Hello, firstly I just want to say I am very calm and not freaking out,just more curious and feel able to deal with whatever is coming my way. It's a bit long so bare with me. I have been HPV positive for about three years now with yearly smears, I was then sent for a colposcopy at the beginning of the year and was told everything was ok but I needed to go back again in a year. That's fine. I am 45 so assumed I was going through the perimenopause and have been on HRT, all was ok with some unusual things happening but was assured it was normal, like bleeding heavily, more painful periods and I have bled in between periods with also pain in my ovaries (assumed it was ovulation) my consultant decided to send me for a transvaginal scan which I had done yesterday. It was very uncomfortable and a bit painful. The lady looked at my scan and asked for another doctor to come take a look but wouldn't say what was wrong. Except they could see some fluid in my fallopian tube and my tubes were inflamed. They then asked me loads of questions about pain, bleeding etc which I answered. I have no STI as I test regularly and have just had the results back today. All clear. They quickly shut me off and wouldn't tell me anymore information and just kept saying gynaecology will need to talk to me and decide what to do next. I'm ok as I said just more confused. Id rather know what's wrong that guess. My consultant is not back until Monday so I guess I have to wait. Some other things, my testetorone was high,I have been struggling with fatigue (again put this down to perimenopause) and low energy. I just feel a bit left and second guessing as no one would give me any answers. I'm guessing the reason is because what they say wasn't exactly good,they also kept moving the screen away so I couldn't see it.Ihave also been experiencing nausea,lower back pain and aching bones, all of this I just assumed was down to perimenopause.Sorry for rambling on. I feel quite positive as I said just a bit "left guessing" thankyou for reading x i guess my question is how long will it be until I see someone regarding this? My scan was wednesday morning and have heard nothing yet.
The hardest part about the waiting is not knowing. I know I felt better when I had answers and a plan, and you hear that echoed throughout posts across the community. Everyone just wants answers as quickly as possible. I hope it’s not too much longer for you.
Sarah xx
So it seems like you’re still confused and the consultant doesn’t have an answer for you yet to reassure you.
It may be that your consultant wants to discuss surgery as that’s the only clear way to get an answer as to what’s going on, but that would just be my assumption.
I hope she does expedite the appointment and there’s a clearer path going forward. It must be really hard to live with all this uncertainty.
Sarah xx
Like you, I’d be concerned about those symptoms. For me I went through the menopause with no symptoms other than some hot flushes, and it certainly didn’t involve the pain you are describing. You could absolutely go to your gp and ask for some sort of pain relief while you’re waiting for answers.
Blood tests are not a definitive diagnosis in themselves but they can indicate that further investigations are required. Although I’ve been through cervical cancer twice, I didn’t ever have abnormal blood results until I was on chemotherapy. If the blood test was for CA125, this is a protein in the blood which can indicate cancer, but a raised level it self isn’t a diagnosis of cancer as levels can be raised for other conditions in the pelvis.
Do your results get posted on the nhs app? I have very regular blood tests because of other conditions I have, and can see the results on my app very soon after each test. I know exactly what is being tested for, as it states the result of every single test and breaks it down-for example it will tell me my liver results, kidneys, cholesterol and blood sugar etc.
Cancer is usually confirmed or ruled out by taking biopsies. Anything which is removed from you during a surgery will be sent to the lab for analysis and things move from there. Some people are happy with a watch and wait approach and don’t want any surgery but it might be the only way to get answers for you.
If your appointments are just for the menopause clinic, then it seems to me that you need a type of referral that is specifically going to investigate the symptoms you are experiencing now-I don’t know whether they are because of the perimenopause/menopause or because there is something else going on, but you are having long waits for any answers.
Sarah xx
