to ask you what a normal period is? (sorry if TMI)

[Caronaim]

8 days, one of which will be almost uncontainable for a few hours, using highest absorbency tampon and towel, and changing both every 30 mins.

I've just read another thread about anaemia, and a poster said she had three days bleeding, which she wasn't sure if that was heavy. Surely that is minuscule?

Also, do heavy periods really cause anaemia? As most of what you lose isn't blood. And if you are anaemic, do your periods get lighter? So which indicates anaemia, heavy periods or light periods?

I can't believe what some of you have to put up with

Mine last 5-6 days. Day 1 is barely anything. Days 2-3 are heavier, by which I mean fresh pad/tampon in the morning, change at lunchtime, change about 5/6 and another fresh one before bed. Days 4-5 are very light, only really need to change once a day though I do it more just for freshness. also, I wear a pad at night just in case but I don't actually need to, I never bleed at night (gravity?)

Can't imagine having to worry about clothes and double pads etc, you ladies should definitely see your gps and find out if anything can be done.

Yep. Night towels during the day change every 2-4 hours for first 1-2 days. Okay after that. No pain. However, iron tablets save your life. I spent three years exhausted until the doctor gave me these miracle tablets. Two days after the first one i was bouncing off the wall (i mean bouncing) as i had so much energy. Last summer local chemist (was trying to shop locally) gave me my normal iron tablets (in theory) in a different bottle. Two weeks later (after sleeping from 8pm -7pm and being tried , and i mean a not in head tiredness, durning the day) i suddenly realised it wasnt me but the tablets..went back to boots and begged them to give me some and two days later i back with energy. Never again will i stray to cheaper tablets. (Throw other box away) No pain from my period just if not taking the iron tablets a strange not feeling as in my head and no energy. I hate this feeling and now really scared if i dont take the tablets....

What brand of iron tablets do you use, londonrach? I'd love to know, I feel tired so much of the time.

wow! I can't believe you don't bleed at night Me624! My night time protection for about a week is superplus extra tampon, two or three maximum size night time towels, old black flannel skirt, two layers of towels over my mattress, and setting the alarm various numbers of times through the night to get changed.

However, I don't get any pain, so very lucky in that respect. overwhelming exhaustion starting about lunchtime on day 2, can hardly keep my eyes open all afternoon.

Wow, I'm very lucky. Period lasts 5 days max. First couple of days are just slight clotting when I go to the loo, then maybe 2 days of heavy-ish flow. I never use more than about 6 tampons per month and don't use pads.

Mine have always lasted at least 7 days. At the moment they last about 10. However, there's a trickle for about 3 days and the same at the end so I don't really need anything other than a panty liner/small pad for those days. I have about 2 days when it's really heavy (but I don't generally need to change more than 4-5 times in 24 hours) and there will be at least one night where I have to get up in the middle of the night. I use pads rather than tampons and Always have some newish night-time towels that are huge and kind of do the job. I can go out, but occasionally I'll be passing one clot after the other and having to dash to the loo. It doesn't happen every month though. A friend wondered if it depended which ovary was active in a given month.

I get a few cramps but nothing major. It was much worse before I had ds, I used to feel like my insides were rotting towards the end of each period.

I take iron as a matter of course.

Findogask - I started getting mid-cycle bleeding around ovulation and it was polyps. Once they'd gone (small op in early 2012), it stopped and hasn't come back.

Anaemia can cause periods to get heavier, so easy to get in a viscious circle

Just as an FYI to those having pain and using tampons. It has been reported that pain eases or practically stops using mooncups. I'm astonished to see so many still using them. They're like using a tape recorder instead of an mp3!

Upthe go to gp to get a blood test first. You can very easily overdose on iron, which is dangerous. However over the counter from boots (if gp has previously prescribed). Dont go anywhere else. See photo. Without these im ok for 2-3 days. Day 3 im a zombie. I mean a zombie. Better if mid cycle then when on. I might go 4 days mid cycle before becoming a zombie. Please go and see your gp first as other things need to ruled out first. Xxx

Inanimate, that is going to depend greatly on the causes of the pain. I've used a mooncup for several years, without any effect on pain which is caused by weird gynecological issues rather than fluid absorbtion by tampons. I also had much worse period pain as a teenager before using any form of internal collection device, so not really sure how it could be linked to tampons. Mooncup is great for heavy and clotty periods, much better than tampons, but it is not a panacaea for all menstrual ills (nor, apparently, is the NHS which refuses to give a shit even if they regularly find your iron levels are the lowest they have ever seen in someone not in hospital getting blood transfusions).

Just addition re: tranexamic acid- don't bother with this if your periods are clotty as well as heavy, as it increases clotting rather than decreasing blood loss directly- ask for mefenamic acid instead which is better tolerated by most and doesn't contribute to excess clotting as much.

Lots of my friends have had problems like you describe, and other nightmares (like throwing up when on everytime, awful cramping, losing too much blood, migraines, bursting cysts etc etc). You're not alone.

