Hello. I am a 27y/o female who has PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). I have been bleeding very heavily now (with large clots) for 5 weeks and 2 days. My GYN put me on BCP, but I am still bleeding. She seems to think it is due to the PCOS, but I am terrified, because my mom died at 43 of ovarian cancer. I had a trans vaginal ultrasound done last year, that came out clean, but after reading some of the posts here I am worried they could have missed something. I have a GYN appt. scheduled for this Thursday, so hopefully I will get some sort of answers. I am soo scared....please, is there anyone who knows what can cause this?
Mistress26--Welcome to the Anemia board! I'm sorry for the loss of your mother, I know how worried you must be about the fear of CA, but this is most likely not at all related to what you are experiencing. The transvaginal ultrasound does miss some things because it really isn't the right tool for some of the things missed. As far as the ovaries it does show the ovaries well and it is a reliable test. There is also an ovarian CA test that you can ask your doctor about to set your mind at ease. I think the name of it is CA125 and this is a simple blood test. Although you probably already know about that? I think that's the right name, your GYN will know of course. I have known people that had problems with bleeding and BCP's and for some it was a matter of adjusting the type of BC being taken. It may be something as simple as that.
Be sure to get a CBC to see if you are anemic and also ask for a Ferritin test to make sure that your iron stores are not too low. This will also give you a baseline marker for later. There are many of us here that have no idea what our Ferritin should be because we didn't know to ask for this test long ago. It is not a standard test, you have to ask for it. You are young start now and you will be a step ahead of all of us! Ask your GYN if you should be on iron due to the blood loss.
Please try hard not to worry at this point. Best wishes to you and keep us posted. FLFLOWERGIRL
How long have you been on BCP? if it was only recently then it might take a little time to adjust to the tablets.
Have your periods always been this heavy and lengthy?
Whatever is going on in your body, it's definitely not normal to be heavily bleeding for as long as you have. You need to do some serious detective work and find out all the things which cause heavy menstrual cycles.
My cycles used to be normal, then ended up all over the place and i had some fairly heavy bleeding also. I tried 3 different brands of BCP and they all had side effects i couldn't handle.
I then thought this whole situation was rediculous as you can't simply mask a problem by popping pills each day. There had to be a reason why my body was doing what it was doing. My then gp was useless as anything period related he would simply tell me to go on BCP.
I found a naturopath who gave me some liquid herbal drops to take and that made my periods regular and lighter, but each time i have tried to wean myself off the herbal liquid my periods have begun getting messed up again. Now i'm back on the herbs.
Fast forward to recently and i finally found out that i do have a thyroid condition and my new doctor believes my messed up cycles are due to a hormonal imabalance as a result of my thyroid issues. He could very well be correct as in that same year my periods began getting messed up, i also began shedding more hair than normal.
I also had an external and internal ultrasound and everything appeared perfect. Prior tests i also had didn't come up with PCOS.
Off the top of my head i can't recall what things can cause a heavy period other than hormonal imbalance of some description and PCOS. I think perhaps fibroids and polyps can change your menstrual cycle too. Have you done a search on the net?
Audrey, I am very curious about the herbs that you took that actually helped your periods. I was hoping to come across someone who could prescribe something natural rather than take the BCPs. But I really needed to act fast and start the pill and didn't have time to do any research. I am fortunate that my insurance covers naturopaths. I had better see one! Wow! I suppose a Chinese herbalist could help as well?
There is also an ovarian CA test that you can ask your doctor about to set your mind at ease. I think the name of it is CA125 and this is a simple blood test.
The CA 125 test is technically not a cancer test per say. CA 125 is a protein that is a so-called "tumor marker" (a substance that is found in greater concentration in tumor cells than in other cells of the body). If you suffer from PCOS, the CA 125 may not be the most accurate method for you - things like pregnancy, endometriosis, uterine fibroids (benign tumors), normal menstruation, and pelvic inflammatory disease can cause abnormal results.
It is good that your doctor put you on the birth control pill. There has been some evidence that the BC pill may protect women against ovarian cancer (especially if they are on it for a long period of time).
As for your anemia, my doctor told me that sometimes anemia can have no "cause", but after doing some research on this board, I have a lot of questions too! Good luck with finding the cause of your anemia, and take care!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am scheduled for an hystoscopy and a D&C this Tuesday (3/25) morning. As for right now, I am still very weak. Everything I do is an effort. My heart pounds, I get winded easily when I am up on my feet, and if I walk any distance, my chest muscles and my legs start aching. I am fine when I am relaxing though. Hopefully this procedure will make the bleeding stop and I am also hoping I will receive some blood.
ChickieLou - I found the herbal list which they use to make up my hormone balancing liquid herbal drink, which tastes so bad that it almost makes me pass out if i don't eat something straight after drinking it, even after approx 3yrs of taking it!!
I don't know what quantities they use, but the herbs are: Skullcap, Globe Artichoke, Bethroot (not Beetroot), Shepherds Purse, Chaste Tree (also known as Vitex)
As i said in a post before, this settles my menstrual cycle rather well, but once i stop taking it it starts to go all crazy again. I kept thinking it had to be due to something, never thinking it could be thyroid related.
