Period blood loss volume, what’s normal & what’s not?

[Luckinspades]

I’ve never discussed this with friends or anyone really.

Heavy menstrual loss is described as having to change pads multiple times an hour, flooding etc.

But what about the in between?

Mine has got worse as I’ve got older, peri meno now.
I get that awful “gushing” multiple times a day, don’t change multiple pads but when I wipe, I wipe “fistfuls” of heavy blood with large clots about 4 times before it clears & there are large clots in the toilet when I just urinate.
I have pain, nothing that regular paracetamol can’t cure but it’s intense pain that stops me in my tracks and overtakes anything I’m doing until the paracetamol kicks in.

Dont get me started on ovulation pains!

To me though, this is heavy menstrual bleeding but it’s not according to what I’ve read.
If I went to my DRs with this, would they turn me away?

Dont know what I would want in terms of treatment, I’d need to research this but would I be taken seriously and would I be wasting an appointment?

I’ve been there and done that.

Forget pads and tampons. You won’t be taken seriously, unfortunately.

Get a mooncup and record the results.

The average is about 60ml per period. 80ml is considered heavy. I had 150-250ml for years.

I saw a doctor (not in the UK) and showed them my spreadsheet and I got scans and painkillers and treatment. But without that, I would not have been taken seriously.

The average is 60ml? In a full period? That's two and a bit mooncups worth. Or 'a morning' as it's more commonly known.

Last gynae I saw though couldn't calculate heaviness in anything other than tampon changes (which I haven't used for a decade) so we ended up agreeing that if it's impacting your life it's heavy and worth treating. I think that's actually the best metric. Please seek treatment if you need help and don't accept their first'no': women really have to advocate hard to be taken seriously

I would like to better understand the impact of blood loss though. Donors give a pint regularly without ill effect. And yet heavy periods are, over time, crippling.

I’ve been to the doctor recently for similar but it was no where as bad as yours and I’ve started on a treatment plan. My bleeding increase is post second child rather than menopausal so I’m trying a contraceptive pill first.

Generally going to a pad an hour is considered sever blood loss and you should seek immediate medical help.

Make an appointment with a GP. I ibuprofen is better than paracetamol for period pain but you can take both.

Donors only give every 4-6 months though.
I got the the point where I was going through a pack of super plus tampons in 2-3 hours and had to wear a heavy duty pad as well (first day of period). Got severely anaemic which was discovered on a routine blood test for my blood pressure, turned out I had several large fibroids. Ended up having a hysterectomy but the relief of no more periods!

Mine has definitely got heavier the last year or so. I've put it down to approaching menopause (almost 49).

Actually, 60ml is one of the newer and higher estimates. When I was investigated, the doctors said the average was 30-40ml.

For me that was about an hour and a half on day 2 of a 5 day period. Now it varies a little but never more than 50ml over 3 days.

I am not exaggerating when I say it is life changing!

Go to the GP and ask for mefenamic tablets, I was given these for periods that sound pretty much like yours. From what I remember I think you start taking them a couple of days before period (or if irregular just start them as soon as you start bleeding). They worked wonders for me when I was on them!

I didn't realised I had heavy periods until my iron levels were checked. Blood loss physically didn't effect my but at my worst I was changing a super plus every hour and still flooding.

If it's impacting your life (surely that much must be) then talk to your gp. I was pleasantly surprised how seriously I was taken.

(I took a shed load of iron until I'd finished my family and then had an ablation.. there are solutions available)

Thanks.
from your comments, my loss is high despite not going through as many sanitary products as most of you.

It angers me that something that affects a huge number of the population on a monthly basis and can be debilitating and alters daily life for days at a time isn’t treated more consistently or taken more seriously.

And considering the knock on, the anaemia & all of the awful symptoms that come with that !

I have a large menstrual cup and its capacity is 15-20ml. I empty it several times on my heaviest days.

