Mooncup users of Mumsnet... help!

[RandomlyChosenName]

The doctor asked me if I had heavy periods and tbh I don’t actually know. I am assuming not and that they are normal or even light. Anyway, I wondered if I said what they were like, other mooncup users could give me an idea?

I haven’t been keeping an accurate eye on how much blood I’ve lost, but the amounts are roughly as below:

First two days- change mooncup first thing in morning, lunchtime and last thing at night. Each time it is full up to about the top line. 3rd day, some loss, much less than first two days. Small amount in mooncup. 4th and 5th days, mooncup not needed, small amount of blood when I wipe.

Would you say this was heavy, medium or light?

Thank you!

Well I've never filled mine to the top and I leave it in for 12 hours at a time if I'm at work, so yours is heavier than mine but I would describe mine as light.

A heavy period is one where you lose more than 80ml of blood during a whole period and a full mooncup holds almost 30ml, soIwould day yours are heavy.

A heavy period is where you have to get up several times a night to empty your mooncup and even still soak through pads as well.

I would say yours are light!

(I think having to change more than every three hours is the gauge tbh)

I fill my mooncup to the top after about 8 hours. And this happens the first couple of days. I count my periods as heavy, as if not wearing my mooncup, if I were to stand up I would feel the blood running out of me.

I have pretty light periods and so probably don't even half fill the cup in a day.

That sounds on the lighter side to me! Sometimes on day two, I fill a cup in about an hour! Total bugger but it does mean that days 4/5 are virtually non existent!

The 80ml thing is nonsense.

On my heavy days I fill a moon up in about 2 hours and change twice during the night. Yours don't sound heavy to me

Day 1 full in 12 hours
Day 2-4 half full or less in 12 hours
I would say mine are medium.

Filling a moon cup in 1-2 hours is really heavy! I honestly don’t know how I’d cope at work with that.

For comparison to tampons, when I was on the copper coil, I used to get through a super tampon in 1-2 hours, had to change the moon cup every 4-6 hours. For me, that is about the equivalent. My periods were classed as heavy by my dr then. (I was on drugs to help manage them)

I can fill mine twice during the day and once overnight on the first two days, then barely fill it once over the next 5 days (I do empty it twice daily though, am not that grim).

Does that make mine heavy-ish? No idea!

Heavy menstrual bleeding is defined as losing 80ml or more in each period, having periods that last longer than 7 days, or both. ... A good indication that your periods are heavy is if you: are having to change your sanitary products every hour or 2. are passing blood clots larger than 2.5cm (about the size of a 10p coin)

The 80mls thing isn't 'nonsense' - the above is from the NHS website.

Well.. that’s quite a range of opinions!!

I’d possibly say I have normal periods. Heavy doesn’t seem right as So many women have flooding etc. Although I possibly lose more than 80ml which does seem a tiny amount!

Tbh I'm not sure where the 80 ml came from, is it an average, was it established when women were generally thinner/had worse nutrition etc. I'm not even sure how it was measured, presumably it was pre-menstrual cup so measurement was inaccurate.

I think my periods are pretty heavy (a lot more than 80 ml!) but they're less often, I'm over 50 and so long as I take iron I feel fine so I'm just waiting for the menopause. The mini pill had no effect on me, just caused continuous bleeding.

Based on absolutely nothing but my gut instinct... I think I am the lighter side of moderate and you sound a bit heavier than me

The 80ml just refers to actual blood, it didn't take into account all the other fluid (blood only makes up part of it)

That sounds medium to me.

When I was on the copper coil I emptied mine hourly during the day for 1.5 days, then every few hours.