- My menstrual bleeding was abnormal, so I went to my doctor, thinking I was in perimenopause.
- My hormone tests indicated I was nowhere near that, even though I was already in my 40s.
- Through advocating for myself, my doctors discovered a uterine fibroid that was painful.
Four months ago I went to my doctor because my… menstrual bleeding was abnormal. But even at 40, I wasn’t sure how to define “normal.”
I was convinced I was going through perimenopausebut my hormonal levels said otherwise. I had to stand up for myself to get answers.
I had been dealing with my periods for what felt like forever
It started with the secret girls’ meeting about menstruation in fifth grade. Of course, we couldn’t let the boys know that we were learning about menstruation. There I learned the basics about cramps, the difference between sanitary towels and tamponsand the non-stop pleasure that awaited me with my changing body.
When my peers reached our childbearing years, the whispers turned into audible conversations. Some friends got pregnant, while others got pregnant struggled with infertility. We talked about IVF and birth plans.
As we hit our 40s, the voices in happy hours and Facebook groups turned to shouting about that ever-present p-word: Perimenopause. Every negative experience – night sweats, uncontrollable emotions, trouble sleeping – was attributed to perimenopause, so when I started experiencing irregular bleeding, I knew it must be perimenopause.
Like the pesky gray hairs I pluck (against my hairstylist’s wishes) and my eleven lines feeling like old friends, I resignedly accepted this as an unwelcome situation. sign of aging.
I started praying for menopause so that the bleeding and sometimes debilitating cramps would stop.
I decided to listen to my body
Subsequent annual doctor appointments led to a diagnosed cyst, and any blood tests that measured my hormone levels did not indicate the onset of menopause. I continued with my annoyingly random mid-cycle bleeding.
Finally, in the summer of 2024, I decided to listen to my body. I had had my period for decades and I knew this was not ‘normal’ bleeding. Maybe it was perimenopause, but I was ready to push for answers. On one particularly awful morning, I called the nurse line at my local clinic, answered a long list of personal questions, and was scheduled to go to my GP. More blood tests and a pap smear later, my doctor ordered an ultrasound.
And then we had an answer (two actually): a uterine fibroid and an endometrial polyp. Reading a list of symptoms – bleeding between periods, pelvic pain, longer periods – felt like reading a page from my diary of the past few years.
I have since learned that many women deal with fibroids throughout their lives 77% of women in their childbearing years – many of whom I knew in my real life. We were just too busy talking about perimenopause to discuss these other issues.
I sought out a specialist who discussed my options, and after years of suffering, I was ready for a solution.
On the same day as my 45th birthday, I underwent a dilation and curettage procedure to take a biopsy from my endometrium and remove the polyp.
For a woman who has never been pregnant or had a baby, walking into the treatment room was scary. However, the medical assistant and doctor were reassuring and calming throughout the entire process. I practiced some deep breathing through the painful areas and said a quick prayer that the biopsy was benign.
Later that evening I celebrated my birthday with a family dinner, and my birthday celebration continued a week later when I received the welcome news of my biopsy – benign.
Other perimenopausal symptoms may be approaching, but I’m no longer afraid to talk about them or seek answers when something doesn’t feel right.
After living in this body for 45 years, it’s time for me to trust it.