Endometrial Hyperplasia

[sassparella]

From the results of a recent pelvic ultrasound it was mostly OK except the gynae said my endometrium was a bit thick. But he didn't want to do anything (though he said I could have a biopsy if I was worried, but didn't think I needed it) and wants to see me again in 6 months. Well I made the fatal mistake of googling thick endometrium and came up with endometrial hyperplasia which is a thicker than normal endometrium, which I discovered can turn into cancer. Now I'm terrified that I have this, it can also cause abnormal heavy bleeding which worries me too, I'm scared I'm going to bleed to death on one of my periods.

I hate this, I just want to be healthy and well, but it seems that I'll never be happy.

[oregoncoastlady]

The doctor said you were within normal range. Why isn't that enough for you? And, YOU ARE HEALTHY. You just continue to look for problems that are not there. I can't remember, do you see a therapist? Rather than Google, you should work on your anxiety.

[sassparella]

He said it was within upper normal limits, yes, but he also said it depends on where you are in your cycle. I looked up how thick it should be for where I was in my cycle and it is thicker than it should be. I know I know I shouldn't google, my husband was livid with me for googling, but I just couldn't help it. I'm convinced now that I'm either going to get uterine cancer or bleed to death during a period because of it

[sixpack]

and THERE she goes..............

I'm right there with your husband.....

[sky3942]

I had it mine was 17cm right before my menses which should had been 3. My gyn said because I never took birth control meds is why. If I had took them it would have been normal. I also had what they thought was a polyp or tumor on ultrasound I had biopsy and D&C and nova sure everything was normal.

[SighNoMore]

Sass, I adore you dearly, but sweetie you are jumping off the deep end. You are running down a road that you aren't even on. Even if it was still in the upper normal range, it was still normal! If it was in the middle you would be questioning when it would go over the normal level or if it was lower you would wonder if it would go beyond that. You have got to accept that you are truly ok. You have had lots of test.

Did Googling help? NO! Did it make it worse  Put down Google! Seriously you aren't going to find happy cases. People don't post my lining with a bit on the thick side, but I am ok! Google leads you to all the scary stuff.

[annoyingwife21]

STOP googling!!!!! Googling will never help you!! I know that I have been guilty of it so many times but have learned that if something is truly concerning, I ask my husband about it and if he doesn't know he will google it and give me the rational reason as to what is going on. Us people with HA look at severe different diagnoses that have the same symptoms and pick the worst one and freak out. Google is going to list every imaginable diagnosis. I luckily do trust doctors diagnoses- I keep the mind set that they went to school FOREVER and are meant to treat and diagnose me. How long did you go to school? Why do you credit your diagnose over the doctors? Did the doctor say cancer was inevitable-- probably not because it is not. If the doctor was concerned he/she would DEFINITELY not make you wait 6 months. What you have is not uncommon. You need to find contentment with the diagnoses (it could have been worse.) Your ok.

[oregoncoastlady]

You are going to be unhealthy forever...IN YOUR MIND. My mom started "dying" when she was around 40 yrs old. Probably  before that, but i didn't pay attention. She is now 78 years old. She is not pleasant to be around. She never bothered addressing her issues. She just takes Xanax and worries. I choose not to live my life like she has. Some days  I have to work at it. But, I refuse to be miserable. I live next door to my parents and i am around her all of the time. She sucks the life out of me with her worrying. I will NOT be that kind of person. You are choosing to be miserable.  Is that really what you want?

[sassparella]

Well my endometrium was 12mm at two weeks into my cycle where it's meant to be 8mm so it's definitely thicker than it should be. The gyno didn't even ask me where I was in my cycle at the time, but when he rang up for the ultrasound report on the phone he made a point of repeating that the endometrium was 12mm and when I asked him about it he said yes it is a bit on the thick side. So it's definitely thicker than it should be. In the latter half of the cycle it can get to 14mm which is why he said it was within normal limits but that is just before you start shedding it with a period.

I'm beside myself now, crying, shaking, I feel sick. I don't know how much longer I can go on like this. I don't want to bleed to death with a heavy period and I don't want to get cancer, I may even have it already he said it wouldn't show up on the ultrasound that only a biopsy could confirm it but I'm too scared of the anaesthetic to get one and as he said he didn't think it was necessary and I went along with that. I just feel drained and very very scared, I don't know how to cope any more.

[oregoncoastlady]

I don't think there is anything we can say to help you. You need to help yourself. I hope you can find a therapist or counselor to help with your HA.

[avianwaif]

I sort-of had the same fear tonight. I had some spotting due to birth control pills. I started thinking, 'since the endometrium is unstable when on birth control, maybe the usual way the uterus stops bleeding won't happen and I'll have a really horrible bleed-out'? Then I thought... 'has anyone ever died from menstruating?' Then I realized... 'this bleeding isn't fatal. It could possibly be severe, but it's not like chopping your arm off. You will have plenty of warning to call a doctor or even the emergency people if you REALLY start having a problem.' I think the worst that will happen to me, is that I'll bleed a lot and maybe feel a little tired and a lot squeamish. The same thing might happen to you, but it's more likely that you'll have a regular cycle. If you're really ultra concerned about it, and pregnancy (= no periods :) ) isn't in your future, you could try to go on some form of hormonal birth control. It might be a better idea to memorize your doctor's phone number and write them messages... pressing 'delete' or 'save draft' when you're done. That way you can get your worry off your chest, and you establish a better relationship with your doc if you ever do need to send one of those messages or make one of the calls.

I don't think anyone's ever died from menstruating. They have died from other causes related to PMDD (self harm) though.

[tipperton]

Hey Sassparella,

If it makes you feel any better, I also had increased endometrial thickness during an ultrasound.  The normal range is sometimes listed as up to 14 mm, but sometimes up to 16 mm - that's the number my clinic used.   Mine was 17 mm, three or four days before my period was due.  I had the ultrasound because I'd been having some bleeding between periods.  The 14 mm or 16 mm or whatever measurement you use - if it's thicker, it doesn't mean something is wrong.  It's just a guideline.  It helps doctors decide whether there is a need to investigate further. 

I was sent for a follow up ultrasound the next month by my gp.  The measurement was smaller, I can't remember what ... maybe 6 mm, but I was checked much earlier in my cycle.  When I saw a gynecologist for the bleeding issues, he was actually annoyed that I'd been sent for a second ultrasound.  He said that the 17 mm was totally normal, and that HE wouldn't have bothered doing anything about it and that it had been a waste of time and an unnecessary worry. 

[sassparella]

Thank you tipperton mine was 12mm about the time of ovulation (2 weeks from the beginning of my previous period) though my cycles are so screwed at the moment it's difficult to tell exactly where it was. I've read that it should be about 8mm then, though a couple of sites said up to 11mm. My main worries at the moment are:

1. that I'm going to miss my next period and the lining is going to get huge
2. bleeding  very heavily at my next period from the thickened lining to a life threatening degree.
3. getting cancer from the thickened lining.

Your post has helped me though, thank you for that. It's nice to hear from someone with a similar experience. I imagine if I'm still worried about it he'll do another ultrasound when I go next or maybe suggest that procedure again. He said if I want to change my mind and get the procedure before then to just call and it's easy enough to organise, but I'm trying not to get it done for a couple of reasons, I'm terrified of anaesthetic and I don't want to give in to my HA as he said he didn't really feel it was necessary to do it. He also said if they did the procedure they could put in a hormonal IUD that would control my periods for five years, but I'm not really keen on that.