This is a long post, but I need help. And this board is often educated and helpful.

[Anonymous]

OP, once they are done with all the diagnostics you might really benefit from HRT. It will radically reduce perimenopause-related spotting and it may also help even out your brain state a bit.

I truly sympathize. But you know you had a recent normal US and CT, so you know deep down that this is not likely to be a process other than benign. Do what you can to distract yourself until you get to the shrink on Monday.

Sending good thoughts your way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bled, full on bled red blood, for 23 days when I hit perimenopause. A few days of spotting is normal, though I understand it doesn't feel that way because of your health anxiety.

You are having a mental health crisis, not a medical crisis. I'm glad you are meeting with your mental health team on monday. How long have you been on the Klonopin? My DH was on Xanax for a time and the possibility of physical dependency was not considered seriously enough. He ended up having withdrawal symptoms regularly which exacerbated his medical anxiety. Once he figured that out he started the very slow process of getting off it. His psychiatrist downplayed the withdrawal, but the truth is no one researches it. There is no benefit for pharmaceutical companies to know how hard it is to get off their stuff.

It will get better, it will just take time.

Similar thing happened to me. I was put on klonopin to help me sleep and was on it far too long. I became dependent and coming off of it was hellish, and it took many months. I remember that during the dark days of withdrawal my DH kept saying to me "Why is it even legal to give anyone this drug?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Going through something similar with testing involved and now in the midst of the waiting game.

Do you feel like your OBGYN is on the ball and helpful? If not, take your records and get a second opinion for peace of mind. If you think you’ve been with your docs, psychiatrist included, for a long time and they’ve taken you as far as you can go, maybe move on to new ones. Unlike previous generations, we have access to more information; the family doctor down the street no longer must be the final word. I think, like with any other relationship, we can get into ruts with our providers.

Also, it’s horrible to think about worst case scenarios, but find ways to feel empowered. Sometimes I feel like I’ve the situation when you. learned the hard way about taking charge of my medical needs myself— that includes taking a deep breath, letting go of (some) of the panic, and seeking the best resources. As parents we seek the best for our kids but sometimes fail to do the same for ourselves. I also think the state of the medical system in this country can leave many of us feeling helpless.

So, deep breath. One day at a time. Perimenopause sucks, and doctors don’t even seem to have good answers other than, “that’s just how it is. Take a pill.”

You don't live in the DMV do you?

Moving on from our providers is very, very difficult. Good luck finding a good psychiatrist who is taking new patients.

[Anonymous]

My guess is you’re addicted to Klonopin and experiencing anxiety related to that/withdrawal/rebound anxiety. You can’t just quit it cold turkey, you need to taper down and possibly be given an anticonvulsant to prevent a seizure.

This post screams of mental health crisis, not medical crisis.

[Anonymous]

OP,

When my mother was in perimenopause, her heaviest bleeding came when we had a 14hr flight. ALWAYS. Even if it wasn't supposed to be her time for a period! It's because hormones are associated with emotions, flying to a country on the other side of the world was stressful for her, and perimenopause just makes it ALL SO MUCH WORSE. She had to get up every 2 hrs and wrangle heavy duty pads in the tiny plane bathroom, while feeling super bloated and overwhelmed.

With your severe anxiety, you might consider taking out your uterus and ovaries. That way you'll never worry about that part of your system again. You'll have other worries, of course, but not that particular one!

Hugs.

[Anonymous]

OP, I just want to tell you that I also have several days of mid-cycle bleeding. I’m 43, and the amount has been increasing since i was 38. No cancer. It’s just perimenopause. And it sounds like a lot of us have it.

Hang in there!

[Anonymous]

OP, are you the DCUM who posted repeatedly about ovarian cancer and urinary frequency? If so, you already know that this board is not good for your health anxiety. You're doing the right thing by meeting with your mental health team. But you also need to get off these boards, since they are a manifestation of your extreme health anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I just want to tell you that I also have several days of mid-cycle bleeding. I’m 43, and the amount has been increasing since i was 38. No cancer. It’s just perimenopause. And it sounds like a lot of us have it.

Hang in there!

That is helpful to know. Did you ever see a doctor or just roll with it? I'm wondering what drug might help OCD and HA since my current ones are not cutting it.

