Heavy Period Problems

I have a history of endometriosis in my family. I have not been diagnosed with it but I think that I am predisposed to heavy periods and abnormal bleeding. That said I had normal periods for the first 10 years from age 11 to around 21. Then they started to get really heavy with no medical explanation. I started on the pill and took it until I was ready to concieve my son. When I went off the pill I did not have heavy periods. However I feel that some people are more predisposed to problems. I don't like taking hormonal BC but for some people the alternative is also not good. I think you should try a hormonal method. I am on the shot which is extremely low-dose and progesterone only. I have been happy and only have light spotting every 2-3 months. Good Luck. Be aware that you may have early endometriosis.

After my 3rd child I had my tubes tied. I finally thought woohoo, no more birth control! I had very rough periods starting at age 9. The doctors put me on birth control when I was in the 8th grade because I was so run down and anemic. I had my tubes tied and then 2 months later ended up on birth control again and have been on it ever since. It is now 13 years later. I don't know when or how I will ever be able to stop taking birth control other then menopause!

I was having the same problems and using nearly a whole box of tampons in one day. Since my husband and I were sure we didn't want more children my doctor suggested having an ablation. It was the best thing I've ever done! I haven't bought a box of tampons in over 2 years now. My periods are normally 1 day of spotting at the most, with the occasional 3 days every 4 - 5 months. It's been great. The main issue with it is that since it burns off the lining of your uterus you can not carry another baby. If your done having kids I highly recommend it. Good luck, I hope you find the solution you're looking for!

I have all the respect in the world for MDs, but as they told you, they just don't know. It doesn't sound like it's normal for you, so something probably is going on. If you can afford it (some insurance will cover it, most won't), you might look into a Naturopathic Doctor. After college, they go to 4 years of naturopathic medical school, and learn to treat/cure the whole body, so that it heals/corrects itself, rather than just treating the symptom (BC pills for heavy bleeding). I have a baby boy without taking any drugs because I started seeing an ND for various issues, including my persistent infertility. You can find one on www.naturopathic.org. I never really even knew what they were before until I started looking for help with life-long issues that MDs were never able to help me with, and now I feel better than I did as a teenager. Good luck!

I would try to get a different doctors opinion. Even if it's with a doctor within the same office. I would not go back on the b/c pills. I had that problem and they offered me to try b/c. The bleeding and clots got worst and I found out with persistence that I had a fibroid in my uterus. First I heard it's because I was older (35). My doctor said my body was only 32. I take good care of myself and eat lots of fruits and vegetables. If I didn't eat right it could have been worst. Mine was not painful at all yet now after surgery I have met others whose were on the uterus and in the walls and theirs were painful. Make sure it's not making you anemic too. Praying for you that all is well.

A.,
Have you been checked for von Willebrand disease? See link. http://www.hemophilia.org/NHFWeb/MainPgs/MainNHF.aspx?men...
I have severe anemia and have periods like you do every month. I have been tested for many serious things. My hematologist has determined it is my periods and most likely a mild case of VW's. My test was negative, but he still suspects vW. I see Dr. Ataga at UNC. They are wonderful. My mother suffered with the same problems and did not know what it was at the time. Many OB/GYNS overlook VW's disease. You need to find a good hematologist or internal medicine doc who can evaluate you for it. I need to get my cycles under control. BC is not for me in estrogen form. There are things/meds you can do/take as you will see when you read the link above. These periods are debilitating. They became much worse after the birth of my second child. Always heavy during my life, but this is handicapping almost for those few days. Look into subclinical miscarriages too. Sometimes you have a heavy period and don't realize you were pregnant b/c you never really miss your cycle. Pregnancy tests would be the way to go in these cases, but may not show up after the miscarriage especially at such an early date. Just a thought. Check into the above as it often overlooked!
Becca

The easy answer is always "go on the pill". I don't recommend it because it just covers up the real problem. The problem won't go away, it will just manifest in a new way. Make sure you get all the blood work done that you need. Don't let your doctor sweep this problem under the rug. It's hormonal and there are lots of hormones to check before you start messing around with them.

Yes, your doctor is right, the increased menstral flow is due to stoppind your BCP's. ANd underthe school of thought that every woman's cycles are different is is neither normal or abnormal. I have had several friends over the years with this same problem. After my son, almost 3 yrs. old was born, I had this problem, too. I also can totally relate to not wanting to be on hormones. The only thing that helped me was that I began a very strenuous exercise regimen-running 10mi/day, followed by 15-20 hrs/wk of daily weight training. Once my body fat dropped down to under 14%, I began barely having periods at all. In fact, this helped with birth control as well, as I had to gain a good 10lbs, prior to getting pregnant(currently 27 wks). As well as the decreased menstral flow, I can honestly say that emotionally, mentally, and physically, I felt wonderful. However, I understand, too, that I have the tendency to push things to the extreme , and that not everyone has time to do this. BCP's are an option, and yes, they will work. I also tried taking a supplement called "blue cohash" root, after having my son, it was highly regarded as a menstral flow regulator/great herbal for women of childbearing age, all it did was make my period cramps feel like labor contractions!

