Heavy period after colposcopy: what to know

Colposcopy uses a colposcope to view the cervix. A small biopsy or treatment during the appointment can cause spotting or dark discharge while the area heals. A period arriving around the same time can therefore be difficult to distinguish from procedure-related bleeding. A genuinely heavy period can also have a separate cause. Cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer are conditions a colposcopy may investigate, but bleeding alone does not establish either diagnosis. The result and any biopsy report determine what happens next. Learn more about Colposcopy and Cervical Screening Test.

Follow the discharge instructions from your clinic, including advice about menstrual products, sex, swimming and strenuous activity. Record when bleeding began, how quickly protection is becoming full, whether there are clots, and whether pain or discharge is changing. Contact the colposcopy clinic if bleeding is heavier than they described, lasts longer than expected, develops an unpleasant smell, or is accompanied by increasing pain. Ask whether a biopsy or other cervical procedure was performed, since aftercare can differ.

Seek urgent medical help if bleeding is rapidly soaking protection, or if you feel faint, weak, breathless or unwell. Get prompt advice for severe pelvic pain, fever or foul-smelling discharge. If you are pregnant or pregnancy is possible, tell the clinician. Urgency depends on the amount of bleeding and your symptoms, not simply on having had a colposcopy.

Ask whether a biopsy was taken, which bleeding pattern is expected, when your result will be available, and who to contact outside office hours. Ask whether your next cervical screening test or treatment plan changes because of the findings.