Ibuprofen can reduce period bleed by up to 40% - why didnt I know this?

[DoodleLug]

Writing this in the hope of helping others.

I'm nearly 50, at school we learnt that a period was the shedding of the lining of the womb and that it wasn't 'real blood'. I assumed that the variation in bleeding between months was because things change.

Was listening to a menopause podcast and presenter made a throwaway comment about ibuprofen for heavy bleeding. She didn't say any more so I researched. Turns out the blood isn't the lining of the womb, it's real blood from capillaries that break to 'carry away' the cells that line the womb and the amount depends on many factors but can be very much reduced by taking ibuprofen throughout the bleeding phase without being any less effective at removal.

Does everyone already know this? My periods are becoming heavier and more painful, so I've been taking cocodomol instead of ibuprofen, possibly making it worse. I'm also anemic, doc offered meds to reduce heavy bleeding (which didn't agree with me) but didn't mention simple ibuprofen.

I'll be trying this month but hope it'll alleviate the heavier bleeding.

This is true, it helped me a lot earlier in peri menopause when I was flooding. It did however hurt my stomach lining causing more problems as I didn’t realise that I shouldn’t take it on an empty stomach. So just to warn you all who might do or be doing this. Stomach lining is fine now but it took a few months to get better.

If that is actually true I dread to think how much blood I would have lost during my periods! I didn't see any impact on my periods at all - I didn't take it for that but because I used to get a lot of headaches.

And yes be careful about stomach lining. I don't think it's a good idea to take it if you don't really need it.

I do think doing it every month would be overkill but I think when doctors prescribe it for a short period, it can be okay to do once or twice

News to me, thanks op.

I take ibuprofen when period is pain, its the only thing that helps (mine aren't heavy enough to need a prescription) and I suppose I now know why!

Yes, it absolutely does.

(Well, to eat, but let's not get technical.)

I take high levels of ibuprofen for the first few days of my periods due to killer cramps. I knew this but never really noticed a major difference as I have flooding anyway.

This is new info, thankyou.

Does it shorten your period in days or just lighten it? Or both?

Personally I’ve found that it can delay it and lighten it (but I have short periods anyway, thankfully).

I take 800 for the first day of my period and again on the 2nd day not only is my period now much lighter I’m pretty much pain free. As someone who floods during it’s been brilliant for me.

I used to get told this in ye dark pre-children days.

It works now my periods are managable with pain relief. I'm still after a decade regularly astonished that I can have a period and function, including going for a gentle run.

It was insulting advice when I was doubled over in agony, barely able to walk and had a tendency to collapse on any scuzzy floor that I happened to be on.

My prescription pain relief was useless for day 1 at its worst without a crystal ball to tell me which week/ month my period was due to get the medication into my system before my period signalled its arrival with pain comparable to pushing out a stuck 8lb+ of back to back baby.

I was sent home from school/ work in agony on many occasions.

I daren't try anything hormonal to upset the balance in case my periods revert back to their original heavy flows and crippling pain.

I didn’t know this