Break from dilator use

Just getting over a total hip replacement (radiotherapy treatment caused a cut off in blood supply to femoral head diagnosed with AVN)
Not been able to use dilator for 6 weeks and have noticed pink blood today when i wiped after a wee. Sorry if that’s too much info. My last MRI at end of July all clear. Had to come off HRT patches leading up to surgery allowed to restart 5 weeks ago.
Managed to use dilator for 1st time in 6 weeks today and bled very slightly. Is this normal due to lack of use?

Hi Murphy19

I’ve occasionally experienced a bit of bleeding after using a dilator and was advised it was due to vaginal adhesions (caused by the radiotherapy) breaking down and indicated effective dilation technique. It’s very likely a bit of adhesion has taken place over the 6 weeks you weren’t dilating so I would consider your bleeding is normal and to be expected. However, I’m not an expert so if in doubt best to contact your CNS.

Sorry to hear about the radiotherapy causing a cut off in blood supply to your femoral head. I hope you make a good recovery

x

Hi Jazza for now I’m not going to freak out. I’m intending to get back into the habit of regular dilation and monitor the pink blood for 2 weeks. My CNS always advised to monitor any changes for a period of two weeks before panicking so that’s what i plan to do. No pain accompanying the pink blood. I’ve also been on blood thinners since the hip replacement so that is possibly a contributing factor. Thanks for your good wishes doing well with hip replacement recovery…slowly but surely :+1:

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I still have occasional bleeding w dilator use. My oncologist said it’s due to thinner vaginal tissues that’s friable when touched. I still panic every now and then every time I see blood but it only happens after each dilation. I guess small amount of blood is normal as radiotherapy effect when you leave dilation use for quite a while as scars can form and they break down when you dilate.

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