Heavy Bleeding

If you are done having kids, why don't you go ahead and have a complete hystorectomy? That is what I would do. That would solve the bleeding problems and any worry about the female area cancers. I know there are hormonal issues, but that would probably pale in comparison to the bleeding you are expericing.

I did this also, was start of that big change in life, had a dnc done. That helped but still had a strange cycle for several years. Good luck been there also.

Hi D.
how miserable for you. I went through a lot of the same issues when I was your age and even younger. I am not a Dr. and I surely would not want to be caught practicing medicine but here is what we did.
I had a DNC-(just a clean out) that did not work- then the Dr. discovered I was enemic- which would cause extra heavy bleeding- I was pumped full of iron (which I was alergic to) and ate lot of beets, liver and brussell sprouts etc- and nothing worked. then they tried the estrigen supplements because I was told I was starting the Memopause stage of my life. Nothing worked-
during my child bearing years I had all sorts of issues with cysts etc- nothing serious- just annoying and painful- causing the heavy, heavy bleeding- So- we decided to do a complete hystorectomy- took it all out- and it was the best decision I ever made-
since we already had 12 children, and was approaching the 50 yr mark- I was reall glad to get all that stuff over with. lol
Now I am 71, have no issues since we made that decision and have never felt better in my life. Just a suggetion......
good luck and blessings

Just last week I was speaking with my cousin who is a nurse about my heavy flow. She sent me the following links:

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/vwd.html

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/von-willebrands-diseas...

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/vWD/vWD_What...

I've had heavy bleeding all my menstrual life. It got worse about 15 years ago (I am 42 now). I have had all the tests you mentioned and everything is "normal." I was given Provera to stop my bleeding. One menstrual cycle lasted over 90 days!!! Provera was the only thing that stopped that one. The bleeding was intense. I would stand up from a sitting position and the blood would gush out of me, soaking my clothes and the floor. This happened 3x while at work and the carpet had to be replaced. They eventually got one of those plastic floor covers just for me! Embarassing! That gushing - the only way I can explain what it was like is to relate it to when your bag of waters breaks and you go into labor. Just like that!

About 5 years ago my doctor put me on birth control pills and that has helped tremendously. I still bleed excessively, but only for 3-7 days - not 90 days! I can live with that! I just plan to stay home on those days!

I hope I didn't gross anyone out with my story. I know it was a little graphic.

(This excessive bleeding runs in my family. My 12 year old is already having these problems!)

A.

Welcome to the start of menopause.
I had something similar. I did not have the 60 day cycle, but did have the clotting, and routine tests you mention, which showed my uterine lining was thicker than it should be. I had a biopsy - hurt like hell - did you have that problem? (Oh, this won't hurt a bit, you'll feel a tiny pinch - hah! I nearly passed out.)
i had a d&c and a full exam of all uterine tissue reveled nothing wrong. I also had ovarian cysts, which resolved on their own.
If a endometrial ablation is like a d&c, then periods will lighten up and clotting goes away for a while. In my cse they never returned and periods got further apart until they stopped altogether. No periods is a wonderful thing.
i hope this helps.

Hi there- I work in a GYN office and we do a procedure call Novasure ablation in office!! It is great for people with heavy bleeding! Check it out online! Novasure is the name of the company so do a google search on that! Hope you find some help! Good luck!

Maybe due to your age you might need to see a doctor that specializes in hormones such as a "perimenopause" doctor. Hormonal changes can affect the consistency of your periods. A friend in the Austin area recommended Dr. Paula Starche with the Austin Diagnostic Clinic. (ADC) on Mopac. She is located in the building associated with the big hospital on Mopac going North past 183.

I had fibrods and a condition (forgot what it was called) in my uteran lining which caused very heavy periods. So heavy that the entire period would leave within 1-2 days instead of 7. I had to use 3 different methods at the same time to stop the blood and change it every 30 minutes. As I work outside the home in the business world, it was a terrible challenge needless to say. Just some more ideas of what can possibly cause this. Best thing to go to doctor on that. K. L.

I am 46 with nine and five year old kiddos. Pre children, my periods were always 3 days max. After children, the flood gates opened for 7 days everytime. I'm surprised I'm not anemic. Anyhow, one year, I complained to my gyn and she recommended the same endometrial ablation. I was encouraged NOT to do it by my health and welness doctor, so I chose not to, because I think too many doctors love to get people under the knife. As it turns out, my health and wellness doctor put me on progesterone and I began exercising hard five days a week at the gym and the flood gate seems to be closing on it's own. My period seems to be 4 days max. I think the exercising is helping. I don't know if what I have said helps you any, but I hope so. Have a great day.
Deborah

Hi I had this problem after baby number three. I had ablation and it changed my life. No downtime, no complications and I haven't had a period since, one of the pleasant side effects.

Talk to your doctor and fully understand the procedure and how it might work for your situation.

Good luck!

I went thru that for years in my mid 30's. Had all the tests done just as you have and "nothing" was ever found. When I was 37, my reg Gyn brought in a new partner, I saw him by chance, he read my file and asked me if I wanted to be done with all this nonsense. I was not having anymore children, so the day before Thanksgiving 2000, I had a partial hysterectomy, I kept my ovaries. It was done vaginally, so no inscisions in the abdominal wall. I wish I had had it done years earlier. I was just like you, every 28 days like clockwork, I had a 3-day period and was done, then after I had my daughter, it started being very irregular. My doc at the time tried to put me back on the birth control pill, but that only caused migraines so intense the ER staff knew my by first name. Towards the end I was passing clots the size of grapefruits, I was missing work, it just made life miserable. I'm not saying this is your only option, but it worked for me.

