[KattK]

Hi Everyone! This is my first post in this forum.
I have been having a lot of abnormal bleeding and this is something that I have never experienced before. My last period was the 4th-8th and then last week, the 18th I started bleeding. It was light, not like a regular period. Then it went away for about 4 days and now its back. I am going on day five this time around and its much heavier. Im not due to start my next period until mid jan (im on a 45 day cycle). I made an appt at planned parenthood for a pap bc i dont have insurance. My last pap was about 6yrs ago. I know, thats aweful, but without insurance its tough. I had dysplasia and the cells were frozen off. I'm starting to get a little worried that the cells grew back and I didnt take care of it. I have been doing a lot of research and this seems to fit the bill. I dont really know what to do or who to talk to, but its scaring me. If you have any words of wisdom please let me know. Thank you

[KattK]

One more thing I forgot to mention. I'm not on the pill

[LanaBear]

First, welcome to the forum!

I do know with the freezing, there is a higher rate of recurrence.

Have the past 6 years been normal until this month? I'd definitely keep the appt and make sure to get in.

Keep your chin up, get into the Dr to see what they have to say.

Maybe somebody else has some better info for you.

[Mes T]

The best advice I can give ya is to not worry until you get your results back from the pap! There's no point right now, it might just add extra stress to your body.

Be wary of researching symptoms online too much - it's a great way to make yourself think you have something you don't!

[KattK]

Thanks ladies.
I have had normal periods for as long as i can remember and have never experienced this before. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I can't seem to get warm. I have been wearing my winter jacket around all week along with three or four shirts underneath. Also I'm constipated.... My appt is tomorrow and I will keep you posted.

[kira]

I can't really help with the bleeding since that could be anything. Hopefully your doctor visit reveals something simple. I can possibly help with the rest though. This is not a medical diagnoses at all but from experiencing the symptoms you mentioned in your last post it sounds like your blood pressure has lowered slightly. Even checking your blood pressure with a cuff won't really show that unless they have a recent previous reading since there is no established value for low blood pressure. However if your blood pressure goes a bit lower than normal more water can get pulled from your intestines to try to increase volume which could cause your constipation and aside from just having less blood moving around your veins will constrict to increase pressure causing heat to not move as efficient so you get cold easier. This is exactly what my body just did and it took them 2 months of me returning weekly and them watching my blood pressure go down bit by bit before they realized it. Even then if my husband and I hadn't pointed it out and had the doctor go back through the records no one would have noticed my blood pressure had gone from ~120/80 to 100/60. Of course you should tell your doctor all your symptoms but I'd lay bets on it actually being a result of your frequent bleeding instead of a symptom by itself.

To relieve the other symptoms aside from the bleeding (sorry I can't solve that) try drinking some polypropylene glycol. Called miralax among other names here. It's available over the counter and the entire purpose is to keep fluids in your intestines and soften stool. It does take awhile to fully relieve constipation but should start making things easier on your body before you notice it going away and it won't have the risks of other laxatives. When I got constipated I had thirst that would not go away no matter how much I drank and while I didn't have good bowel movements for several more weeks my thirst stopped within 48hours of starting miralax. If you can't find it there are a few others that work the same. I think they are called osmotic laxatives. Also drink more liquids since your body seems to need them, preferably not anything with caffiene, and take a multivitamin to replace iron. I say a multivitamin instead of just iron because it's safer and I really think most people should consult a doctor or nutritionist before taking individual supplements more than the odd occasion. Vitamins and minerals interact in complicated ways. The main way to lose iron is through blood loss. One major reason why low iron is more common in women even if they have normal periods than in men. Anyone with irregular or heavy periods is at greater risk.

[KMonte85]

Hi Katt - from what you have written it doesn't seem like you're abnormal bleeding, constipation, chills, etc are too very serious. In many cases, being stressed out and nervous (like you are now about dysplasia and the abnormal per) can make your cycle become irregular.

Planned Parenthood is a great facility for women who need medical care but do not have insurance... I went there for several years for my exam, pap, BC and the doctors and other technicians there are as great as any other medical professional in any other office.

I hope your appointment went well, and really, try not to stress too much about what is going on with your body - the results will take a bit to come in!

As for the cold and constipation, perhaps you just need to adjust your diet a bit. It sounds like you might be somewhat dehydrated (can cause both chills and constipation). Make sure you're drinking plenty of water, and make sure you're getting enough fiber to help you pass... Dark greens have lots of fiber, but if you're not sure just by diet alone that you'll get everything you need, you could try a suppliment based in flax seed (metamucel is one kind...)

Keep us posted on how you're doing and what your Dr had to say!

[kira]

You don't want to dump just any fiber in with constipation especially without drinking excessive amounts. You may just cram stuff in there so bad it won't move without medical intervention. First you want to relieve the constipation some and then if the problem persists introduce fiber (preferably soluable) in small amounts that are increased slowly with lots and lots of liquids. Adding fiber without enough liquid will only cause constipation. Since you are already there that means you'd make the situation worse. You want to get liquids down there, soften things up, get them moving, and then consider starting the fiber with increased fluid intake to keep things moving that well. Fruit would be a better diet addition than grain based fiber at this point. The sugars in fruit actually pull water into the intestines much like the polypropylene glycol and fruits do provide some fiber but they have their own moisture with it so you don't run the risk of increased constipation like using grain based fiber supplements or foods.