If you have heavy cycles...

[Loowit]

would this concern you.  I was up most of the night last night.  I had to get up every hour to change my menstrual cup which was overflowing.  I used super overnight pads also which were usually at least half full.  Around 5 I went to sleep and slept for two hours and woke up to an overflowing cup, full pad, and blood leaking onto my bedding.  Since then it has been about the same.  Needing to change out at least every hour, though it may be lightening a bit.

 

Cramps have been bad as well and I am taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen which takes the edge off most of the time.  This is pretty normal for me.

 

I just talked to my gyn on Wednesday and I knew that this would be a heavier than normal cycle because I missed last month.  She has offered a number of options, and we are doing a trial on one of them, but it takes a few months to see if it is working.

 

I also have a complex ovarian cyst that they are keeping an eye on.  I don't have it checked again until January.

 

So while i am used to heavy bleeding and cramps, and am being followed by a doctor and am still concerned that this is a lot of bleeding.  I have no idea at what point I should call my doctor to ask for advice.  I called a few months ago when I was bleeding heavy and was told basically to keep an eye on it, and make an appointment with my doctor.  My regular doctor didn't take it very seriously, but told me I could make an appointment with a gyn if I wanted.  I think my regular doc thought I was exaggerating since my labs a month before I saw him showed an improvement in my anemia, but he ran another check just to make sure and my red blood cell count was way down again.  The gyn has been much more helpful and compassionate about it, but I still feel frustrated.

 

I am feeling exhausted from lack of sleep and am feeling whiny.

[JumpyTheFrog]

My cycles aren’t heavy, but last month I started taking this brand of vitamin D: https://www.amazon.com/NuMedica-Micellized-1200-Higher-Potency/dp/B00BR19J5S/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1511547467&sr=8-1&keywords=numedica+micellized+d3

 

I take about 10-15,000 IU with breakfast. My period this time was much, much lighter, cramp free, and bloat free. (I never had that effect from 5,000 IU of another brand of capsules.) I googled it and found out that others have reported vitamin D3 making their period lighter as well. Maybe it could help you.

[Kassia]

I would definitely call.  That sounds awful and scary.  

[Hilltopmom]

I would call. My friend went through that and was hemorrhaging the last time, had to go to er and wound up with emergency ablation.

[hornblower]

Well, if you have a history of menorrhagia this wouldn't really concern me that much. I'd record it all - write it all down, how much, how frequently. 

Just drink and rest. 

just fyi, for numbers, normal flow is around 30-40ml. Menorrhagia is officially >80ml.  Blood donation is 450ml. 

 

Definitely get it treated but I wouldn't think of it as an emergency situation. 

 

BTW, ibuprofen is lovely for cramping but in some women NSAIDs increase bleeding. I'd switch to acetaminophen for a bit.   

Best wishes sorting it out. It's awful to be miserable like this. 

ETA - but if you start having other symptoms or clots or this continues, then call. Esp if your doctor will be away for the long weekend....

Edited November 24, 2017 by hornblower

[Tanaqui]

This is normal for me. However, since it's not normal for you, and you already are seeing a doctor, you may as well call. It's worth a few minutes on the phone for the peace of mind.

[Loowit]

Thanks all.

 

I will try to Vitamin D, I have some here because I have two kids who take it.

 

I think I will call if the bleeding isn't better by this afternoon.  I do have clots, mostly small ones, but some larger ones too.  This is normal for me.  By my calculations I have a measurable blood loss (thanks to the cup) of 16 oz, which is about 473 ml and that doesn't take into account the pads I have soaked or that I started out anemic.  I just have the feeling if I call they will tell me to just wait it out and that there isn't much they can do.

 

I have tried acetaminophen and it doesn't do anything for the pain.  Ibuprofen is the only thing that has worked.  I tried to go without because I hate taking it, but the pain was so bad I couldn't handle it.

 

Right now I just want to take a nap, but I am afraid that I will make a huge mess if I oversleep.

[Melissa in Australia]

normal for me. I can have as heavy as change super tampon every 15 minutes for 2 or so hours. i get a fair amount of clots as well. sometimes I get so light headed I have to lie down. the up side is that it only lasts for 3 days. I jokingly say to myself that it is because I h ave run out of blood. the Gynaecologist  wasn't that concerned. told me I have a few small fibroids . I get very anaemic. silly thing is the more anaemic you are the heavier the flow. 

Edited November 24, 2017 by Melissa in Australia

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

When my periods got like this, thyroid meds were the key to fixing it. My numbers weren't low by most doctors' standards, but they were low to my endocrinologist, so she put me on levothyroxine, and everything evened out and got normal again. It's been wonderful.

[Tanaqui]

I just have the feeling if I call they will tell me to just wait it out and that there isn't much they can do.

 

Maybe, but then you'll know. You lose nothing by calling, and you potentially gain everything.

 

[trulycrabby]

Evening primrose oil and/or 800 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours helped most of the time.

 

If you are willing and able to take hormone therapy, provera worked very well, but biological progesterone did not help. With estrogen dominance, a strong progestin is needed to stop the bleeding.

 

Oh, Floridex liquid iron was a miracle worker. Paradoxically, anemia and heavy cycles go hand in hand; the more anemic I got, the heavier I bled.

Edited November 24, 2017 by trulycrabby

[MotherGoose]

Mirena iud stopped mine. And insurance pays for it to treat bleeding.

