Ectropian Cervix/cervical erosion?

Elle387

hello.

I'm 9+5 and have been having brown and beige spotting discharge (and one clot) on and off from around 5 weeks.

I've been in for a few EPUs arranged by my midwife, and all of them showed the baby as it should be, the right size, heart beating and moving around (at the most recent one).

Anyway, there was a trainee doctor present at my last scan, and she offered to do an internal exam to try to establish where the spotting had been coming from, and found that I have an Ectropian cervix/cervical erosion, which she assured me is very common and one of the main causes of bleeding in pregnancy, and that it wouldn't affect the baby. She also informed me that I had thrush, and advised me to use a canesten pessary, which I did on Wednesday evening.

Since then I have had an uncomfortable feeling in my vagina, almost like a faint burning, and a few pinching/stabbing pains in the same area, and today when I went to the toilet I had some red blood in my underwear and more when I wiped. I've only ever had brown or beige spotting before now, and was told to call the midwife if it ever changed or turned red, which it did.

The first appointment she could get me at the EPU is on Thursday 11th (in 6 days time) and so in the mean time I'm left to wait it out and wonder whether this is down to my Ectropian, down to the pessary I used, or something more sinister.

Can anyone tell me whether you've experienced this or anything similar, and if red blood/spotting is normal when you have an Ectropian?

This is my first pregnancy, and it's been an emotional roller coaster already so far! I feel I can't relax because every time I'm reassured, something else happens for me to worry about!!

Thank you!

bsckgb7

Total lurker here and not preggers, but did you by chance have sex the night before the bleeding?

Elle387

No I didn't. We have actually been told by my midwife not to have sex for a few weeks due to the brown spotting I'd experienced before, so that's been off the cards! And I've also just now been told by a different midwife that (if everything is okay at this scan on Thursday) we shouldn't have sex until at least 15 weeks. I'm doing nothing to agitate or irritate it at all, haven't had sex in about 4 weeks, but have still had one lot of beige spotting about 3 weeks ago (maybe due to an internal scan few days before), and then one lot of beige spotting and a clot (5 days ago) and one lot of red blood (today) since then, so I don't know what could be causing it if it is the Ectropian.
It's just that it was red blood that's scared me, and that the midwife did say Ectropian cervix usually causes brown blood as it takes a long time to work its way down, so this lot has come down quicker for some reason and I won't know whether it's from the cervix or somewhere else until my scan. Pregnancy is absolutely nerve wracking.

jencook25

I had a miscarriage in march, and did have briwn spotting which turned into bleeding. However im now 8 weeks pregnant with my second. Last saturday I had some fresh pink spotting when i went to the loo. I assumed the worst was going to happen again, and booked myself in to the dr monday morning. She did an exam and found i had an extropian cervix, which means there is a lot of blood vessels close to the surface of my cervix. When she first looked there was no blood, and once she touched ny cervix to do the swab for a pap smear, a lot of blood came out of the surface of my cervix, despite the opening being completely closed. I also had an u/s that day, and everything was fine. Any bleeding/spotting can be terrifying, and whilst it can be bad, as long as you get it checked out and got the all clear there is nothing to worry about. Good luck! Funnily enough the dr also thought i had thrush (though i had no other symptoms, other than thicker discharge that is normal with pregnancy). She did a swab for that also, and it came back fine with no thrush!

Elle387

Hmm. Curious. So perhaps, like you, I actually don't have thrush like the doctor thought, and using the unneeded pessary has irritated my cervix and caused a red bleed where it's been touched/irritated? It's still pink tinged when I wipe (probably blood mixed with the white pessary residue) but haven't noticed any red like yesterday yet. Hoping it trails off and turns beige/brown over the next day or so to show its older blood and has stopped bleeding. The first trimester so far has been quite stressful to say the least, I've already been for 3 EPUs and Thursday will be my 4th before my 12 week scan on the 17th June. I just hope all will be well with both scans, and they can confirm that the most recent bleed was down to the pessary/thrush/Ectropian, and nothing more sinister.

jencook25

Could have done? I dont imagine the dr would have prescribed the pessary if it was one of the medications we should steer clear of during pregnancy, so as you said perhaps it was just the physical disturbance of administering it on your cervix. If you have any major changes i would still call your drs office to voice your concern. They can only say yes, come in or no, its nothing to worry about. Better than worrying until your next appointment!

jencook25

Could have done? I dont imagine the dr would have prescribed the pessary if it was one of the medications we should steer clear of during pregnancy, so as you said perhaps it was just the physical disturbance of administering it on your cervix. If you have any major changes i would still call your drs office to voice your concern. They can only say yes, come in or no, its nothing to worry about. Better than worrying until your next appointment!

jencook25

Could have done? I dont imagine the dr would have prescribed the pessary if it was one of the medications we should steer clear of during pregnancy, so as you said perhaps it was just the physical disturbance of administering it on your cervix. If you have any major changes i would still call your drs office to voice your concern. They can only say yes, come in or no, its nothing to worry about. Better than worrying until your next appointment!