Hi, A.,
I, too, experienced heavier periods after a certain age. Hope this won't sound like a commercial, but I want to tell you up front that I sell a line of products, one of which is a progesterone cream. This product helped me. It was one of the reasons I decided to become a distributor. Anyway, I just want you to check out a natural (bioidentical) progesterone cream. Do some research to see if it may be something you would like to try. I never was on BC. I had decided it was not for me. Hope this will be helpful. Let me know if you would like to talk about this in more detail.
D. F.
____@____.com

Heavy periods are one symptom of low thyroid. If you also have started having any of these other symptoms, you might want to have your levels checked:
Weight gain
Feeling tired, lazy, and/or depressed (just don't care)
Mental fog (can't concentrate)
Feeling cold
Food stays like a 'lump' in your throat
Hair and skin are dry (skin flaky/hair brittle)
Constipation
Muscle cramps

A.-

I have not read all the previous responses - so this could be a repeat of what someone else has mentioned. When I was in my mid-twenties my family doctor started me on a new asthma medication that I was supposed to take daily. The first month I was fine but the longer I took this medication I began to have menstrual type bleeding more frequently. Sometimes quite heavy. The second month I was on this medication I had two periods - it seemed a little odd, but I wasn't too stressed well the next month I had three mentrual type bleeding that lasted about five days each. This worried me. I called my obgyn at the time and went in. At the visit they found nothing wrong. They actually told me that this could be healthy for someone my age. They did tell me that they were pretty sure it was a side effect of the new asthma medication I was taking. I immediately stopped taking the asthma medication and told my family doctor that we had to find other methods of controlling my asthma. After I quit the medication my periods went back to normal. I don't know if you are taking any medications, but you might look up any possible side effects if you are.

Hi A., it sounds like you don't have the heavy bleeding every month. I have had similar experience. I recently tried the Diva Cup for catching menstrual flow. The first time I tried it I had a very heavy period. The directions indicated that most women would hardly fill the cup up over the entire cycle. Well, I filled it about every hour. I started to get worried! I never new the oz of flow that I had before until using this cup. I new that sometimes my pads/tampons would fill faster. But, after having the actual amount ... it made me worry like you. I looked up info on it on-line ... chats too. Anyway, the next month I was more "regular" and would only fill it about a quarter full with each change. So, I think that sometimes I am heavy, other times medium, other times lite.

It is good that you had some tests done and cleared your worries of that. I think that just keep watching. You may find that your cycle - cycles through periods of heavier flow and not so heavy flow.

Good luck! D..

The pill really does help that issue, but stressing over it is not making it better. I had black blood for 3 months and thought it must be cancer. All checks were good, then the doc asked me if I was stressed over anything. I just laughed, I was at a very stressful time in my life. After that, I talked to God more, and let Him take my stress, He has big shoulders, and everything got better. Good luck and God Bless.

This sounds a lot like me! I am 30 years old, and I went off birth control about 3 years ago. Just don't like how it makes me feel, so my husband and I were using condoms and natural family planning to prevent pregnancy. About 9 months ago, not only did I start having periods just like you described, I also had brown spotting at every period 4-7 days BEFORE beginning my period. So, basically I was having to use feminine products for 2 weeks out of every month. It was horrible! My husband and I decided to start trying for our 3rd child so I went in to a new OB and spoke to her about it. She was having me track my periods, since we couldn't tell when they actually started, and if the abnormal and heavy bleeding continued we were going to do some extra tests. But, then I got pregnant so we'll have to wait until after that to investigate further. However, she did tell me that birth control would very likely take care of it. I hope you find some answers!

I have this problem every other month- heavy periods that sometimes last 10 days. On the off months- my period is normal. I remember know that when I turned about 29 or 30, something changed hormonally. All of a sudden, I could no longer take the BC pills I had taken for 10 years. The gyn said it's normal for your cycle to change as you get older- basically, your hormones change. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are in pain or it's really distressing you. Just make sure you are getting enough iron during your heavy periods by taking a daily vitamin with iron. I sometimes get anemic during the "bad" cycle, which just makes me feel that much worse.

I was put on birth control at 18 for the same reason. So I can tell you that it does work.
Also, my aunt had the same issue in her late 30s and her doctor told her to take Aleve. Apparently it restricts the blood vessels and makes your bleeding lighter. Worked for her.
B

Maybe you could talk to your dr about a D&C this scrape the lining of your uterus out... I had to have one when I had lost my 2nd pregnancy. I recently had something called a
Novasure Ablation but that is

***when your family is complete.***

They actually burn the lining of your uterus and some women have NO or very little bleeding when they have their cycle. This allows for natural menopause as you get older.

Our family is complete and my DH had a "V" 6 yrs ago, your body will change after every baby and as you age.

Hope you can find something that will help you...