Enlarged uterus/womb, and rectal bleeding

[Hoppityhop]

Hi,

I have cyclical bleeding from my rectum. Not every month, but more often than not. It's usually in the couple of days leading up to my period, when I also have vaginal spotting as well. I went to my GP about it in November, and he suspected endometriosis (I have no prior diagnosis), and referred me to a gynaecologist.

I saw the gynaecologist last week, where she did a thorough examination, but couldn't feel any nodules. She did say that my womb felt enlarged (and it hurt a *lot* when she was examining me in a particular place.

Before I had the internal examination, she said that if it was endometriosis on my rectum/bowel, there isn't a lot they can do because of the nature of the bowel, and any surgery on that area would result in a colostomy bag! As I don't have any pain at the time of bleeding, she said that a scan would also not be necessary, as even if it did show signs of endometriosis, because there would be nothing they could do, there would be no point.

After the examination, however, she changed her mind and wants me to have a scan. I don't know if this is because she found my womb enlarged, or something else.

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of either an enlarged womb/uterus, or rectal bleeding, or both - could they be related?

I don't have pain at the time of bleeding, but I do get occasional pain (every couple of months) when I start off with lower back ache, and it radiates round to the front and becomes really excruiatingly painful, and the only way to relieve it is to lie flat on my back for a couple of hours. These episodes don't seem to have any correlation to my cycle.

Thanks for your advice.

[Impatient]

An enlargd womb is a sign of adenomyosis - a similar disease to endo - but confined to inside the uterus muscle walls and is curable - by hysterectomy eventually.

Unlike endo which is not curable.

adenomyosisadviceassociatio... is the website for all things adeno. Have a thorough read through and see if you can relate to the description.

[Hoppityhop in reply to Impatient]

Thanks for your reply. I've never heard of adenomyosis, I'll have a look at the link.

Do you think the two things are linked (the bleeding and the enlarged uterus)?

[Impatient in reply to Hoppityhop]

Quite a few ladies have both endo and adeno. So yes there could be a link - but it may just be that adeno has itself spread into the bowel muscle walls - this is still a matter for much debate - with some endo expert surgeons saying adeno can jump to bowel muscle tissue as well as being just confined to the uterus. Others saything the bowel cells may be similar to adeno but nevertheless a distinctly different entity. So far it is speculative. Adeno in the bowel walls, if that is what it is - is currently called Endo. Ooo it's so confusing, and so little is actually known about either disease and no knows for sure all the ways it spreads or why one disease nests only on muscle tissue and endo happily lives on anything it likes !!

But having said that - it is certainly worth doing your homework.

There is a lot they can do for bowel endo- but it is a highly specialised surgery - only a very few surgeons are endo expert colorectal surgeons. And it doesn't involve a colostomy bag for ever, it is a two part surgery in som cases - where the poop is diverted to a bag for a few weeks between surgeries so the section of affected bowl is cut out and the two remaining ends are reconnected again and given time to heal - then the colostomy is reversed and you can get back to 'normal' business again.

In many cases just the afected part of the bowel is cut away - not the entire section removed. It does depend on how severe it is and which procedure is going to afford you the bst chance of normal loo trips in the future.

The fact that the blleds are co-inciding with periods is indicative that this is endo related. But Surgery is an option - not compulsory.

Like you I also have endo bowel bleeds and it drips out , but it doesn't hurt while it is bleeding - though loo trips can be tricky and painful experiences.

It is something I am aware that I will probably need operating on in the not too far off future - but for now I am coping and as it doesn't hurt other than passing a poop at loo times, then I don't feel any urgency to put myself through the surgical ringer any time soon over it.

It's annoying more than anything - the bowel issue that is to say.

Despite a myriad of problems - adeno is not something I have, or at least not something I am aware of having or even suspected of having in the uterus. So i really can't pass any comment on what adeno feels like. It isn't my area of expertise, but there are a lot of ladies on this forum with adeno - and some have had their hysterectomy ops to sort themselves out and get rid of adeno.

There are also ladies who have had a bowel resection op.

Use the search box in the green bar at the top of the page and type in bowel resection to find those previous conversations.

[Hoppityhop in reply to Impatient]

Thank you so much for all the information. It does sound as if it could be adeno, with endo thrown in for good measure.

I drip when I go to the loo, and sometimes the amount of blood in the toilet bowl really freaks me out! The gp and the gynae both questioned how I knew that it was coming from my rectum and not my vagina.

Not sure I like the sound of any kind of surgery. At the moment the pain I'm getting isn't related to the bleeding, and is very intermittent, and although at the time it is awful, it's often three months before it happens again. Not sure that having surgery is worth it for a few hours of pain every few months. I suppose if it gets worse then I will have to think about it.

For now, I'm awaiting a letter with a date for a scan. The gynae didn't tell me what sort of scan it would be - is it likely to be internal? Or just like an ultrasound? I have no idea what to expect. She originally said (prior to my examination) that having a scan wasn't worth it because it was intrusive, which makes me think that it wouldn't just be an ultrasound.

Thanks, again, for your advice.