Elle387

I ended up seeing the Dr as the bleeding started to get heavier last night, and then I had a clot. He had a feel of my tummy and asked me to describe the bleeding and pain, and said he wasn't concerned (unless I start bleeding very heavily or having severe pain) and thinks it could have been the pessary that's irritated my cervix. I'm still going to the EPU on Thursday, as I'm still bleeding but only a little bit at the moment. Hopefully it'll stop completely over the next day or so and everything will be good from now on!

Mousie93

I have cervical erosion too, I'm 8+6 weeks. Mine is fairly mild and doesn't bleed except very lightly after sex. It's caused by an elevated level of oestrogen (I think!) which causes the cells in the lining of the womb to move out into the cervix where they bleed extremely easily. Your doctor was right and it was almost certainly the pessary that caused it. Pessaries are horrible, is there no alternative thrush treatment you can use? Also, if you have no symptoms thrush doesn't always need to be treated as some people just have a natural higher level of candida. Although I guess during pregnancy you'd want it treated. Anyway, good luck and the ectropion will most likely clear up after pregnancy when your hormones have settled. Also, do not drink soya milk or consume too much soya in food. Soya contains a kind of plant oestrogen that can elevate your oestrogen levels. This is what caused my ectropion, as I'm lactose intolerant and was guzzling soya by the gallon.

Elle387

Mousie93 do you bleed/spot red blood? I've been made to believe that it's almost always brown, and that red is really uncommon!

Mousie93

Nope mine was always red, never brown. It was also only ever when I wiped with toilet paper after sexual intercourse/peeing after sex (sorry probably TMI). I suffer from cystitis related to sex so I have to pee really soon after the deed is done haha

Mousie93

Also it was almost always only a streak, not heavy. But my smear and examination showed the erosion isn't as bad as some peoples. Were you on the pill before you got pregnant? The pill is the main cause of cervical erosion.

Elle387

Well mine was always brown until I used the pessary, which could be what made me bleed red and more than usual (but still what I suppose would be considered spotting...) due to the irritation.

I was on the pill before getting pregnant, for around 13 years, and I got pregnant as soon as I came off of it, without having a period in between.

I'm also prone to urinary tract infections, and always have to wee straight after sex, and have to shower otherwise I'll get thrush! But I only ever had brown/beige spotting a few days after sex before. I did tell my partner that it felt uncomfortable when we did have intercourse, and have since been advised by 2 midwives to avoid sex until 15 weeks.

I have only noticed a few very tiny bits of blood over the last couple of days, and only when I wipe. I suppose it's just a case of waiting for the scan on Thursday.

Thank you for your input. I'll update on Thursday after the scan.

Elle387

Just got back from my ultrasound and everything was fine with the baby
He/she has grown from 26mm to 41mm in the last 8 days, and was bouncing and wriggling all over the place.

They think that the combination of the cervical ectropian and using the pessary probably was what caused me to bleed, and says that I can probably expect to spot on and off throughout this pregnancy.

Thank you ever so much for your responses. They've helped to reassure me over the last few days.

Good luck to you both with the rest of your pregnancies

Mousie93

Glad to hear you're doing well and baby is well. I'm surprised they prescribed you a pessary in the first place, they really are horrible! If you were on the pill long-term and became pregnant immediately I expect that would exacerbate the erosion. It will clear up though, and as long as you're not having bad cramps or really severe bleeding then you're fine. I found that being nervous about the potential bleeding after sex made sex uncomfortable, because I was kind of up tight. Now you can relax and you may find that sex is back to normal good luck with everything and have a great rest of your pregnancy!

Elle387

Thank you! Yes, I'm hoping I can try to relax a bit and start to enjoy it now.

It would be nice if it stopped happening for both of us wouldn't it?! Although I was told yesterday that it will most likely continue throughout the pregnancy, but not to worry!