Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Evangelista]

Evening ladies

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get another phone appointment with the GP to get something more than a dismissal of "it's probably your hormones", in response to ongoing and unexpected bleeding.

My last 'period' started 19 days ago. It was a week late, it hasn't properly stopped, and I've had several days of having tender breasts.  Until Friday last week I was on Femoston 2/10, my bleeds were regular as clockwork, lasted 5 or 6 days, and the last time I had tender breasts was when I was pregnant 24 years ago!  So essentially, all of this is totally unusual for me, and it all started whilst on an HRT regime I've been on for a number of years.

Since Friday I've been on Utrogestan and Lenzetto spray, and I decided to stick with a sequi regime, even though the GP has prescribed it continuously. This bleeding is nothing to do with the new regime as it had been going on for two weeks before that.

I spoke to a locum GP last week and she just said it's probably your hormones, and added nothing else, asked no questions, and didn't give any reassurance whatsoever.

Having searched under abnormal bleeding on this site and one or two others, I'm left wondering if it might be endometrial atrophy.  I believe this is mainly caused by low levels of oestrogen, and over the last 6 months or so I have felt my meno symptoms getting worse, as if my own natural hormone levels have taken a dip, so it seems to add up. I also had a general feel inside and my cervix felt more bulgy than it would normally. Sorry if that sounds weird, but I'm a great believer in knowing how your bits should feel, so that you know when they are not quite right.

So tomorrow, assuming I can get a phone consultation with the GP, should I stand my ground and ask for an examination of some sort, even if only a general abdomen/pelvic one?  I thought that any unexplained bleeding should be investigated, and I know my own body well enough to know that this is not normal for me.  I would have expected a suggestion of an ultrasound, but am I being optimistic/worrying too much?

All thoughts welcome, thanks

[CLKD]

Ask for a referral to a menopause clinic.  If your GPs aren't seeing face2face, that's very wrong.  Is there a practice Nurse that would see you?

"Probably just".  Nothing is 'only' or 'just' anything. 

Atrophy is drying up. It affects the vaginal area in particular.  When oestrogen levels drop off the whole body may become dry: inside and out: skin, scalp, deep in the ears, eyes, nose, vagina ......... let us know how you get on.

[Evangelista]

Thanks CLKD. I found the term endometrial atrophy on a search for causes of bleeding.  Apparently the endometrium can 'dry out' and then bits break off, causing bleeding. I think another term for it is endometritis.

I was meant to be referred to the meno clinic on 3 Nov, but the locum I spoke to last week said it hadn't been sent. So now I've lost 4 of the 19 week's wait to be seen....not impressed!!

Have looked at an organisation called Health and Her, who do video consultations and give letters to pass to your GP is recommending treatment.  The GPs who run it are all meno specialists, and it's £135 for a half hour, which is very cheap compared with others I've seen. Am thinking of giving it a go depending on action arising from the call with the GP today. Managed to get a phone appointment at 3, and they are doing F2F if it is appropriate,  which I'd say it is!

[CLKD]

I would be sending a letter to the Practice Manager about the non-referral and insisting that I be seen face2face.  It simply isn't good enough that GPs are now being paid £30.00 per jab, still being paid for over 75 exams even though they no longer have to do them: as the time is being taken up by jabbing people : but still avoiding seeing their own patients for which they get paid. 

It makes my blood boil that the government have NO IDEA about how the NHS and Care System works 

Let us know how you get on.  It might be handy to have a note of what you want to talk to the GP about so that nowt is missed?

[helenc]

hi - I had a similar problem - they switched hrt and I had irregular bleeding due to that BUT they had to look into it - the ultrasound revealed a thickened endrometrium  and possible polyps so do get it checked - insist that you are not happy with the hormone 'explanation'

[Evangelista]

Well that was fascinating. It took a few times of explaining to get the GP to understand that my bleeding started well before I changed my HRT, in fact 15 of the 19 days have been under the previous regime of Femoston 2/10, and the only way the bleeding could be related to the new HRT is if my body was doing this in anticipation of the upcoming change!

Once she understood the issue she seemed totally unsure of what to do about it, but she noted that the locum GP I spoke to last week about it had sent off a referral to the gynae clinic.  I told her that I thought that was the referral she was meant to do for me early last month....lots of umming and erring and then she apologised and said perhaps she had misunderstood and thought that I was going to see how I get on with the utro/Lenzetto combi before asking for the meno clinic referral.  She did however remember that part of the referral was because I'd asked about testosterone. I expressed concern that the referral now might only mention the unexplained bleeding and not the testosterone, so she said she would check...

After some prompting on my part, she eventually speculated on what next.  Maybe we should just wait for the gynae appointment.....to which I said, but what if that's another 19 week wait???  I said I understood that one possible course of action is an ultrasound....I honestly don't think she would have considered it if I hadn't mentioned it...and then we were back to "well, if the gynae referral is in then they will probably do a scan".  There happens to be a small hospital adjacent to the GP surgery so I asked if they do ultrasound scans (knowing full well that they do) Lightbulb goes on with the GP "oh yes, well I can ask them how long it might take to organise one with them then at least we can remove your worry".  Words fail me..!!

She said she didn't think there would be any real cause for concern, but that it would make sense to see which route would get me a scan quicker, whether to wait for the gynae referral or to go straight for a request for a scan.  She's going to check on both of these options and come back to me, apparently by the end of the week.  And she did at least have the grace to say she would definitely do this because she has made a big note in her notebook....

I do think in some cases that a phone appointment is better for both parties, but I also think that face to face gives more cues and reminders when it comes to subsequent actions being done.  We can get F2F appointments at the surgery, but only for advance bookings, not for on the day ones, though the GP will see you if they feel it necessary.

This particular GP retires at the end of this month, which might be no bad thing......

Feel like I'm a bit further forward, but not hugely reassured in the quality of service, and I'm definitely fed up with this bleeding as it's now starting to make me a bit sore.  Been using a moisturising gel which helps, but wasn't going to even mention the possibility of VA to this GP since she previously said it was more likely to be lichen sclerosus, which it most definitely is not!

Hey ho......