Aa
Any help would be appreciated
I am 48 years old. For the 2 years prior to the last, I have had normal periods mixed in with a month here and there of skipping a complete month, then back to normal. Always normal pap smears, no mention ever of fibroids etc. Normal period length of 5-6 days etc.
I have since moved to another state and of course new obgyn....and for the past year however I had a period that lasted 3 weeks....heavy/normal with clotting for a week, slowed down for a few days, then started back up again like a regular period....4 days later slowed and then just spotted for the next week...red then brown, then done. It scared me a bit, so I went to new obgyn, he said "pretty sure you are in pre-menopause"...he did an exam and felt a fibroid. I said a what??? I had never been told that, called my old doctor, and they said that none were noted. Papsmear came back normal as did the biopsy of the cervix he took. He ordered a vaginal and topical ultrasound which confirmed fibroids...he said one or two were fairly large. He said just to keep an eye on the bleeding and probably just my body going through premenopause. I asked him about cancer...since I am a worrywart. He said no cancer.
Then, I went 6 weeks, no period, then my period came for almost a month this time. Kind of the same scenario. I called him again and he said, lets do another vag and topical ultrasound (the first ultrasounds were exactly 6 months ago). Utrasound showed that one of the fibroids were possibly, slightly bigger, 2 millimeters. He said he would do an FSH test and if it's 20 or below that he would try me on a low dose BCP. Well...my number came in at 80, well into menopause, so he said that he has never put a menopausal women on BCP. He said that if the bleeding is bothersome and I want "quality of life" to have a hysterectomy. I then again asked, "if it's not bad should I just go through the periods as long as I am not anemic"? He said that there is a "slight" chance the fibroids can be cancerous.....although small..he can't say 100%. Of course now....I am scared to death!!!! Before he said no...now there's a chance..
Can you help?
I have since moved to another state and of course new obgyn....and for the past year however I had a period that lasted 3 weeks....heavy/normal with clotting for a week, slowed down for a few days, then started back up again like a regular period....4 days later slowed and then just spotted for the next week...red then brown, then done. It scared me a bit, so I went to new obgyn, he said "pretty sure you are in pre-menopause"...he did an exam and felt a fibroid. I said a what??? I had never been told that, called my old doctor, and they said that none were noted. Papsmear came back normal as did the biopsy of the cervix he took. He ordered a vaginal and topical ultrasound which confirmed fibroids...he said one or two were fairly large. He said just to keep an eye on the bleeding and probably just my body going through premenopause. I asked him about cancer...since I am a worrywart. He said no cancer.
Then, I went 6 weeks, no period, then my period came for almost a month this time. Kind of the same scenario. I called him again and he said, lets do another vag and topical ultrasound (the first ultrasounds were exactly 6 months ago). Utrasound showed that one of the fibroids were possibly, slightly bigger, 2 millimeters. He said he would do an FSH test and if it's 20 or below that he would try me on a low dose BCP. Well...my number came in at 80, well into menopause, so he said that he has never put a menopausal women on BCP. He said that if the bleeding is bothersome and I want "quality of life" to have a hysterectomy. I then again asked, "if it's not bad should I just go through the periods as long as I am not anemic"? He said that there is a "slight" chance the fibroids can be cancerous.....although small..he can't say 100%. Of course now....I am scared to death!!!! Before he said no...now there's a chance..
Can you help?
Hi Annie...and thank you. I am actually IN menopause or almost through it according to my FSH levels and the doctors said that I shouldn't be bleeding at all (periods) and that the bleeding isn't caused by periods anymore.....it is more than likely being caused by the fibroids. But any bleeding after menopause is cause for concern. That is why they want to do a hysterectomy to take out the uterus/fibroids and biopsy them to make sure they arent' cancerous.
I've got a small fibroid, and it never would occur to me to get a hysterectomy for that reason. My doc has always just shrugged about it. Ask your doctor if there is a way to monitor the fibroids or take blood levels or something like that, if you're concerned about cancer specifically. There might be a watch-and-wait approach to take.
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