrium appears regular in outline and echotexture measuring 9mm

Upon looking up the normal thickness of an endometrial lining apparently anything over 5mm is worrying?! The only thing that might be a factor is the fact my period is meant to be coming up in a few days, so I don't know if that's normal for the lead-up to a period in a woman of my age (36yo)

Is this considered satisfactory though? As said I'll discuss with my GP to understand this but I still feel a bit concerned since it doesn't seem normal?!

[Scass]

I would tend to trust what the radiologist wrote rather than something you read online.

You are probably expected to call the surgery for your results, and then can move in to the next step in finding why you are experiencing these symptoms. I made an appointment with my doctor to discuss my results even though I’d been referred, I just wanted someone medically trained to discuss it with really.

Regardless, it’s good news, so try to relax a little and treat it as such.

Also, the results do generally come back very quickly.