There are also blood-flow tracking things if you Google, to record what protection you're using and how often you're changing it. You can also record clots (over the size of a 50p piece is considered large, on one site I read,) and also any pain, nausea, faintness.

My GP said, "no woman should have her life interrupted by periods in this day and age," and said there's a range of treatments, starting with tranexamic acid, through Mirena coil and various other options up to hysterectomy. I don't get the impression that all GPs are quite so positive in their approach, though. Tranexamic acid was enough for me, and I'm now finding (age 50) that they're less heavy and less clotty, but lasting a fortnight, so it's probably similar total volumes. (Haven't tracked it that closely, though.)

I've always been prone to lower iron, on the edge of anaemia, (usually found by them not letting me give blood,) and have been on tablets for that at one or two points in the past - these days I get ferrous sulphate over the counter and take it on days I'm bleeding, and then lower dose iron tablets other days.

But I feel if it was becoming unmanageable again, I could go back to my GP and be listened to, and while this should be normal, I'm aware I am lucky, because it's not the case with all GPs.

If you use pads, you can keep them in the fridge after use and weigh them all at the end, subtracting the original weight of the pad. I am a bit of a bloodthirsty bitch so I would take a tape measure to those clots, too, and make a chart

with this particular subject, if you don’t advocate for yourself, no one else will.

You can weigh your pads if you don't want to use a moon cup.

We do it in hospitals all the time time to measure blood loss. Google it

I assumed my increasingly heavy period was due to peri menopause but it turns out (after a uterine ultrasound) that I have two moderately sized uterine polyps which can lead to much heavier periods. I’m going for further investigation and possible removal / biopsy next month.

so I’d advise that you get it checked out by a gynae or whoever does your check ups.

The point is, to methis blood loss is heavy and getting worse.

The absolute volume shouldn’t be even brought into any conversation with a HCP. We shouldn’t need to be weighing used sanitary protection to get their attention and to be offered a solution.

I know what’s not right and what has changed in my body and I am different to the next woman or the next woman.

It’s so frustrating.

Absolutely this @Wobblyjob . Agree SO strongly with what you say,

If women were believed about own health ...

I'd have to change a super plus tampon and pad every hour one day a period at least.
When I changed to a moon up I could actually quantify that with ml.

I remember so vividly the lessons t school when they said a teaspoon ago blood a day - I thought 'yeah right' as I would rush to change after every lesson and still have flooding.

This happened to me and it was a large fibroid and I needed it removed.

Listen to the BBC podcast 28ish days later. One episode is a out just this. Volume isn't relevant. How does it impact day to day life. Worth a listen and then a discussion with GP.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bvg9nm

At my heaviest I'll change a menstrual cup every 2 hours or so (35ml). Period before last was mortifying. Thought I was nearly finished, was in work, stood up and just felt this hellish gush. Cup overflowed, pad next to useless, dripped my way to the loo. It was awful. I really should go see my GP, but they are closing and haven't been allocated a new one yet.

Fibroids can cause extra blood loss too. Could be that sort of thing. Good idea to go to GP.

Blood donors actually donate about 470ml, about 3/4 of a pint, only do it every 12 weeks for men and 16 weeks for women. Even the transfusion service recognises that periods have an impact on women.

And some of us never had consistently adequate levels in order to donate and so got asked not to come back to the donation centre😥

Cezarette was a life changing experience. No more periods and no more anaemia.

I too assumed my heavy blood loss was down to peri menopause. I went to my GP who referred me for an ultrasound which showed a thickened endometrium. Got referred to a gynae for a hysteroscopy and biopsy. Turned out I had endometrial cancer at the age of 47. I don't want to worry as in all likelihood it is something benign, although annoying, but do get checked out. Btw, I'm fine now - cancer caught early and I've had all the bits removed.

I saw a nurse practitioner about this today (along with other peri symptoms). She suggested a range of options including mirena coil and recommended the menopause matters website for research. I've gone away to think about it.