[Anonymous]

They’re probably going yo do tests, but I went through this this year, too. And what I learned is that it is way way way way more likely to be hormonal or something benign than anything serious. None of the various doctors I encountered during the process were like, omg you’re bleeding! They were….shrugs. And I was convinced they just didn’t “understand.”

I also have health anxiety and so the whole time I was sitting here calculating the odds of all the various cancers. And the odds were like .0001%. But of course health anxiety makes you fixate on the tiny percentage.

I know I’m not supposed to reassure you, but it breaks my heart to know you’re going through what I did….especially knowing that it turned out it was nothing. (I had myself convinced it was cervical cancer since I’d had a LEEP procedure 10 years ago.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is you’re addicted to Klonopin and experiencing anxiety related to that/withdrawal/rebound anxiety. You can’t just quit it cold turkey, you need to taper down and possibly be given an anticonvulsant to prevent a seizure.

This post screams of mental health crisis, not medical crisis.

This, this, a million times this! I have a relative who committed suicide due to the Klonopin withdrawal/rebound anxiety. Klonopin is NOT meant to be taken regularly. Frankly, I have serious qualms about your psychiatrist if they prescribed Klonopin in a quantity that enables you to take it more than occasionally and/or if they’re enabling you to rely on Klonopin rather than find another med that is sufficient to treat you.

This is a mental health crisis. It sounds like you need in patient treatment, possibly rehab, to come off the Klonopin dependence. BTW, another family member went to rehab for alcoholism and commented that there were more people there for benzo dependence than alcohol or any other drug.

You don’t have cancer. And on the remote possibility that you do, it won’t be as bad as this anxiety that’s ruining your life.

I wish you the best of luck. You will get through this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is you’re addicted to Klonopin and experiencing anxiety related to that/withdrawal/rebound anxiety. You can’t just quit it cold turkey, you need to taper down and possibly be given an anticonvulsant to prevent a seizure.

This post screams of mental health crisis, not medical crisis.

This, this, a million times this! I have a relative who committed suicide due to the Klonopin withdrawal/rebound anxiety. Klonopin is NOT meant to be taken regularly. Frankly, I have serious qualms about your psychiatrist if they prescribed Klonopin in a quantity that enables you to take it more than occasionally and/or if they’re enabling you to rely on Klonopin rather than find another med that is sufficient to treat you.

This is a mental health crisis. It sounds like you need in patient treatment, possibly rehab, to come off the Klonopin dependence. BTW, another family member went to rehab for alcoholism and commented that there were more people there for benzo dependence than alcohol or any other drug.

You don’t have cancer. And on the remote possibility that you do, it won’t be as bad as this anxiety that’s ruining your life.

I wish you the best of luck. You will get through this.

I'm the OP - thank you. I have only taken Klonopin four times (when I posted I'd taken the max dose that day), so I don't think I am going through withdrawal and dependence. Just saying that was what was rx'd to get me through this week as my HA spirals. I know the dangers of the drug and wish some other drug could level me as I spiral. I am meeting with my psychiatrist tomorrow and will ask

[Anonymous]

I had this with a polyp pls don’t fret. You have an appointment and you are taking care of yourself. Don’t go looking for bleeding or you will irritate area and make more likely.
It’s OK. You are OK.

[Anonymous]

48 here and have been having the same mid cycle stuff for about 4-5 years now. Peri also seems to be setting my normally controlled anxiety really out of wack about 2 weeks out of the month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:48 here and have been having the same mid cycle stuff for about 4-5 years now. Peri also seems to be setting my normally controlled anxiety really out of wack about 2 weeks out of the month.

Same here. My anxiety is truly off the charts half the month. Couple that with unpredictable bleeding and the accompanying mood swings and bad sleep, and it's not fun at all.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if this is helpful, but when you think about sinister AUB, it doesn't usually follow a pattern. And it is heavy. If you are reliably bleeding midcycle monthly, the chances are FAR HIGHER that it is hormonal (or a polyp that gets knicked monthly at that time).

ALSO: when it comes to uterine cancer, the vast majority of cases are in women who have passed menopause. The other (rare) cases are almost ALWAYS in women who are very obese. Not always, but overwhelmingly so.

Plus, the CT scan and ultrasound would have almost certainly picked up an abnormality.

Does this mean you shouldn't get checked out with new bleeding patterns? Of course not - get seen. But the odds of it being sinister are incredibly small.