What are the most common complaints that I come across in my rooms on a daily basis?

Because I am well known for dealing with abnormal vaginal bleeding, that is the most common complaint I am consultated about. I see women of all ages from puberty to very old age. Often I see women who have left their abnormal bleeding for far too long. They arrive quite sick, anaemic, breathless and very very pale.

Just recently I saw a 49 year old women with three children who was feeling quite ill, breathless, lethargic and depressed.

Her periods had become rather erratic and extremely heavy. She had to wear both pads and tampons to contain the flow. They needed to be changed hourly. She was also feeling dizzy. She was passing clots and the blood was running down her legs in the shower. This heavy flow had been going on for a few months.

When I examined her she was extremely pale, had a rapid pulse rate and looked unwell. I noted a lump in her lower abdomen that felt like a big fibroid. (Benign tumour of the muscle of the uterus or womb).I confirmed this with an internal examination. I ordered a pelvic ultrasound and blood tests.

The ultrasound confirmed a large fibroid. Her blood count showed a haemoglobin (the oxygen carrying part of the blood) of only 78 (normal more than 120) and her iron was only 3 (normal more than 20).

We spent a long time discussing her problem and the options open to her. The best solution was a hysterectomy which I did for her two weeks ago. She recovered well and I am sure in time her blood count will improve and she will have a new lease on life.

There are of course a large number of different causes of bleeding including polyps, thickened lining of the uterus, hormonal, contraceptive, cancer, and a large group for which a known cause cannot be found (dysfunctional uterine bleeding).

If bleeding is a concern please do not leave it. Your iron stores will drop fairly quickly and then you will become anaemic and thereafter ill. Get on to it early.