Are period pants any good for super heavy flow?

[Ariadne0liver]

I have fibroids which means that the first 1 - 2 days (and nights) of my period are super heavy. For context, I'm usually needing to change a pad every 3 hours - and it's an Always pad that is made like an old school sanitary pad/maternity pad, not a super thin pad or anything. There's also often large clots (apologies for the TMI!).

I'd really love to move to period pants just purely to cut down on the number of pads I'm using - and also to hopefully get more sleep overnight as at the moment I wake every couple of hours as I'm so worried about leaking/need to change the pad. But would period pants be any good for me? If you've had a really heavy flow and moved to them, what was your experience like? And if you'd recommend it, which brand did you use? They're all fairly expensive to begin with and I don't want to buy one that will be no use. Thanks for your help!

I use them, but with a pad or tampon too. Not great I know, but I’m not sure I could fully trust them without anything at all

M&S here too but as PP said shift down a size or two. I also have the night ones. First two days I used with a cup, after that they are fine.

Flowette Ultra work for me. The absorbant part goes fully front to back. They last me several hours, even when I'm flooding.

People have mentioned modibodi, but even on their most highest pairs, the absorbant part doesn't cover the full gusset and therefore I leak through in minutes.

The pad bit in mine goes from waistband to waistband. I think some of the lighter flow ones don't, but i have the heaviest absorbant they sell and it's full coverage.

uniqlo are heavy duty as well. the absorbent bit goes up high in the front, if that's where you need it.

I use the M&S ones and they have bailed me out several times overnight. Very comfy too.

Modibodi's mega overnight ones are brilliant. I sleep all night and have not once woken up in a patch of blood, which was every month until I got them. They've stopped my anxiety throughout the night every time I stir, now I just go back to sleep.

I get clots too and still put a pad in, to catch these, otherwise washing them out into the sink is grim (speaking from experience). It also catches a lot of the blood too so less to wash out.

I used Flux (Fluxies?) but on heaviest days I also used a super plus plus Lil-let, so the period pants were back-up in case I flooded. Which I did, and they were good, but I don't think I'd have trusted them alone for days 1 and 2. For days 3-6 I used them alone and they were fantastic.

Yes modibodi but only if you get the ones that go all the way to the back of the gusset

I’m pretty happy with both wuka and modi bodi max absorbency ones. Super plus tampon lasts me 1-2 hours at the heavy point.

The pants won’t magically last 12 hours like the labels claim, but they buy a good chunk of extra time.

I was actually googling this yesterday and good housekeeping recommended modibody classic full brief, heaviest absorbancy, as best for night /heavy periods.

So I ordered some. They are dear but have a discount on the website at the moment. I've not received them yet, but hopefully before my next period starts.

Modibodi are the best in my opinion, and the heavier flow ones go from waistband to waist band.

M&S are ok for light days but I find they don’t come up high enough to catch everything if I’m sat down for a long time.

I found the pants were okay when I was lying down as they held it in but getting up in the morning would sometimes lead to issues. This was when my flow got ridiculous.

I found it good to used a reusable maternity pad at night as well as.

It can be useful to use a menstrual cup to measure the flow and then tell the dr how much you are losing. (Eg a 15ml cup could not last me an hour during heavy days) I tried the tranexamic acid and it only worked temporarily. I had an ablation and it means I have had a few years of only needing panty liners! It’s really hard to be well when you are losing so much blood every month so maybe talk to your doctor about options.

Yes, I have adenomyosis and get heavy bleeding. Seconding Modibodi and Wuka - the highst absorption level they do. No need for pads or regular changing.

If you're very heavy they will leak. I can leak through a super tampon and a pair of period pants (I have M&S and Thinx, the Thinx are better but pricier) in under a couple of hours at my heaviest, so I now add a pad as well at that point. But once I'm past the heaviest flow they are reassuring back up and better than normal pants.

Thank you all - will definitely be looking at the pants that go from waistband to waistband as that sounds best. I have been back and forth to the GP about the heavy bleeding but they won't remove the fibroids due to the positioning and after 1/2 days my periods are really light so, whilst it's not ideal, I know it's not as bad as it could be. Have tried tranexamic acid but made no difference to me - @mamaison I like the idea of using a menstrual cup to measure the flow, even just so that I'm aware. And thanks for mentioning your experience with clots @SmallSnooze , that's really useful to know.

With cups - go really really careful on insertion removal technique. They’re about the only thing that has any potential to work like a sink plunger and pull your pelvic organs down actively.

On the medication front - transxemic acid, mefanamic acid and naproxen all worth a try.

Honestly for super heavy flow, period pants alone might not cut it overnight. A few people on the thread mentioned incontinence pads like Tena or Boots own brand. I've used Always Discreet ones (I grab them from McGrocer when I do a UK order) and they're a game changer. Way more coverage than regular pads and you can actually sleep.
Pair those with period pants as backup and you're sorted.