Have recently been getting bleeding after menopause ( I'm 64) and was reading that having a thyroid disorder is one of the things that can cause it?
Anyone else heard this?
I have no thyroid since 20 years plus, taking T4 & T3.
Obviously I will be consulting my doctor, but is this another problem we have to put up with?
Do see your GP. I had it for 2years & Gp kept giving me progesterone creams... When Covid arrived I did an eConsult & the person checking it was concerned and I was sent to gynae... I had uterine cancer!! So please don't ignore the bleeding ... Just in case!!
Hi, thanks for your reply .I hope you are o.k.now?I had the bleeding last year in Feb just before lockdown, and was sent for a scan, which was o.k. Since then I also had it in Nov last year,but didn't do anything about it as I thought I've just had a scan. I have been using oestrogen cream for a few years, which it says can cause bleeding and spotting.
I had bleeding last year after Covid. 10 years post menopause. They did ultrasound and biopsy. Negative for cancer. Endometrial overgrowth.Why? I gained a lot of weight. However, since no one ever did an ultrasound since 1995,
how do I know what the endometrium has been like since decades?)
Since then I've lost 20 kg and am supposed to get another ultrasound.
My doctor didn't say anything about how overweight post menopausal women who bleed have a high risk for endometrial cancer. I had to find it myself.
I only experienced one episode last year in late April.
So if you need to lose weight, do it to save your life.
Sometimes it really does come to that.
Right now I take 200 mg Progesterone and 1 squirt of Estrogel per day.
I was using HrT since pre-menopause due to horrific hot flashes.
They can be so bad I feel sick. The pharmacist suggested to slowly
taper off the estrogen and not stop cold turkey. But unless I really
have to, I'd rather not.
(I don't have a sex life but vaginal dryness and thinning can become
very painful later in life. I'd rather avoid it if possible.)
I was on HRT but after getting a scare with a mammogram and having a biopsy, (which was o.k.)I decided to come off the HRT. Since then I have been using oestrogen cream for dryness. I weigh 9.5 stone, so not bad for weight,difficult to get any lower!
I found this online. Weight ranges depend on height, age, etc.calculator.net/ideal-weight...
Polyanna, that's awful...that you had to wait until Covid arrived to see a gynae consultant...but thank goodness you did then. Your advice is very timely...so out of something bad for you comes something good...re your advice...if that make sense. I hope all is well with you now. I wonder if I am the only one who resents giving the dreaded lurgy a capital C. Take care.
Knip, do you mean Covid vaccinations/boosters?
I was referring, rather facetiously, to the corona virus, and anything related to it! As in Covid19.😔
Oh I see! I had never thought of it until today to be honest! I just wish I could throttle the living daylights out of it personally. The only thing is that my hands work less than my thyroid does these day!
I need a pair of mole grips to open a safety lid on a small bleach bottle these days!
I so empathise with you regarding your hands! 😥 We don't always realise how much we use them for simple things until RA strikes!
Yes indeed, it is a real B! when your hands don't work any more isn't it??? It drives me daft.
I have jar openers, an electric tin opener is worth it's weight in gold. But undoing a bleach bottle?? I can't find anything to help with that at all, except mole grips that you can lock onto the bottle. And you have to do it in the sink, or you are likely to splash the stuff everywhere. I love bleach for sinks and loos!
I hope everything goes ok at your G.Ps. Please keep us updated.
Thanks!
This happened quite recently (the year before Covid) to someone I know. She was about 60 - 62 at the time. It turned out she had endometrial cancer but thankfully was treated quickly and had no spread of the disease.
Don't let your doctor fob you off. You need proper investigation, not being dismissed.
Thanks.I don't think she will fob me off. She will likely send me for another scan to cover herself. I don't really want to be having a scan every time I have bleeding if it's every six months or so as it's very painful!
Scans are inadequate. You need to have samples/biopsies taken of the lining from inside your womb (I think).
Read the NICE guidelines to see if your doctor is doing what she's supposed to :
cks.nice.org.uk/topics/gyna...
Now that's painful. But necessary for a definitive diagnosis.
last year when I had the scan the doctor didn't do a biopsy as she said there was nothing there in the womb she could get a sample of!
That's kind of weird because ultrasound will measure the thickness of the endometrium. There's no such thing as zero millimeters. If the endometrium isevenly thick everywhere, then the likelihood of cancer is reduced. Cancer shows up as irregularities. Or at least that's what I read. It can also invade the muscle of the uterus.
