Postmenopause bleeding

Hello Kimmy43. Sorry you are going through this. You have come to the right place here for support. Firstly, well done for going to your doctor so quickly, as whatever is causing the bleeding, the earlier it’s caught, the better. Your doctor has done the right thing in referring you and in order to get you seen quickly has had to fast track you to rule out anything nasty. I too had post menopausal bleeding. My doctor told me that my tests were to rule out endometrial cancer. Bleeding can be caused by a number of different things. My advice would be to try and keep off Google (hard to do I know!) Google can be out of date and doesn’t have any knowledge of you or your medical history so it can be very inaccurate. The waiting during this period of time is definitely the worst bit. Once you have some answers as to the cause of your bleeding, and a plan for any necessary treatment, you will feel much better. There are some knowledgeable and experienced doctors out there who will guide and support you through your next steps. I quickly learnt to put my trust in them and tried to just focus on the next steps and not think too far ahead. Keep posting on here if you find it helps. There is lots of support here for you! 

Thank you for getting back to me, ive had polyps in the past, cysts, diagnosed pcos and also had the novasure procedure done where the lining on my womb was lasered off. I’ve always had problems down below. I’m on hrt patches but I must admit I haven’t been very constant with them. But after today my head is all over the place and worried sick because I have to children and I’m a single mum and keep thinking if anything happens to me I don’t think my kids would cope. However being on this group has made me realise I’m not alone.

Hi Kimmy43

Welcome to the Womb group. 

I am sorry to hear that you have had some bleeding and are worrying about it.

For any bleeding after the menopause it is normal to be referred on the urgent pathway to a gynaecologist. There can be different reasons for bleeding after the menopause but it is important to rule out endometrial cancer first. When I had my bleed, I was told by a consultant that only 1 in 10 bleeds was caused by cancer but it needs investigation. 

What is likely to happen next is that you will be offered a scan at the hospital. One will be of your tummy from the outside and one will be done trans vaginally. This is simply having a closer look. It can be a bit uncomfortable but is not painful. They will be looking to see how thick your womb lining is and also to look to see if there are any polyps etc that could be a potential cause of the bleeding. Even if it comes back that your womb lining is thickened- it does not necessarily mean cancer is present. So what they are doing is looking for an explanation for the bleeding. 

If something is seen on the scans then the next step would normally be to have an appointment to have a hysteroscopy (camera test) and then they have a closer look at the inside of the womb. At this point they would normally take some biopsies to rule out any cancer being present. 

At this stage try not to worry too much- you have done the right thing in contacting your doctor and they have done the normal urgent referral. With any symptoms that could potentially mean cancer in some people/red flag symptoms an urgent referral is used. It does not mean that there is definitely cancer, but that they need to rule it out. Then they can hopefully confirm what caused the bleeding and whether it needs any treatment.

Good Luck

Jane

Thank you for reply, I’m not gonna lie I’m in abit of a state and thinking the worse straight away. I’ve had so much treatment before my menopause as I’ve had a polyp when I was pregnant with my first child, fibroids and I also had the novasure procedure years ago on my womb lining. I’ve been prided and poked over the years so things like that never worry me but when you hear the c word I just automatically think the worse and no other senario . Thank you for your response it’s reassuring. 

Its natural to worry and think of the worst possible scenario. Your previous gynae history (fibroids/polyps) and also the HRT patches being used inconsistently could be the cause of the bleeding. Bleeding can happen when there is an imbalance in the hormones. Why not give the Support Line a call and talk to one of the nurses? Sometimes it helps to talk to someone impartial. 

Thanks for advice I think I might. Thank you.

Hi Kimmy

Just reading your story I can relate, this happened to me 4 days ago, i've seen my doctor and shes referred me to Gynaecologist my appointments on Monday 27th.  Like you I can't  help but think the worst.  I'll update you on Monday on what happens at my appointment, try to stay away from Google.  All the best

Hi, I’ve got my hospital appointment Wednesday. My bleeding finally stopped today but just want to get ball rolling and start finding out what’s wrong. My mind has been on overdrive since I’ve been referred. I hope things go ok for you and please do let me know your outcome. 

Just got back from appointment, 10 mins going through history then a 5-10 min scan.  Results so far are that my uterus looks normal and so do both my ovaries,

I have what looks like one fibroid and 8mm thicken of my womb.  I've being booked in for a hysteroscopy under local. 

Wait time for appointment approx 2 weeks.  It is assumed the fibroid is causing the bleed. 

I have also been asked to take two utrogestan tablets instead of one for now and continue with my Oestrogel.

That sounds good if you know what I mean, your mind must be at ease.  I can’t wait for my appointment Wednesday so I finally know what’s going on.