[Selkie]

I've never had cycles that heavy, but mine lightened up quite a bit when I switched to a plant based diet with very little sugar, grains, or dairy.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[6packofun]

I'm so sorry.  I'm in the midst of this, too, and I no longer know what to call "normal" for me.  I've been faithfully taking my extra iron for the anemia for 2 months and I have my period right now.  It's horrible.  Day 3 of heavy bleeding and clots...I had to run awkwardly to the bathroom in the grocery store after attempting to just pick up 2 things quickly just so that a huge clot wouldn't fall down my pant leg and embarrass the heck out of me, horrify everyone else.  Sorry, but it's just bad.  Today we went out for something dh had to do and in 2 hours I had to use 4 thick pads so I wouldn't soak through my pants.

 

I've tried many things and I'm just done.  Dr. says the IUD is "better" than the pill but I really don't want that thing in me so I'm going to try the pill for a year and then see how I'm doing. 

 

I would call!

[Loesje22000]

:grouphug:

I hope you will get your sleep next night

[Loowit]

I called.  I talked to the on call doctor.  She told me that I could wait it out at home or go be seen in the urgent care clinic.  The bleeding has slowed down a bit so I think I am going to wait it out.  She gave me a list of things to watch for and when I should get seen so I will keep an eye on things.

[AngieW in Texas]

I have had giant blood clots during my periods for 18 years now. They started after my cycles resumed from my youngest being born. I always have a lot of clots.

 

I often have clots that are larger than grapes. 

 

For the past year I have had wild periods. I now have no idea how long I'm going to have between cycles or how long my cycles will last.

 

I triple up on protection. I don't use a cup anymore because I was filling up the cup within an hour and then it would drop down.

 

Now I wear a superabsorbent tampon and my thickest and most absorbent cloth pad and period underwear (the thickest and most absorbent one) and I keep several tampons and a pad in my pocket at all times once my cycle has started. And then I try to push all my kids out of the room as soon as class is over so I can run to the bathroom and change out tampons in the 5 minute passing period. I can usually feel the tampon drop down after about an hour (because it's full then). Generally, the tampon will give me about an hour, the pad will give me about an hour, and the period underwear will give me another hour. I have a 5-hour span of back-to-back classes, so I have to manage to escape to the bathroom at least one of the passing periods.

 

I wear a cloth pad to school every day without fail because I never know when a period is going to start. I've had it start during class before and completely soak my pad before the class was over. I also keep a complete change of clothes at school.

 

Hopefully they will go away completely soon. I'm 50 and really tired of having periods, but I know I'm likely to be in massive bleeding land for several years now. My mother also had massive bleeding during her periods and finally decided to have a hysterectomy at 45yo to make it all go away, but I don't want to do that. 

 

At least my periods are usually short. I am normally bleeding like this for just 2-3 days and then I have a much lighter flow (like 2-3 pads/day) for another 2-3 days. I also sometimes skip periods (like the one that started today three weeks late), but other times I will have only one week off between periods. At least the short cycle periods are usually lighter and even shorter in length, although they are definitely periods and not just spotting.

 

Edited November 24, 2017 by AngieW in Texas

[KungFuPanda]

Mine got heavy for me so I went in and asked. My on told me “all bets are off after 40.†Is been 40 for about a minute. I had almost a year of extreme volume on day 2-3; to the point I didn’t even use my diva cup those days. I did NOTHING (no diets, pills, etc) and it lightened back up on its own and is light-normal now. At this point I’m glad I didn’t jump through any hoops because I’d be so sure that was “it.â€

[StephanieZ]

I'd maybe find a way to measure your blood loss/flow. You could weigh your pads/panties/cups dry/empty and weigh again at each change . . . 

 

It'd be gross and messy, but, well, so are lots of things, lol.  I'd use a $15 digital scale from Walmart (kitchen aisle) that can be zero'ed with a measuring cup (say a disposable tupperware) that you can toss in your messy stuff and weigh . . . 

 

If you did this you could then estimate your blood loss, and I'd guess get better responsiveness from your medical providers. I mean, if you can tell them, "I lost 500 g of blood in 24 hours (the 3rd day of flow of similar flow rates) . . . estimating 2 kg over 5 days . . ." Or similar, you might get a "HOLY SHIT" response out of the doctors that is seemingly lacking thus far. Because, to me, the bleeding you describe sounds very, very high. I've only bled that much postpartum . . . Sounds like you're losing as much blood in one night as I lose in an entire 5-6 day menses. Literally. 

 

To me, that sounds like an unacceptably high flow rate. I'd want to do something to change it. If you are losing lots of blood, getting anemic, etc, then the Drs will likely be more helpful to that end. 

 

 

 

[Mandamom]

I had a 6 week long cycle that sounds a lot like you are experiencing, heavy, major clots and seemingly, neverending. I have been on D3 for 10 years so I knew that wasn't the problem. 

 

I went to walmart and picked up some cheap iron supplements and within 2 days I noticed a difference. I took it for the rest of the week.  I have a history of mild anemia so it wasn't a surprise that it turned out to be a problem. I was just surprised at how quickly it took care of the problem. 

 

I now take an iron supplement 1-2 times per month as a just in case. My cycle has been fine every since. 

 

I hope you figure it out. 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Mandamom

[Pippen]

I had heavy bleeding like that due to cysts and endometriosis occasionally prior to my hysterectomy. And lengthy periods. I also would recommend iron supplements as it left me so anemic that they wanted to start transfusions prior to the surgery. 

 

I tried BC, other meds, and two ablations before the hysterectomy. I regret not going with the surgery earlier. I didn't realize how much it was dragging me down until I was looking back and could actually sleep through the night.