Bleeding After Menopause Warrants Investigation

Bleeding after menopause isn't at all uncommon. It can be a cause for
concern, however. Understanding menopause and the potential causes of bleeding
after menopause can be very useful to help a woman decide if medical attention
is required to get at the root of the problem. In most cases, if bleeding does
occur, it is advised to make the condition known to a doctor.

In general, bleeding after menopause is spotting or full bleeding that takes
place at least six months after the last full menstrual cycle. The sudden
reappearance of blood can be rather alarming, but it can have many benign
causes. Some potential causes for it can be serious, which is why medical advice
is generally recommended.

Menopause itself is a perfectly normal phase of life that is characterized by
the cessation of menstrual bleeding all together. The period of time leading up
to that cessation is characterized by gradual changes in the cycle. Some will
experience periods that occur more frequently, but are lighter and shorter in
their duration. Other women will find they miss cycles completely for a month or
two at a time. The marker for true menopause is typically seen as missing six
consecutive cycles in a row.

When bleeding takes place after the full six-month cycle has passed, it is
considered bleeding after menopause and is known medically as post-menopausal
bleeding. The causes for it are many and include:

· Hormone replacement therapy - This is one of the most common causes of
bleeding after menopause. Women who undergo hormone replacement therapy develop
bleeding simply because the uterus is reacting to the estrogen and is promoting
the thickening and shedding of the uterine lining. Basically, the body starts
mocking a normal menstrual cycle. This is not at all unexpected with HRT.

· Lack of estrogen - When there is a large lack of estrogen in the system, the
uterus also reacts. Its lining might atrophy and cause the blood vessels to
become weak and fragile. This can lead to the spontaneous breaking of vessels
and spot bleeding after menopause.

· Fibroids and polyps - These are non-cancerous growths that can develop in the
uterus. They can cause bleeding after menopause in the light to heavy forms.
They are sometimes associated with pain and discomfort, as well.

· Hyperplasias - This is an overgrowth of the uterine lining. It can cause
bleeding, as well.

· Cancer - Uterine cancer is the real cause for concern. It can be the cause of
bleeding after menopause and it is serious. This is the main reason why it is
advised that women seek out medical attention if bleeding after menopause takes
place.

Women who experience bleeding after menopause might be asked to undergo tests to
determine the nature of the bleeding. The types of tests will likely range based
on suspected cause. They might include a D&C, a hysteroscopy, blood work and
more. Many physicians will seek to rule out cancer first and then work to
eliminate the other potential causes of bleeding after menopause.

Treatment of bleeding after menopause will depend on the actual cause. If HRT is
in the picture, an alteration of the medications or dosing might take place.
Polyps or fibroids might need to be removed during a special procedure.

If cancer is present, the options will range based on the severity. Many doctors
prefer doing a full hysterectomy if cancer is found in the uterus. This may be
followed up with chemotherapy or other treatments.

Bleeding after menopause isn't at all uncommon, but some of the causes of it are
reason for concern. Women are recommended to bring the issue to the attention of
their doctors just to be on the safe side.

Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women?s Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause available online now at a http://www.menopauseatoz.com/ Find out more about how to deal with menopause symptoms.

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Post Menopause Bleeding - Don't Be Alarmed!

If you have gone a year without your period or any vaginal bleeding, and then
find that you are bleeding again after reaching menopause, you are most likely
going to be very confused and maybe even frightened, but know that this is
actually very common among women.

However, keep in mind that if it has been a little less than a year since you
had your last period, you cannot be post-menopausal yet. In many cases, there is
a valid reason as to why you are experiencing post menopause vaginal bleeding,
but when it comes to any sort of irregular bleeding, you should have it seen to
by your doctor. This is especially if you have not experienced an ordinary
period for more than a year.

Just like many other signs that occur round about this time in ones life, post
menopause vaginal bleeding can be related to issues of ones lifestyle that
encourages hormonal imbalance, weight gain and emotional stress.

When ever a woman has not had a single spot of vaginal bleeding from her period
for twelve months or more and then gets it, whether it is for a week or just a
few spots, it is considered as post menopause vaginal bleeding.

This is not unusual - as it occurs in approximately 25% of menopausal women.
Even though it is more likely to happen due to the hormones shifting, it can
also sometimes happen due to the abdominal cells rising in the uterus -which is
another explanation of post menopause vaginal bleeding.

This can also be a sign of hyperplasia of the uterus or other minor
abnormalities. If the situation is far worse, it could mean uterine cancer, but
this is not very common with this scenario. All of these incidents can be
treated but it is important to report any such incidents to your healthcare
provider as soon as possible.

Some of the most frequent causes of post menopause vaginal bleeding include:

Emotional Stress Issues

When a woman finds herself bleeding after she has experienced menopause, it can
very likely be from something stressful, emotional or even an unusual gush of
hormones. In many places where this subject is a profession, the doctors and
nurses have said that the most women patients they've had suffering from post
menopause vaginal bleeding was right after the 9/11 attack. That is definitely
due to a lot of stress and this is very common. Anything that hysterically
upsets you or stresses you out can bring on this bleeding.

Hormonal Imbalance

This is one of the most common reasons for this type of bleeding to occur. Many
women when, weaning off, changing or adding their HRT may experience this. Any
woman that has preexisting increase of tissue within her uterus is likely to
come across some bleeding after starting some kind of progestin or progesterone
therapy, which includes the well known low dose progesterone cream. This does
not go to say that it was the cream that brought on the bleeding, but it could
have permitted the uterus to discard the buildup it carried.

Weight Loss

Post menopause vaginal bleeding can also accompany major weight loss as well as
a significant amount of decrease in body fat. If a woman looses a lot of weight,
for whatever reason, it is possible for her to endure this type of bleeding.
This is because the estrogen that is kept in the fat tissue turns out to be
unconventional in the bloodstream when she loses weight. The other possibility
is when the estrogen, which relies mainly on fat tissues, is decreased as the
weight is lost, which results in a movement of the connection between the
estrogen and the progesterone. Due to these facts, it is better to loose weight
gradually, rather than all at once.

In many cases, this type of bleeding is predictable, however, for the majority
of bleeding scenarios that are hormonally related, keeping a healthy weight,
living a healthy lifestyle and reducing stress are the main ways to try and
prevent post menopause vaginal bleeding. Also, putting off a predominance of
estrogen during the years before as well as after you experience menopause can
be helpful to prevent this occurrence.

Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women's Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause available online now at a http://www.menopauseatoz.com/ Find out more about how to deal with life post menopause.

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