Recurrence of Post menopausal bleeding

PDXmama

So beginning Thanksgiving weekend I had a several week bout of PMB. Saw my primary care doc right away. She sent me off after an exam for a transvaginal ultrasound  and a referral for an ob/gun. Ultrasound showed thick uterine lining and enlarged uterus. Saw the ob/gyn doc in December and she suggested a hysteroscopy, polyp remova if she found one and thinning the lining. Had that Feb 6th. Finally got the results polyp removed and biopsy negative. Had 6 week post procedure follow up in March and all is well. Fast forward to last Friday and PMB is back. I know odds are in my favor of this all turning out ok, but if any of you resonate with this story and want to share questions I should ask at my appointment on Friday I would love to year them. Thanks ladies. 

zsazsa1

You have to realize who you

You have to realize who you're asking here.  You're not going to find anyone on this forum who says, "Well, I had symptoms, but the doctor reassured me and told me it wasn't cancer, and I'm so glad he did."  Every one of us wishes that we had had a hysterectomy done before we developed uterine cancer.  Some of us were wrongly told that our symptoms were not cancer.  We're not supposed to be giving medical advice here.  I can only tell you the facts.  5% of women will develop a GYN cancer at some point in their lives.  You're post menopause, so you're not using your reproductive organs for reproduction anymore.  You do the math.

I saw my GYN at the first sign of a change, and was advised that it was nothing - it wasn't nothing, it was the first sign of a life threatening uterine cancer that has led me to 9 months of miserable, damaging treatment and may still result in my death.  Just recently, a close friend in her late 50s told me she has cervical cancer.  She had a bad PAP smear almost two years ago.  Colposcopy showed nothing.  Repeat PAPs every six months were okay, but then recently, she had a LEEP biopsy which showed invasive cervical cancer.  Her GYN told her that it must have been hiding in a fold in her cervical canal.  She had asked for a hysterectomy when the first PAP came back bad, but was told it was not needed.  Now she may pay for that wrong advice with her life.

MAbound

Rule it out

PMB is not normal and should not be dismissed. You've followed the right steps so far, but it persists. Be equally persistant and don't settle for "let's watch and see what happens". There are a number of us here that are victims of that approach to our regret. Ask for a referral to a gyn-oncologist. (Demand if you have to.) They are the experts that can rule this out more definitively than an ob-gyn. Get second opinions and more tests, but you have to know with surety why the PMB persists.

PDXmama

zsazsa1 said:

You have to realize who you

You have to realize who you're asking here.  You're not going to find anyone on this forum who says, "Well, I had symptoms, but the doctor reassured me and told me it wasn't cancer, and I'm so glad he did."  Every one of us wishes that we had had a hysterectomy done before we developed uterine cancer.  Some of us were wrongly told that our symptoms were not cancer.  We're not supposed to be giving medical advice here.  I can only tell you the facts.  5% of women will develop a GYN cancer at some point in their lives.  You're post menopause, so you're not using your reproductive organs for reproduction anymore.  You do the math.

I saw my GYN at the first sign of a change, and was advised that it was nothing - it wasn't nothing, it was the first sign of a life threatening uterine cancer that has led me to 9 months of miserable, damaging treatment and may still result in my death.  Just recently, a close friend in her late 50s told me she has cervical cancer.  She had a bad PAP smear almost two years ago.  Colposcopy showed nothing.  Repeat PAPs every six months were okay, but then recently, she had a LEEP biopsy which showed invasive cervical cancer.  Her GYN told her that it must have been hiding in a fold in her cervical canal.  She had asked for a hysterectomy when the first PAP came back bad, but was told it was not needed.  Now she may pay for that wrong advice with her life.

Thank you for your straight

Thank you for your straight forward reply.. 

PDXmama

MAbound said:

Rule it out

PMB is not normal and should not be dismissed. You've followed the right steps so far, but it persists. Be equally persistant and don't settle for "let's watch and see what happens". There are a number of us here that are victims of that approach to our regret. Ask for a referral to a gyn-oncologist. (Demand if you have to.) They are the experts that can rule this out more definitively than an ob-gyn. Get second opinions and more tests, but you have to know with surety why the PMB persists.

My PCP appointment is Friday.

My PCP appointment is Friday. She has been one to listen in the past. We will discuss all the options for referrals and tests . Thank you for taking the time to reply. 