I think we could each of us write a booklet about all that we've been through in life medically. And we're still here so we're not done yet. 🥺
I've thought of doing that for years. But I have never started because I realise it would come across as being a) extremely boring and b) I wouldn't have the skill to write it without sounding self-pitying.
Hello, please don’t think I am stupid but I am taking Thyroxine and get bleeds is this only a concern while taking HRT or is it not just a by product of Thyroid? I hate being so weak am only 60 Is this normal? Thank goodness for this feed
I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about HRT at all (I'm not a doctor). I've never had to learn about it because I've never taken it.
If you look at the Patient Information Leaflet for your HRT does it say that bleeding can be a side-effect after menopause?
I think it is still possible for women to have periods at 60, although I think it would be very rare.
If you are quite definitely post-menopause and your bleeding isn't explained by your HRT then I think you ought to see a doctor and ask for tests to be done to explain the bleeding.
Hello blondpalomino:
My thoughts are from an entirely different arena. I had Graves and the symptoms started right on the cusp of menopause but went undiagnosed for years. One thing I did learn though the years was from my naturopathic doctor who took the time to really listen to me and THINK. I kept having break through bleeding and my doctor reviewed my supplement list. We determined that I had an allergic reaction to soy products. I had been trying red yeast rice and some other soy products to reduce my high cholesterol. Whenever I took them, breakthrough bleeding would happen. This took about 3 years to figure out.
So I agree with everyone else here, make sure to get it checked out. But consider that our cycles are another way that our bodies "DETOX". Look around your life and determine perhaps what your body might have a reaction to.
When I finally got healthy, my cycle regulated again and menopause looks like it is finally attainable.
Good luck!
Hi seeking answers, that's very interesting! wonder it didn't take longer than 3 years!
I had post-menopausal bleeding, saw my GP, got referred as an emergency (my maternal grandmother had womb cancer around the same age - mid 50s - she lived until she was in her 90s!) and it turned out to be a uterine polyp.
I recently had this, although I’m 55 and perimenopausal although been on hrt a year continuously so was classed as post menopausal by my GP…I had an urgent scan (within a week) they found my endometrium to be normal but did find a suspicious ovarian cyst, my blood tests is normal and now off hrt until had another scan, which should be in few weeks to see if any change, I feel they won’t find anything different as the bleeds have continued regardless of being on or off hrt. They also did see a condition called adenomyosis, which is where the endometrial lining goes into the myometrium which is the muscular wall of uterus which is where we get our contractions from when having a baby… very little information on internet regarding this condition and I’m looking into this to see if anything to do with my muscular problems as they’ve been disregarded by GPs and an endocrinologist although in process of upping meds so we will see on that front.
So there could be many reasons for bleeds, but do get checked out soon.
If you have uterus you should have progesterone to keep lining thin as oestrogen gel/cream can build lining up cause problems as people have mentioned.
Hope all goes well.
I had this around 58 years - just slight spotting on one day. I had the horrific hysteroscopy which they tried to persuade me to have without an injection. It still hurt like hell even with it. I was told it was an oestrogen surge that caused it, but I wasn't taking any.
Yes that's what I had the hysteroscopy with no injection or anesthetic,didn't get mentioned, and like you say it hurt like hell, so not keen on having another one now I know what's coming!
also I have had several coils inserted over the years, so similar pain to that, and I have had no children!
me too, on both counts - one of them put me in hospital
I also am Hypothyroid and 3 years after menopause I experienced bleeding. I saw my GP who told me it was highly likely it was endometrial cancer. I saw the consultant 2 weeks later and had surgery a week later. That was 11 years ago, Please see your GP asap. Early treatment has the best outcome.
I had post menopausal breakthrough bleeding the year I turned 59. No other symptoms. By the time I had an ultrasound, followed by a biopsy, it was a stage 3C endometrial cancer. I too initially attributed it to a thyroid or other hormonal issue. Uterine (endometrial) cancer is totally curable if found early. It is often cured by a simple hysterectomy. I second the opinions of those who said to get this checked out as soon as possible. A scan may not show anything even if the cancer is quite advanced.
you're really cheering me up now!
Sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you. It’s just that time really is of the essence if it is by any chance cancer. I had a solid year of surgery, chemo and radiation, which were absolutely terrible. If I can help one person avoid the misery I went through, it is worth it. Your post-menopausal bleeding most likely has a benign cause. It’s just important to rule out the more serious possibilities expeditiously. Hope you get answers soon and that you are just fine.