I spent the entire month of December. I had been having issues for 2 years. Under went every test imaginable. Everything was negative even lost my job because of it. The Dr"s kept telling me my hormone level was fine I was not menopause. I kept telling them I know my body and something is not right. I have had a very very regular period since I started having them in my teens. I was made to feel it was all in my head. Even in the ER. I was put on birth control pills to control the bleeding that did not work for me. I finally went to a female GYN. She stated I was going through premenopausal symtoms. She recommended a procedure where they basically burn the uterus to stop the bleeding. Can not remember the name. I plan on having it done as soon as the anemia has corrected itself, which according due to bleeding nonstop for 35 days.

Hi D.,
I had the heavy bleeding and clots as you do also. I stayed in bed for the first few days of my cycle, YES, it was THAT bad. I don't want to be to graphic but, I would get out of bed and walk 15 feet to the bathroom and it was running down my legs. I had to plan things around this time of the month. It was getting ridiculous. My doctor also recommended an endometrial ablation. She explained it to me like this.... It's like hot water in a balloon and "burn" out the uterine lining. It was a true blessing for me. She said it would be possible that I wouldn't have a cycle at all. No, I wasn't that lucky. But, I'm SO GLAD I had it done. I wish I'd known about that YEARS AGO!!!! I still have a cycle but, it's nowhere near what it was before. I don't have to plan things around this time any longer. I went in to have it done about 1pm and I was home by 4pm. It was really simple. The only problem I had afterwards was that my back HURT the rest of that day. I came home took one pain pill and went to bed. I've never had anymore problems. Ok, I just wanted to share my story with you. I hope you find a way to help yourself too. If you have any questions, just ask. Hope you find your answer. God Bless!!!!

I also have cysts. I cycle about twice a year now. It has changed throughout my life. When I was a teen I had the super heavy, almost hemmoraging, super ultra tampon+overnight pad every hour. It is twice a year and 3 weeks of spotting since DD was born. It is a pain not knowing, but I only suffer twice a year. My GYN said that it could be taken care of with BC, but DH got the big V so I didn't have to worry about that anymore. Since it is only 2X a year now, I've decided to just leave it alone for now.
Have you tried BC? or are you already on it?
I hope you find your answer. I'll be watching this one. I have never known exactly what can be normal in that area. It doesn't seem like many people are "normal" these days.

I also experienced this, they say mine was because I had 4 c-sections, it causes heavy bleeding later on. I went in at the age of 41 and had a procedure called Novasure (not sure i spelled it correctly, but they go in and burn the lining of the uterus with hot saline. I still have all my female organs but NO PERIODS, not even a spot since I had it done. I opted for this instead of hysterctomy so I am not pushed into menopause. It was the best thing I ever did, LOL Since I had my tubes tied after 4th child, knew I wasnt going to have any more kids so thought why still have periods, LOL I didnt read all the posts above so not sure if someone already mentioned this. :)

I'm with you on the bleeding. I had a C-section 11/20. Started bleeding 12/9. I've had a pad on ever since. I too had been like clocked work every 28 days. Turned out I had a 8x10 cm hematoma from my uterine incision. The initial bleeding was the hematoma bleeding through. On 1/21 I had diagnostic lap that showed the incision had come open and was bleeding. I was also scheduled for the endometrial ablation. I expressed my concerns of a distorted uterus and my research on the ablation came up with fibroids and polyps distorting the uterus made for a big mess. The doc usually performed the ablation first and then did the scope in case the uterus got perforated he could still have the ablation done. Luckily, he listened to my concerns and scoped me first, revealing the opening in my uterus. We were not able to do the ablation because it would have gone through the hole and burnt the control center of the bladder leaving me incontinent. It was by the grace of God the doc payed attention to my concerns. I'd even had a CT scan that revealed the hematoma coming from the ovary, leaving us thinking the uterus was fine.

However, I'm still bleeding (more of a spotting) outside of my regular period and am now on birth control to get it under control.

Long story short, research the ablation complications and express any concerns to your doc.

Outside of that, I'm considering buying stock in Stayfree and Charmin to at least get some return on my monies.

I had the same situation but mine was caused by uterine fibroids. The first solution I used was progestrone, but as you said it was not a long term solution. I then had the ablation procedure and it helped for about a year and it started back. Since my childbearing days were done, I had a partial hysterectomy. I left the ovaries because they were in good shape, didnt want to be on any hormone treatments for the rest of my life. It was the most awesome relief. I was 45 when this all happened for me. My daughter, who was 26 at the time, had a similiar situation with the heavy heavy flow and had an ablation. She's still doing fine after 2+ years. Hope this helps!

after having my 3rd son. I had a horrible heavy period for two year straight. It never stoped and almost drove me to the mental instution. The dr's tried EVERYTHING from hormones to a IUD, injections ect. nothing worked. Finally I looked into having the Novasure procedure done and finally I'm not bleeding anymore. You have to be sure you are done having children but if you are I would highly suggest that it has been my saving grace and now I only have a period once a month for about a day very light bleeding. Good luck. I know how frustrating it is.