As a teen I had much heavier, more painful periods, they also sometimes lasted 14 days. I got on the pill to regulate it and haven't ever come off (too scared in case it goes back to how it was). I'm lucky in that the pill has reduced the pain, the blood loss and the length (now just 3 proper days and 2 days of "smudges").

There's definitely stuff you can get prescribed to avoid extreme periods. Doctors are a lot more aware than they used to be about this stuff.

My periods are very heavy but luckily over very quickly. On day 1 and 2 I need a superplus tampax changing every Hour. I also wear towels to protect the clothing. I can feel myself flooding after walking the 15 mins school run. I get awful stomach cramps and just feel washed out. At night I have to change several times, wear double protection, sleep on an old towel and expect to wash the sheets. But by day 3 it's just a regular tampax every 4 or 5 hours then day 4 nothing. So I can put up with that and tend to work from home on those days.

The combined pill controlled the bleeding and pain for me but unfortunately I got migraine aura so had to stop. I know depo, coils and implants can stop bleeding altogether but there is a risk that it will get worse, albeit temporarily.

2 days need to change super plus tampon every 4 hrs, 3 days lighter , 2 days trails off completely. Every 28 days. No pain or big clots. I do have fibroids but not big ones.

I have had to record dates lately, never done it before! Cycle of 23 for 5 days a time, so 18 days respite!

Its been awful, needing to change super-pluses every time I standn a plastic bag.e sitting on a plastic bag just in case. Sleeping on a folded bath towel. Cancelling plans with friends because I am woozy and if I leave the house it could be disatrous if I can't find a loo.

This week its been like a dream, its a breeze and I could probably take the dog rollerblading.

I am going to see my GP because I am usually in the middle ground between horror film and rollerblading.

Typos due to cracked screen!
Drive home sitting on a plastic bag... SI know how to stay classy!

Mine are heavy, 3 days of flooding, palm size clots, intense pain, dizziness and being sick. Then 3 days of spotting. I take tranexamic acid and iron tablets and actually pray that I go through the menopause soon as I can't stand this every 28 days !

It seems I'm one of the luckier ones. Every 30-32 days here, last around 4 or 5 days.

Get cramps and restless legs the first couple of hours and need to change regular tampon every 4hrs the first day. Second day is usually every 4-6hrs and the last couple of days I can go 8hrs without needed to change.

I'm also another one who doesn't seem to bleed at night but I do get a bit of a gush after getting up for the day so I think it's a gravity thing?!

Mine used to last around 5 days with hideous bleeding on days 2-3 (think leakage, pain and clots). However, since going on the mini pill my periods have just about stopped and when it does arrive (about five times a year) it is very light.

I'm horrified at what some of you are going through

I'm the opposite end of spectrum and only just realising after my 3rd miscarriage that it's potentially causing a problem.

My periods last only about 3 days and are really light. The first day is heavyish but still that only needs a Tampax in the morning, mid afternoon and then before bed. By day 3 it's really only spotting and needs a panty liner.

It now transpires after loss number. 3 that my periods are wayyyy too short. Apparently it doesn't matter if your cycle is short as long as you ovulate 14 days before ( so luteal phase is right length - my cycle is 23 days) but your periods should be 5 - 6 days.

So yes those people who are bleeding 7/8 days upwards that is too long!

"Findogask - I started getting mid-cycle bleeding around ovulation and it was polyps."

That's interesting to know, muminhats - thank you.

On the mooncup instructions its says that the volume of the mooncup should be 3 days worth. (notsuggesting you only empty after 3 days though).Since i have bern perimenopausal i get 3 heavy days where it can be full after an hour sometimes and also big clots. I did have extremely painful periofs which involved high temperatures etc and scan showed that i had epidemial cysts on my ovaries. They seem to stop being a problem by themselves.GP wanted me tobgo on mirena but i was reluctant because i had bad reaction to duphaston.

Mine used to be fairly irregular both in terms of timing and flow. Often quite heavy - though still not as bad as some of these posts describe.

Now I'm on the pill it is all very regular:

Days 1-2, I use super tampons and change every 6-8 hours. Some cramps, usually not that bad but occasionally v. painful.
Day 3-4, regular tampons changed every 8 hours.
Days 5-6 pantyliners.

I never wear pads any more, even at night, tbh with tampons I can pretty much forget I'm having a period and live my life like any other time. I am so grateful for this and think it's horrific there isn't more that can be done for people with really heavy, painful periods.

Hi ladies... Just wondering if any of you have considered using cloth pads? They are a reusable/washable alternative to tampons and commercial pads. Not only are they natural (and therefore less harmful) but lots of women say their periods get lighter after a few months of using them.

I have been using them for a couple of months and it has worked for me. Plus I recently saw this research www.womensvoices.org/issues/detox-the-box/always-pads-testing-results/ which shows all the nasty chemicals etc used in commercial pads and tampons - no way do I want that stuff in/on me if I can help it!