Menopause is said to have occurred when a woman goes about a year without having had a period. However after that as well, menopause spotting is commonly seen among some women. Even after a cessation of the menstrual periods, some women continue to experience this for up to a year or two after menopause.
While a lot of menopause spotting may be perfectly normal and nothing to worry about, in some cases, it could indicate a problematic condition that requires medical attention.
Menopause spotting is no cause for concern in the following cases –
Sometimes it could be that the vagina gets irritated from lower levels of estrogen and causes menopause spotting to occur.
- If a woman is on HRT, the lining of the uterus could grow and shed rather like it used to when having a period, so that could cause spotting as well.
- Sometimes the blood vessels in the uterus deteriorate and become fragile due to a lack of estrogen and may cause slight bleeding.
- Or it could be that menopause spotting is caused because the woman’s ovaries are actually still functioning and that she has not in fact achieved menopause.
In some cases, menopause spotting could be seen as a result of certain worrisome conditions such as –
- It could be a problem from an undetected pregnancy, such as a miscarriage, or an ectopic pregnancy that causes menopause spotting. For a pregnancy that is further along, it could be problems with the placenta that cause bleeding. And do not rule out a pregnancy just because you are past a certain age. It could be that menopausal women, who are coming off their birth control pill or other device, could have their fertility restored and conceive without being aware of this.
- Certain birth control devices such as IUDs, contraceptive pills, and other medications could also cause slight bleeding.
- Certain conditions that cause pelvic inflammation could be responsible for menopause spotting and this should be attended to, so as to find out the underlying cause.
- Certain sexually transmitted diseases could also be responsible for such post menopausal bleeding and so should be checked out promptly and investigated thoroughly. Chlamydia, warts, and gonorrhea are just some of the conditions that could be the root cause of the spotting, and these are potentially very dangerous.
- It could be uterine fibroids or polyps that could be causing the menopause spotting. While many cases of uterine fibroids are not an issue for worry and may be benign, they should be investigated lest they lead to a more serious condition. In general polyps cause lighter bleeding, whereas when the bleeding is caused by fibroids, it could be somewhat heavier.
- Certain type of cancer could be responsible for menopause spotting – bleeding could be symptoms of conditions such as ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer or a cancer of the vulva.
It is important to be in tune with your body and notice things that are unusual or odd; because this will also offer important clues as to whether the menopause spotting is normal or due to a worrisome condition.
