Last year (May/June 2022) I experienced post menopausal bleeding and abdominal pain so my GP sent me for an urgent ultrasound followed by an internal scan, which revealed my womb lining was 7mm. I then got an urgent referral to have biopsies taken. Thankfully, the biopsies didn’t reveal anything untoward.
This year (March 2023) I experienced severe pain in my lower abdomen and bleeding. My GP sent me for another ultrasound which led to another internal scan. It revealed that the lining of my womb is now 11mm. I was once again urgently referred to gynaecology for another biopsy. I should say, I’ve been experiencing spotting for a number of months. My urgent referral to see the gynaecologist took over three months. When I phoned the hospital (I had started to worry that my referral wasn’t marked as urgent) they explained that it was an urgent referral but they’ve got a backlog of urgent referrals.
When I saw the gynaecologist she remarked that she was having difficulty seeing what she wanted to see because of the thickness of the lining (I think that’s what she said) and she might have to stop the procedure. She did however manage to take a biopsy. During the consultation she said that regardless of the biopsy results she wants to see me again for a hysteroscopy so she can examine me further. She also said that a hysterectomy would be an easy option for me because I’ve got a lot of adhesions from previous abdominal surgeries. The biopsies were taken last week (Tuesday 04 July) so now it’s a waiting game. I’m trying to put it to the back of my mind but failing. Work is a distraction but during office hours I’m worried my personal mobile will ring and it will be the hospital. I’ll get a letter if the biopsies are negative but I’ll get a call if the biopsies are positive.
Thank you for taking the time to read my email.
SJ
Hello SJ1
Am sorry that you have again had some bleeding and pain and have needed to have further tests. It is always a worrying time having tests and then waiting for the results. The hard bit I found was not knowing when they would come and how long I would have to wait. It seems to just depend a lot on how busy the pathology lab is at the hospital at the time.
There can be different causes of hyperplasia (thickened womb lining) but it is good that the gynaecologist managed to take the biopsy to find out what is going on. When I had mine done, I was bleeding a lot and the nurse said she would not do a hysteroscopy as she wouldn't be able to see much but that the biopsy should give the answers. I hope that you get some answers soon.
I understand about being at work and your mobile ringing. I opted to have my results over the phone and couldn't relax as I knew if it rang then it would be the hospital. I actually missed my diagnosis phone call and tried to ring back and they didn't answer! In the end went home early and managed to get hold of them.
Please do let us know if there is anything we can do to support you while you are waiting. I hope that you will hear something soon. My biopsy results took less than a week. My pathology results post op took 3 1/2 weeks.
Good Luck
Jane