Hi penny, no I had it first last Feb before covid. I did have an adverse reaction to the covid jab - tinnitus, which I still have after nearly 6 months, which thousands of other people also had.I had not heard that bleeding in post menopausal women was also a reaction.
Postmenopausal bleeding is often down to a uterine polyp. They tend to be benign. Your doctor can arrange for a consultation.
I hope all will turn out well for you.
Hi Blondpalomino
Any bleeding after menopause needs to be checked out thoroughly. .This should be a red flag for your GP. It could be many things but the first thing to do is rule out cancer. Do not wait, as if it is, then the sooner you start treatment the better the prognosis. Others here have mentioned uterine cancer and this was the symptom and the diagnosis my mum had. She was actually involved in a trial looking at methods for how to detect ovarian cancer at earlier stages and was getting scans done as part of that. It didn’t detect anything, although maybe they were looking at a different area (?) her diagnosis came after an internal biopsy. Of course many red flags come back with good news and more often than not, it’s something other than the dreaded big C - cancer not covid! But it definitely needs further investigation. If you don’t you’ll just worry yourself sick. The odds are in your favour in terms of it being something else, so all being well, everything will come back clear and you can settle yourself. I know my thyroid doesn’t cope well with stress and worry so get the scary stuff ruled out quickly so you can concentrate on your overall well-being.
X
Do get checked out - and go back if bleeding persists. I had an ultrasound and was told I had a polyp. Went to get it removed as a day patient and it was then discovered I had endometrial cancer. Soon after I had a hysterectomy which removed all of the cancer and I’m fine now. The bleeding was very light. I felt well. My husband urged me to go to the GP - thank goodness.
This can also be due to a polyp or two. I have had similar symptoms and two polyps removed. They are a pain, as they can grow back. But they are quite tricky to see on a scan and it can be interpreted as a thickened womb lining. I’ve had several hysteroscopies which showed nothing but they eventually found them. Keep up the questions and get seen. I haven’t personally heard it has any connection to thyroid myself. But that doesn’t mean anything. I may just not know. I hope you get sorted soon.
Hi blondpalomino,
This is for you and anyone else who has been taking HRT. I read Dr. John Lee’s book on menopause and he is (was, as he is deceased) a big advocate for natural progesterone. For people who don’t have a thyroid, doctors always say - no hormones! Dr. Lee disagreed with that and he helped thousands of patients, including hypothyroid patients and those without thyroids, with natural progesterone cream. The problem with HRT is that it is synthetic hormones, and those do not have the benefits that natural progesterone has. Natural progesterone can help prevent endometrial cancer (by helping prevent thickening of the endometrium) and help prevent osteoporosis and has many other health benefits. What happens to most of us is estrogen dominance, for a variety of reasons, at some point, even as early as in our 20’s or 30’s. So, if you do find that your bleeding is NOT due to endometrial cancer, then you may want to try some natural progesterone cream to help prevent thickening of the endometrial lining. Dr. Lee also believed that most women don’t need estrogen - because we already have estrogen dominance. Or if we do, only for a short while. But natural progesterone can be taken in cream form for forever and benefits women in all kinds of ways. Progesterone can be bought online although because it’s not regulated, one does have to be careful about other ingredients put into the cream and dosage. Dr. Lee’s book explains the how-to’s of using progesterone in detail.
I thought most of todays prescribed hrt and more and safer hrt is made from wild yams as described here, along with more information on oestrogen dominance etc.I’ve never been offered any other.
Please look at the video link for evidence based information from a menopause specialist.
I'm not on HRT as such, just oestrogen cream which the doctor says just has a local effect and not like other HRT.It is supposed to help dryness as dryness can cause thinning and bleeding, but contradicts it as the cream can also cause bleeding!
I had similar symptoms and my GP took it VERY seriously. Turned out to be a fibroid which was removed under general anaesthetic. However, my younger sister had identical symptoms and hers turned out to be uterine cancer and she had a full hysterectomy. Luckily no follow up treatment was needed and she’s gone on to lose several stones in weight.
Definitely see your doctor asap
Yes I had bleeding, not often just now and again, 63 the last time. All they wanted to do was take me off HRT without investigation. Luckily I talked a lady doctor into sending me for investigation. Turned out to be a few uterine polyps. Not the most comfortable operation I must say but got them sorted and been fine since. 67 now.
thanks, glad you're o.k. now.
Thyroid/ peri menopausal link.
Over-active thyroid & Menopause 
Thyroid Dysfunction and Sleep Disorders
THYROID AND MENOPAUSE TOGETHER.
