Heavy Periods - Anyone Else Have This?

T.,
I had extremely heavy periods, completely irregular, 7 days, awful cramps, everything, but that was before my baby boy was born. I don't know if that is a big difference, but I was put on birth control and it did help, but it did take a while, like 6 mo. for me to get somewhat regular periods (not exactly) but at least once every month. Also my bleeding went for super heavy to medium-heavy and the cramps, well, they were kind of my cross to bear, no much change there.
I know you don't want to be on birth control, I strongly suggest you discuss it with your doctor, I just wanted to let you know what it did for me. Hope you find this helpful. Good Luck!!!

I had the same thing; it continued to get worse. Talked to my doctor who suggested hysterectomy. I wanted to keep my uterus, he worked with me, so I held off. I was anemic, causing all sorts of strange things - restless leg, migraine auras, yellow skin, etc. For the anemia, take iron PLUS vitamin c so you are absorbing it completely.

Finally, one morning I passed a large clot, and fainted. Told my husband to take me to the emergency room, where I had an emergency hysterectomy with a 3 pint blood transfusion. At one point I was lacking so much blood that they could not get a blood pressure reading, and my doctor discussed health proxies with us. I thank the heavens above often for my doctor who was able to get me through.

Everything turned out fine. I am healthy today, 4 years later, but learned a lesson - sometimes I just can't have everything my own way. My doctor left in one ovary, so menopause has not been so awful.

Good luck, stay healthy, and do what you need to in order to be around to bring up your kids.

I have heavy periods until my youngest was about 2.5 years old, then they returned to pre-pregnancy flow. I don't know if that gives hope. Definitely get a different ob! For iron, exercise regularly, eat dark green veg, lentils and red meat.

I developed fibroids while pregnant with my 4th child. After she was born (which was a miracle) I decided to go on birth control to help with the bleeding & cramping & hoping to shrink them. I gained 20 pounds in 4 months being on the pill. The pill helped a bit with the cramping & excess bleeding. After 1 1/2 yrs on the pill I couldn't take it anymore but didn't want a complete hysterectomy like my OB suggested. So after research I looked into accupuncture (an actual chinese Dr) & holistic wellness, these were other alternatives to surgery. But both said my fibroids were too large & that I should seek surgery. I found a Dr that came highly rated with laparascopic surgery & went that route last November. My periods are still 7 days but that's what it's been my entire life, but it's not nearly as heavy & cramping isn't as severe. A website you should look at is hystersisters.com, it's like this website, but all about womans health. Best wishes

T.,

sounds to me like you have menorrhagia. i've been there and know how much this can disrupt your life. there are options (listed below) out there and i encourage you to talk with your ob/gyn about whats best for you.

1. birth control pills are an effective option; but not a route i wanted to take

2. uterine ablation (NovaSure ~ www.novasure.com) is another option. this is where they use RF (radio frequency) to remove the endometrial lining of the uterus. this procedure can either stop your periods all together or lighten them considerably but is not guaranteed.

after discussing all the pros & cons with my doctor i choose the ablation. it was a 90 second outpatient procedure. and i was able to resume my normal activities the following day. while it stopped my cycles all together it did have a side effect (not experienced by all women) that resulted in a complete hysterectomy. because i had severe endometriosis, both in/out side of the uteras i began experiencing the most unbearable cramps. turns out that estrogen produced by the ovaries was feeding the endometrial tissue tricking my body into thinking that i was menstruating and thus creating the excruciating cramps. we tried several different pain therapies but nothing worked and so finally my doctor thought it best to perform a complete hysterectomy. this too was an outpatient procedure using laryscopic techniques that left no scarring. total recovery time was 6 weeks but I was up and around in just 2 days.

the only draw back to having the complete hysterectomy is that it will send you into full menopause (ie hot flashes night sweats and possible mood swings). here i opted not to immediately take the hormone replacement therapy. but recently had to contact my doctor (the night sweats were out of control i was not sleeping at all). She recommended the Climara patch (www.climara-us.com). I have been on the patch for one week now and it has decreased the daytime flashes as well as minimized the night sweats.

again, i encourage you with talk to your doctor to see what treatment is best for you and your situation.

good luck!!!
c~

I understand. I have two fibroids; that made a few days very heavy. I have two children; so which shows you I was pregnant with fibroids.

I have a holistic doctor that put me on a organic plan, herbal pills, the only meats I eat are turkey, chicken, and seafood; and no microwave use that significantly reduced my fibroids and will ultimately shrink them. They are almost gone now down to 1cm each. Its about dietary changes (no fried foods, limiting fat & grease intake, etc.) if you do not want to under go surgery. I have noticed that instead of having days of heavy period I only have a day or two; with extra exercise and a good eating plan i'm happier. No more balled up on the sofa with sweat pants and a blanket.

Maybe try a holistic doctor or a compounding pharmaceuticals place. There are many alternative ways to get healing without surgical or drug intervention. In the end do what is best for you. I hope you find some relief soon.

Hi T.,
I had a fibroid inside my uterus, the MD called it a, "myoma." I had heavy bleeding, and couldn't get pregnant.

(I also had a doctor who ignored my concerns about it. It wasn't until I went to another MD that I got it fixed!)

It was a relatively simple surgery, and I was back on my feet (light duty) right away. It didn't 100% put my periods back to "normal," but I was much happier, and was able to get pregnant.

Good luck!
t