"Female Health Care - ignoring serious symptoms"

I was initially pleased and impressed after a previous doctor failed to acknowledge or do anything about a host of symptoms when I moved to a new doctor’s practice and promptly referred for menopause care. 

The initial care was great and once on HRT, most symptoms subsided and I felt much better. However I was still having irregular bleeding and more concerningly I was bleeding when I had sex. This had happened before HRT and I was advised once on it , it would improve but it just got worse. 

Despite raising it a number of times and pointing out it was worse, the blinkers were on and I just kept getting prescribed more HRT or different ways to administrate. Finally I was advised to get the mirena coil. 

I went again to the menopause clinic to have it inserted. The doctor in question wasn’t great. To start with they’d forgotten to clean away the bloody instruments from the previous patient and did so in a fluster. Then they seemed even more panicked during the procedure. I guessed what had happened and asked if I was bleeding a lot. They confirmed I was and that they were having problems stopping it. I explained that this was the problem I was having all the time and laid there uncomfortably for some time until it got ridiculous and I suggested if they removed the speculum the bleeding might stop! They did and I cleaned up etc.

I was told if I didn’t stop bleeding, I should go to A&E (when I got home I discovered I’d dealt with much worse and it soon stopped). I queried a smear I was due to have and advised to still go to it. I was also told to go to my own doctor to advise what had happened as I couldn’t be referred from the menopause clinic. 

When I saw my own surgery’s nurse for the smear and explained what had happened she was confused as clearly they wouldn’t be able to perform a smear if I was likely to bleed. She was great though, checked with a doctor that specialises in gynae for me and set an appointment for a few days later. The doctor advised I needed to be referred under the two week rule and ensured I understood about the rule and its implications which I did. I also got an ultrasound quickly which didn’t show much. 

The hospital appointment was slower. It was closer to 7 weeks when I was finally seen. It seemed like the doctor was good at the time as I was trusting but in hindsight, they actually told me what they thought it was or wasn’t before even examining me and was clearly sticking to the view it was menopause.

I was given a smear and a biopsy and had a mirena coil inserted. The only comment beyond those procedures with regards to the actual problem was that I was bleeding a lot with even the smallest touch to my cervix, but despite me expecting more investigation, including a camera (which I assumed I had got wrong) the can was quickly kicked down the road. 

A note on the biopsy of my uterus. I’m stoic in such situations but it was the most painful experience of my life. I screamed at one point and sobbed all the way through. I wondered afterwards why I hadn’t been given an anaesthetic. I assumed it must be a medical reason.  Nope, I later discovered that women aren’t routinely offered pain relief for this procedure as it’s assumed they can handle it. This is a bone of contention which I believe is related to misogyny in healthcare if you care to research, but take heed any woman about to get this procedure, ask for anaesthetic! You’re entitled to it and it can be given but will most likely not be offered. 

My biopsy and smear came back clear so I had to wait for a colposcopy which was no longer considered urgent since I was off the 2 week list. Meanwhile, I was constantly bleeding. I was led to believe it’s standard with the coil and waited patiently as my next appointment was pushed back twice. I did go back to my doctors who sent me for another ultrasound which was pointless and gave me something to reduce the bleeding so I could at least have some respite during a week’s holiday. 

On the third reschedule letter, I called up and explained I’d been bleeding at the levels of a full on period for 10 weeks and needed to see someone. They did get me in in the next week for the colposcopy where I saw a great doctor who was confused that I’d had no camera investigation given the biopsy. He could see a massive growth that he didn’t like the look of and wanted me back in to him within two weeks for him to investigate further with the right equipment. He got me back in a week and a half and on investigation confirmed it was a uterine growth which was so big it was protruding through my cervix plus multiple other growths elsewhere inside. The coil also wasn’t placed right due to the growths. He removed them all immediately but I had to go through another histology check since the last biopsy was blind. Thankfully it was clear!

The whole process was long, scary, frustrating and makes me very angry!

Summary:  there are some great doctors who do their job and cure patients but there’s a lot that ignore you, treat you like you’re exaggerating or simply pass you on before bothering to investigate. The first time I mentioned the bleeding was to my doctor 6 years before. Since it was minor, a new partner and they just shrugged and said it’s fine I didn’t pursue it until it got worse. I was in my later 30s. I feel if I’d been cared for correctly then, so much heartache and NHS money could have been saved!