Hi all, am hoping you can share your experiences.
I had a colposcopy with two punch biopsies three or four weeks ago and have not quite felt right since. The colposcopy itself was alright, but I spent the next two to three weeks with awful cramping because the appt was followed by my period a week later, and I then discovered I had a UTI due to the procedure. The UTI seems to be all cleared up now thanks to a course of antibiotics, but I still have the odd sharp pain running through me. Imagine my surprise when I found myself bleeding again today! It's right in the middle of my cycle, so too soon to be a period, and though it's not heavy, it's more than what I'd call 'spotting' (TMI: mostly a brown, watery/stringy discharge, with the occasional splash of red).
Has anyone else experienced weird bleeding this long after having a punch biopsy? I did some googling but only found people who'd had cone biopsies and/or treatment (e.g. lletz), so I'm a bit puzzled as to what's going on.
Has anyone found their cycle is completely messed up? It almost *feels* like a period now (re. cramping), but it's only day 16 and so that just doesn't make sense. I'm so sick of bleeding now!
Thanks in advance :)
Just an update here for anyone else who finds themselves in this situation:
I ended up calling NHS 111, because the bleeding seemed entirely wrong. After answering a few questions, I was instructed to get an appt. with the GP in the next few hours. At the appt. the GP said it sounded very much like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) caused by infection of the biopsy sites.
He didn't do a physical examination because the treatment would apparently be the same either way. I'm now on a two-week course of antibiotics (2 x metronidazole and 2 x doxycycline per day), and am to go back to them if I'm not improving by next week.
Despite what a lot of websites say, PID apparently only causes long-term problems (e.g. with ectopic pregancies and infertility) after going untreated for several months, so the diagnosis is mostly just a relief -- hopefully no more pain or bleeding soon!
One caveat: because I'm immunocompromised due to other meds, I'm highly likely to get a similar or identical infection every time I have a colposcopy. Obviously, this sounds horrific, especially with the possible long-term complications, so the GP advised me to tell the colposcopist about this year's experience and get on a course of antibiotics immediately following the procedure just to be sure.
I hope that helps someone! Now to get better :)
