Spotting and scared

Posted , 5 users are following.

hi all,

i hope someone on this this forum can give me some reassurance, so my problem started 2 months ago when I was 4 days late for my period, that didn't worry me because it eventually came and was normal, then the following month I started to spot6-7 before my period, then it went into my normal period and lasted 7 days(normal for me), that month I didn't have any mid cycle spotting which I have been getting for over a year now and lasts 1 day. So I stopped bleeding on the Sunday everything was fine no spotting then on the Saturday I had the 1 day of mid cycle spotting, I haven't had any spotting since but I have had random pinpricks of blood so small that I wouldn't have noticed them if I wasn't looking, I have become very obsessed about checking and I am petrified every time I go to the loo, so I am 4 days away from my period, and this is how it's been, I am 45 next month my smear was done 10 months ago and other symptoms I have been having are night sweats but they have subsided now, disturbed sleep waking5-6 times a night, joint and back pain, terrible brain fog(found my purse in the outside bin yesterday), I am to scared to go to the Drs as I suffer with health anxiety and it take everything I have got to have my smear, just to add to this my daughter did have her first baby last month so I'm not sure if stress has made it worse.

anyway I am sorry to go on so long

many thanks 

herbie

1 like, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Frankly, you need to go to your doctor to find out what's going on. Of course it is probably nothing, but if something is truly wrong you will have caught it sooner, rather than later! There are other types of female cancers that aren't identified with a smear, such as uterine cancer.  Please go see your doctor as soon as you can to get to the bottom of this.  xx

    • Posted

      Thanks for the advice but this has sent my anxiety sky high any mention of cancer and my ha goes into overdrive, so now I am really scared to go to the Drs, the spotting I had last month is bearly there this month, just a slight pinrick or 2, no proper spotting , so I was hoping this was a good sign that it had improved, anyway thanks for the reply xxx
  • Posted

    Hi.  I feel your pain with the HA.  It is always a major ordeal when I make myself go to the doctor.  Heart racing, sweaty palms, on the verge of tears or actually crying... it’s miserable.  I never had the mid cycle spotting but I know a lot of people have that.  One of my first symptoms with peri (3 years ago) was spotting before my period for a few days.   I will spot after sometimes and sometimes it goes on forever. I have seen others post about the forever spotting.   I am occasionally late now too.  12 days was the most.  I was always 28 days on the dot before this.  I am now 46..  during my period I will have low back pain.  Maybe since the night sweats have subsided, it means your hormones are shifting again...and causing the spotting.  Hopefully some other ladies will chime in but I hope this makes you feel better.  Hang in there.  ((Hugs))
    • Posted

      Thank you so much for your kind words, reading your post made me feel a lot better, hopefully other ladies will post with the same sort of symptoms.

      once again many thanks

      herbie

  • Posted

    Hi Sherry,

    I can hear how scared you are! I know what it's like when the health anxiety engages. It has a life of it's own and grabs a stranglehold that is truly terrifying. Mine is literally a mental illness that takes over my brain and leaves no room for normalcy.

    The mid-cycle spotting you describe happened to me on two separate occasions. The first was from a benign uterine polyp. Uterine polyps are common in peri and are never a danger. The look almost like a hanging bag boxers use to build upper body strength. They bounce around in the uterus and, mid cycle, can dislodge some of the accumulating lining. I had mine removed in an outpatient procedure and there were no problems.  

    The second was a more straightforward, hormonal, mid-cycle bleeing. It sounds like you are experiencing some intrusive peri symptoms. It wouldn't surprise me if your symptoms were just hormonal vagaries.

    But Lynda is right. I needed to go to my GYN to be sure. Both times for me, he did a painless transvaginal ultrasound to take a look and be sure.  (The polyp looked like a man's fist on the ultrasound. It was smaller than a sesame seed. They can see anything they need to see.) 

    The health anxiety is another thing. It is a living breathing monster, almost separate from the minor physical symptoms you are having. The health anxiety thrives in the not-knowing. And the arc of fear that goes with making and keeping a doctor's appointment is truly nearly unbearable. I hear you. I have had that feeling where I know I will die of the fear just from picking up the phone on Monday morning. (My health anxiety thrives on the weekends when I can self-escalate and am unable talk to a professional about my symptoms.)

    If it helps at all, PM me and we can make a plan to talk before, during and after whatever plans you make. This site has been a life saver for me regularly.  I consider it a privilege to pay that forward. 

    When/if you see the spotting again, my GYN encouraged me to put a tampon in and make sure. Once I made an emergency appointment with my GYN because I swore I thought I saw spotting on the shower floor. Turns out it was me clearing my dry, bloody nose. Ugh. 

    We all love you! 

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