Postmenopausal bleeding
Most likely causes
There can be several reasons for bleeding after the Testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism) . The most common causes are:
- inflammation and thinning of thevaginal lining (atrophic vaginitis) or womb lining (endometrial atrophy) caused bylower oestrogen levels
- cervical or womb polyps growths, which are usually non-cancerous, that can form in the cervix (neck of the womb) or the wombitself
- a thickened womb lining (endometrial hyperplasia) which can be caused by hormone replacement therapy (HRT) , high levels of oestrogen or by being overweight; if left untreated this can lead to development of womb cancer (also known as endometrial cancer)
About1 in every 10 women withpostmenopausal bleeding will havewomb cancer, and in a few cases bleeding may be a sign of another type of cancer such as vulval , vaginal or cervical cancer .
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018
Introduction
Postmenopausal bleeding is vaginal bleeding that happens at least 12 months after your periods have stopped.
Most likely causes
There can be several reasons for bleeding after the Testosterone deficiency (hypogonadism) . The most common causes are: inflammation and thinning of thevaginal lining (atrophic vaginitis) or womb
Diagnosing the cause
Your GP should refer you to hospital for further tests. This will help to identify the cause of your problem, to exclude cancer and plan necessary treatment. Some areas have specialistpostmenopausal b
At theclinic
The specialist at the clinic, which may be a nurse, will take your medical history and record your symptoms. You'll then go to the scan room for an examination. Vaginal ultrasound scan A vaginal ult
Treating postmenopausal bleeding
Treatment depends on what is causing your bleeding. For example, if the cause is cervical polyps, you may need to have them removed. This fairly simple procedure can be done in the specialist's offic
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