ahhh, the joys of WOMANHOOD!!!!

Hey ladies.. Ok, so here I am, at 46 years old. Lucky to have spent my life VERY regular as far as my cycle goes.. Then I get surgery and start to drop weight and VOILA!!! Instant disaster! I actually had VERY heavy bleeding the month after surgery. The doctor told me that is normal with a sudden weight loss. Ok.. sounds believable to me! He gives me some pills and tells me that it's possible that in about 10 days, I may bleed heavily. Now, I am not Einstein, but it doesn't seem like a smart move to give me pills to STOP the bleeding, that may CAUSE ME to bleed in 10 days. None the less, he really is an excellent Gyno, so I took the pills. A few days later, it stopped like magic. The next month, nothing.. at all! The next month, NADA! Ok, hello up there?? What's going on?? So, I called him and he told me about the weight loss and yada yada yada.. All of a sudden, "it" appears. After 2 months of no-shows! Well, let me tell you, it came with a VENGANCE!! It started all normal just to lull me into a false sense of security! Then, on day 3, I was driving to school with my 5 year old (I teach at her school) and I got these incredible pains. It felt like labor pains. Well, that was fun! I called the doctor and he told me to get to the hospital. I got there and felt that I had to pee, so I went to the bathroom. Well, I have to tell you, when I sat on the toilet bowl, the deluge came down. The weird thing is that when the blood came down, the pain stopped. It was so weird. It really was a horrific pain. I am no wimp, I can tell you. I had bypass surgery on Monday and was back to work on Saturday. I don't baby myself or anything. THIS WAS PAIN!! Well, I was released after a sonogram that said there was nothing irregular except debris in my uterus.. something I never heard before. I felt like I had left my uterus out in the road or something and it got "debris" all over it.. Good God! The other thing they told me was that it could very well have been a miscarriage. Ok, now that WOULD be weird. I had my tubes tied 5 years ago! Anyway, I went home, threatened my husband to remove his penis, and went to bed. My doctor wanted to give me those pills to stop the bleeding again, but I opted against it. I think that's what started this whole thing. The bleeding continued pretty bad for several days and when I went to the doctor's office, my iron was nearly undetectable. It was not so dangerous though, because is it was not a "chronic" thing, it was obviously a result of the situation. I have been taking these huge iron pills ever since. Well, now I am due again. At least I would be if I am back to being on my old schedule of 29-29 day cycles. God knows. So, in reading some of the other posts, I just had to sit here and laugh. What an honor to be a woman! UGH!! Well, I know it has it's advantages, but at times like this, they are hard to find! Oh, by the way, I did get tested for menopause..no dice. That should be another time filled with wonder and excitement! UGH!! Anyway, I am going just hope for normalcy with this whole cycle thing and that someone reading this will be less afraid if THEIR cycle goes k'nertzes on them. I guess it's part of the physical changes we go through with the weight loss. Something about how our hormones sort of "reinvent" themselves.. Funny, I don't seem to remember hearing about THIS one!! Good luck to you all!! Rossana RNY 6/13/05 334/257/???

You are a very good writer, despite your trials, your post was fun to read ... I hadn't had a period in almost a year before I had surgery. A week after surgery I was hospitalized again for a GI bleed, then had a light period. The next 3 periods were regular in timing but the bleeding was so profuse, I barely made it through an hour at work and ruined a pair of sheets. Now, this month, nothing... Hmmmm, I have to say I agree with you, this is wacky Good luck!!! Jo

ROSSANA.... this is what happens with weight loss and all the hormones we release in the fat we are dropping. IN a few months it should be more normal our cycles. THIS was a talked about issue when i did atkins and was messageign on the board. SEEMS...the regular get irregular and the irregular people got regular! GO FIGURE! HOPE all works out well i too experienced bad TOM (time of month) problems last week and was in the ER.....ill be following up next tuesday with my OBGYN do to the bad pain i had experienced. WOMANHOOD can be a pain! LISA 310/209/???

WOW, I was just wondering if I was the only one! I had REALLY BAD heavy long periods prior to WLS.... NOW, 3 days of spotting.... I like that much better, but weird! Tam 6/15/05 268/194/???

I cant say I have the same problem because I had a hysterectomy a few years. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your post. I thought it was so cute.. I was chuckling while reading it..but I do feel for you having to deal with all that. I surely do not miss it.. I do get the symptoms of menopause though.. thats not fun..especially being forced with the hysterectomy..but I take a prescription called Effexor that really helps with the hotflashes and night sweats, it also helps with my nerves being that it is an antidepressant..I hope you get straightened out on your cycles soon. I am sure its just the weight loss and it will get normal again soon.

HA! I'm not the only one..I'm working on a period every 15-18 days and they last 7-10 days. Before WLS I had a period 3-4 times a year! The bad thing about it is that the pain is incredible and well I go for 3 days stop for a whole day (it plays tricks on me) then comes back with a vengance on the 4 day! I hate it! But I'll deal with it for now.