Forherself

I agree what is the down side of a hysterectomy post menopause

I really can't think. of one.  But the down side of NOT having one is a spectrum that could include life altering disease and death.   

PDXmama

Forherself said:

I agree what is the down side of a hysterectomy post menopause

I really can't think. of one.  But the down side of NOT having one is a spectrum that could include life altering disease and death.   

Thank you for responding. I

Thank you for responding. I have been weighing this out as I March  toward my appointment. 

Armywife

Forherself said:

I agree what is the down side of a hysterectomy post menopause

I really can't think. of one.  But the down side of NOT having one is a spectrum that could include life altering disease and death.   

The only downside I can think of

.....is osteoporosis.  Mine became severe after hysterectomy, and my bones are almost transparent now.  So be sure you address this with your doctor and plan a combat measure!

 

PDXmama

Armywife said:

The only downside I can think of

.....is osteoporosis.  Mine became severe after hysterectomy, and my bones are almost transparent now.  So be sure you address this with your doctor and plan a combat measure!

 

That's good to know. Thank

That's good to know. Thank you

zsazsa1

The fact is that if you're

The fact is that if you're post-menopausal, you're getting very little estrogen from the ovaries, anyway.  I was probably done with hot flashes for nearly a decade before my hysterectomy, and I felt exactly the same, hormonally, just before and then after the hysterectomy.  And believe me, chemo and radiation for uterine cancer are a heck of a lot worse for your bone density than a post-menopausal hysterectomy!  Not to mention that if you develop an aggressive form of uterine cancer, for some of us, living long enough to suffer from osteoporosis is an impossible dream.

PDXmama

zsazsa1 said:

The fact is that if you're

The fact is that if you're post-menopausal, you're getting very little estrogen from the ovaries, anyway.  I was probably done with hot flashes for nearly a decade before my hysterectomy, and I felt exactly the same, hormonally, just before and then after the hysterectomy.  And believe me, chemo and radiation for uterine cancer are a heck of a lot worse for your bone density than a post-menopausal hysterectomy!  Not to mention that if you develop an aggressive form of uterine cancer, for some of us, living long enough to suffer from osteoporosis is an impossible dream.

I am definitely discussing a 

I am definitely discussing a  hysterectomy with my care team. I am not opposed to being done with whatever is causing this  PMB. While odds are in my favor the nagging feeling that they could have missed something at the time of my biopsy is unsettling.

Double Whammy

Surely something to discuss

I was scheduled for my 5th endometrial biopsy and I did not want another one.  I discussed having a prophylactic hysterectomy with ob/gyn and she agreed that I was a good candidtate.  Unfortunately, I flunked my endometrial biopsy and had a hysterectomy anyway but for endometrial cancer.  I think there are many women like us who have been told everything was ok, until it isn't.  I was very very lucky as I had no bleeding at all prior to this biopsy, just some pesky endometrial cells on Pap smear.  Before I had surgery, however, I did have significant bleeding.  Bottom line is PMB is not normal and you have every right to discuss a prophylactic hysterectomy with your ob/gyn.  Make him/her explain his/her answers.  I really don't think osteoporosis is a valid one since your ovaries are not producing estrogen anymore, anyway.  

Good luck!!

Suzanne 

PDXmama

Double Whammy said:

Surely something to discuss

I was scheduled for my 5th endometrial biopsy and I did not want another one.  I discussed having a prophylactic hysterectomy with ob/gyn and she agreed that I was a good candidtate.  Unfortunately, I flunked my endometrial biopsy and had a hysterectomy anyway but for endometrial cancer.  I think there are many women like us who have been told everything was ok, until it isn't.  I was very very lucky as I had no bleeding at all prior to this biopsy, just some pesky endometrial cells on Pap smear.  Before I had surgery, however, I did have significant bleeding.  Bottom line is PMB is not normal and you have every right to discuss a prophylactic hysterectomy with your ob/gyn.  Make him/her explain his/her answers.  I really don't think osteoporosis is a valid one since your ovaries are not producing estrogen anymore, anyway.  

Good luck!!

Suzanne 

Thank you for taking the time

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I have felt like my care team has listened to me and they have not shoved my concerns aside. I think it's time we ramp up our reaction to this PMB recuurence