Hi Deborah,
I was diagnosed with hyperplasia in 1994, when I was 43. Just prior to this, I suddenly started losing little bits of blood and mucous for most of the 2-weeks leading up to my period. I had always been prone to a little bit of mid-cycle bleeding anyway, but when it started to be so prolonged I went to my doctor and ended up having a D&C.
When the results of the tests came in, I was merely told that the lining of the womb was too thick and that the D&C alone might - or might not - cure it. It was briefly mentioned that it was possible I might have to be treated with hormones if it came back - and that a hysterectomy was sometimes necessary! I was then just sent away - no follow-up checks were done and I was never told that the problem can sometimes lead to cancer. There was no Internet available to me in those days (it being in the dark ages of the early 90s!!!!) and the only reference I found to the problem was a short 2 lines in a book that I still have:- 'Diagnosis by D&C followed by a course of hormone tablets'. Again, no mention of cancer!
During the ensuing years, I would occasionally get a tiny bit of blood loss and would think it was the problem coming back again. But it never got any worse and the incidents were months and months apart. So I never sought any further help.......... until May 2001, when I again had some very slight blood-loss - but this time on 3 subsequent days. I was (very stupidly) a few months overdue for a smear test then, so I booked one - and when I had it done, I bled a lot (and for 10 days afterwards) and they couldn't get a result because of the blood.
I subsequently got a test done privately by the liquid cytology method (not yet used by the National Health Service here in England) and that came back clear. In the meantime though, the prolonged bleeding following my smear took me to my doctor - and he referred me to a gynaecologist. That was around July time though - but I didn't get an appointment until the end of October and by then the problem had greatly lessened again. I was convinced that it was either my previous problem coming back, or (even more likely) connected to the menopause, as my periods were getting irregular and I only seemed to be getting problems when I missed a period.
My appointment was for the 30th October - but as luck would have it, my daughter's 21st birthday was the next day and at the last moment my husband booked for us two gals to go to a health farm. I wanted to swim and was worried that the examination would make me bleed so I cancelled it! I was given another one for the end of December - but by then I had discovered that I had got high blood pressure and I got really obsessed with trying to deal with it by diet/exercise and no drugs. So, I cancelled my appointment yet a second time - mainly because I was worried that I would have to have a 2nd D&C and that I would be put on BP drugs because of it! (Can you believe how stupid I was?!!!!)
I got a 3rd appointment for the 25th January and amazingly did somehow manage to turn up for that (though not without a final attempt to get my GP to let me cancel altogether - luckily he wouldn't agree!) I didn't need a D&C this time, as they were able to take a sample of the lining of the womb just as they do from the cervix during a smear test. I went away really happy, absolutely convinced that there was nothing wrong. I had been really worried the previous summer when the problems had got worse for a while - but since then my symptoms had greatly improved. I felt sure that, if there had been a serious problem, then the situation would have contined to get worse, not better.......
Apparently not......... on the 1st February I got a letter calling me back to the clinic on the 5th and guessed at once that this was something serious. I was told that they had found cancer, but that the good news was that it was a very slow-growing kind. I had an MRI scan on the 7th February and mercifully found out subsequently that the cancer did not appear to be invasive. I had my TAH/BSO on the 7th March - this went incredibly well and the surgeon told me that he saw no signs of the cancer having spread. This was confirmed to me last Tuesday when I was given the results of the histpathology tests - they are happy that they have got everything and I am not going to be given any further treatment. So, despite all my delaying , I have a very good chance of being totally cured!
Back to the hyperplasia ............ I have recently found out much more about this via the Internet. By way and above the most informative site I have seen though is the WebMd one I found through Hystersisters:-
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1680.51528
I was absolutely horrified when I read the following passage:-
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Even severe hyperplasia is still a precancerous, often treatable, condition. (Make sure you ask what kind of hyperplasia it is.)
Once the lining is shed, you'll need to get your hormones checked via a simple blood test. In fact, hyperplasia almost always develops because of a hormonal imbalance (too much or not enough progesterone). When this is the case, hormone therapy is the cure. For an estrogen surplus, progesterone will counteract it; for a progesterone deficiency, progesterone supplements are also the therapy. The menstrual cycle will often "right" itself after several "assisted" cycles.
After your lining has been shedding more regularly, you'll need a second endometrial biopsy or even a D & C to see if the lining is normal again.
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Why didn't any of this happen to me in 1994? Why were there no follow-ups done on me to find out if the problem had been totally cured by my D&C? Why was I ever allowed to be ignorant enough to believe that, as I never went back to the prolonged bleeding I had in 1994, the possible slight recurrence I thought I had just wouldn't be of any consequence? I guess I will probably never know the answer to these questions. I can only hope that I stay well and never have to worry about them again........
Deborah, I don't know whether or not you will need a hysterectomy. Do read the bit on the WebMd link already referred to stating that many hysterectomies for hyperlasia are performed unecessarily. If you don't have a hysterectomy though, be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN to make sure that your hormone levels are checked again afterwards and that they are completely confident that the problem has been fully remedied. And if you get even the slightest problem in the future, be sure to get it checked out! Don't be a fool like me!
I wish you all the best for the future.
You take care now.
:Hug:
Complex Hyperplasia...after D&C and Laproscopy
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