10 years of irregular bleeding?

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2005
10 years of irregular bleeding?
8
Sat, 08-05-2006 - 11:08pm

Just how long does a girl have to battle irregular bleeding before a doc will decide to get to the bottom of it? I am not kidding, I have been bleeding twice a month for the good part of 10 years. This is a bit long and I am sorry but it is 20 years of back-fill! I started my period at the age of 14 (I am now 35). They were always regular and a little heavy for 6 days. I started taking the pill ASAP after having my first child at 17 years of age. It was Ortho-Novum-7/7/7 and it worked wonderful for me for the longest time. I decided to try Depro-Prevara and in the process of switching over, got pregnant. I vowed to never go off the pill again! After the birth of my second child I started taking Ortho-Novum again. It worked great for a bit and then I started bleeding between periods. It was always at the beginning of my third week of pills. I guess that puts it at 16 days into the pack. Over the course of a couple years, my OB-Gyn tried several flavors of pills and with no luck. I bled on all of them (tried every brand for about 6 months). He finally sends me to a specialist. This specialist puts me on Ovral. Not Lo-Ovral, just Ovral......the high dose estrogen stuff. The stuff they stopped giving to everyone because the dose was way higher than it needed to be to stop pregnancy. He wasn't even sure they still made it at first. That seemed to work for a while. Then, it stopped working and I started bleeding again. I moved and the new doc tried something else....Demulen. No luck. So he puts me back on the Ovral. Still bleeding. We try Ortho-Tri-Cyclene. Stopped bleeding for one month and then back to the bleeding. Am I losing my mind? I think I have tried every pill out there and I always end up bleeding. The "bleeding" used to be quite red and now days is usually light pinkish-brown with no breaks until 2 days before my real period starts (which is as normal as it always was).

Now a new twist...... I started having bleeding after sex for the past 2-3 years. It is always around day 12-14 in my pack. If we have sex, it is day 12-14 that I start to bleed. If no sex, it will be pill # 16-ish that I start to bleed. The amount of blood varies. It is never heavy enough to soak a tampon. It is always worse after sex and we dirty up a good bit of a towel (sorry for TMI) trying to keep the comforter clean. When I use the toilet, it is a brownish-pink tint on the tissue. Sometimes there are deep red drops and tiny bits of flesh in the toilet when I go to flush. I am so sorry for this level of detail but please help me. Once the "bleeding" starts it continues straight until 2 days before my real period. There is no post-sex bleeding any other time of the month. I have been thoroughly checked for STDs and I am clean. My husband and I are monogomous and have been since we met 3-4 years ago. Should I continue to pursue an answer or does the length of this problem and no abnormal paps seem to indicate that it is nothing to worry about? I hate to keep pestering my doctors because I have been in so many times for other mystery stomach pains. I am sure they must think I am a hypochondriac (sp?). I am just tired of this. I quite often feel "off" or just not quite right. Not to mention that the bleeding during/after sex is a real turn-off and stressful. The iron smell is unbearable at times, too.

Ok...............help???

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-16-2003
Sun, 08-06-2006 - 8:21am
i can relate...my problem is almost exactly the same as yours. i took the pill w/no problems for 5 years but for the last 6 years or so i bleed like you do. it is very frustrating. i have been checked for std's, had ultrasounds done, no physical problems....my doctor says it is just something i have to do with if i want to be on the pill.
that does not help you much but i just wanted you to know you are not alone!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Sun, 08-06-2006 - 11:27am

Hi again sharonformike, welcome back!


      Jill

    

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2005
Sun, 08-06-2006 - 6:27pm

My problem with any kind of long-term contraception is that they have found something about my liver. I suspect it was the high-dose estrogen but I'll have a better idea what contraceptive choices are left to me after thay determine what it is they have found. At first they said cysts. Now looking to rule out hemangioma and some other thing. I've had ultrasound, CT, MRI and am waiting for the results of my tagged red blood cell scan. There are multiple whatevers with the largest being almost an inch and the second largest being almost as big. The pains I get tend to be in the upper abdomen.....right under the rib cage. At any rate, I worry a bit because 1 1/2 years ago, they did all the same tests except that last one when I was admitted to the hospital for dabilitating stomach pain/diarhea.....and there was nothing there. Is that considered fast growth? I consequently had high liver numbers and an enlarged bile duct. They never did figure that out before I was discharged.

Am I a mess or what? I've decided I am losing my damn mind. I have volunteered my husband to get a vasectomy and then I can go off the hormone stuff all together. He is up for it, actually. At least that is what he says. He has yet to make an appt to consult with a doc. I guess it is time to flex my muscles! ;) Snip snip!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-12-2002
Sun, 08-06-2006 - 10:15pm

Ultrasounds will not pick up everything that could be wrong.

 


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Mon, 08-07-2006 - 8:00am

You may also want to consider a second opinion.

Judie Cl for Birth Control 
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2005
Mon, 08-07-2006 - 8:40am
I wish I could go to another doc..........
Ahhhhhh, the joys of being active duty military. I'm going to schedule another appt and see what I can get done............if anything. Hell, it's probably nothing.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-25-2005
Mon, 08-07-2006 - 6:32pm
I talked to the nurse at my doc's today. As I suspected, it isn't clear what the disgnosis of my liver issue is but he thinks it is just focal nodular hyperplasia (typically a harmless tumor). However, it is indicated that women with this condition do not continue with hormonal contraceptives because they increase the risk of hemmorage. The radiologist recommended a biopsy or an additional CT in three months. Since the liver is so vascular, I opted for the CT. Hmmmmm....... I guess I better start hounding the hubby about that procedure.


Edited 8/7/2006 8:47 pm ET by sharonformike
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-30-2003
Mon, 08-07-2006 - 9:59pm

>>it isn't clear what the disgnosis of my liver issue is but he thinks it is just focal nodular hyperplasia (typically a harmless tumor). However, it is indicated that women with this condition do not continue with hormonal contraceptives because they increase the risk of hemmorage. The radiologist recommended a biopsy or an additional CT in three months. Since the liver is so vascular, I opted for the CT. Hmmmmm....... I guess I better start hounding the hubby about that procedure. <<


      Jill