Hi All,
This is my first post on here so apologies that it is so long!
In 2013 I began having problems - bleeding after and during intercourse, bloating, back pain and eventually bleeding almost everyday - I had been on the pill since 2006 and had been on the DEPO injection for 6 months when the problems began.
I visited my GP several times. I was told to stop DEPO and put back on another pill. The issues persisted and in October 2013 I was given my first smear (this was actually rejected twice by the hospital given that I was only 23 and under the age for smear). My GP to her credit persisted and I finally got a smear accepted and a referral to gynecology. My smear test came back ‘normal’ with HPV, however gynecology discovered a cervical ectropion and I was referred to colposcopy.
In December 2013 I attended colposcopy and had a biopsy taken. The Dr was pretty confident she had also removed most of the ectropion. The dye test in fact showed some ‘abnormal’ cells further into my cervical canal which would not have been picked up by a regular smear. During the appointment I bled quite severely and had to be cautaurised.
The results came back that the cells were in fact OK, but I did have HPV present. I was advised to stop all hormonal contraception as this can cause ectropions to grow. I have been hormonal contraceptive free for almost 2 years now.
I had no issues and my periods seemed to stabilise… until recently.
I have been experiencing back ache, period-like pain throughout my cycle, bloating, sickness and tiredness. Each of which I put down to other things. Then on Monday this week I bled after intercourse and it was enough to scare me. I made an appointment to see my nurse yesterday.
She was concerned that despite my previous history I had not been called for follow up smear tests. She did a smear there and then for me. And I bled… everywhere. It was excruciatingly painful (something I have never experienced previously). The nurse was concerned enough to book me in with a Dr today in order to get an urgent referral back to colp. She did not want me to wait the 2 weeks for the smear results. Suffice to say I’m more than a little worried.
Further, the ectropion appears to have returned and is now the size of a 5 pence piece. I’m pretty sure that will have been the source of the bleeding.
Today I have moderate to serve cramping which I understand can be quite normal following a smear, however I have never had it go on for this long previously.
I understand that there is no link between ectropians/erosion and anything more sinister. I think I’m just a little worried thinking back that cells showed up under colp. but were then deemed OK and the presence of HPV at the time.
Has anyone else had similar symptoms/ experiences?
I am 25 years old. I don’t have any children.
Many thanks for reading.
Lauren
