AIBU to mention this to my GP or will I look like a loon?

[LittleRedWagon1]

I have an appointment with my GP later on this morning for some other ongoing health issues. While I'm there would IBU to ask about another issue?

My period started 8 days after my last period ended. I am experiencing extremely heavy flow so much so I am completely flooding thick, heavy flow pads every 20-30 minutes. I have never had a flow this heavy, I have really bad lower back pain but not too bad on the stomach/cramping side of things. I feel okayish, if a bit tired. In general my periods are pretty consistent 25-28 day cycle, lasting 4-7 days and medium to light flow.

Would I look like a loon to mention this to my GP at my appointment today, I don't want tmy GP to think I'm nuts complaining about a period!

I am beginning to feel this is a feminist issue

I've been thinking that for a long time. Can you imagine if a man went to his GP because he was bleeding heavily and unexpectedly from his genitals? I doubt very much if a doctor would put that down to stress. It makes me so so angry. I suspect lots of non-gynae issues in women are put down to them being neurotic too. A very dear friend of mine died of a brain tumour after being sent away from her GP and told her headaches were "just stress" and had she thought about taking up a relaxing hobby like flower arranging?

OP you need to be seen by someone who is going to take this seriously

Do go and get checked properly. They need to assess your haemoglobin levels and if you're having coagulation issues.
Don't stay put. If you collapse your children end up at risk.

I think you should get yourself checked out properly asap - I was hospitalised with anaemia last year and my bleeding wasn't as bad as yours. One good way of looking is to check your gumline - if it's white, that's a cause for concern (it should be a healthy pink). Dizziness, exhaustion can all be very incremental so you may not realise how ill you feel.

The good news is if you have anaemia related to blood loss, it's easy to treat - a series of blood transfusions and you start feeling better very soon (or I did).

You haven't said how old your DDs are. Do they know how to call an ambulance etc?

I don't want to scare you (again!) but it could be slowing because you're running out of blood to lose rather than because it's getting better. I hope either your partner or GP realises this is serious and looks after you.

Stress does not make you bleed.

You are experiencing heavy and unexplained blood loss, you have pain and feel unwell: You need to be seen urgently

If you were to lose consciousness (perfectly possible due to blood loss) who would look after your children? If you died of sepsis who would look after your children?

I am being deadly serious. Do not fuck about. You need to be seen as an emergency and that means some people dropping things for a bit.

This is serious.

What movingon said
There was a poster who asked the same question on Mumsnet and got told to seek help urgently and 111 called an ambulance and she'd lost consciousness by the time it got there. It is serious.
You need to call your friend/husband/mil and then call an ambulance. Take your kids if you have to but you need to be seen.

I hope you're OK OP.

DH is home now. I'm still waiting for the GP to call me back. I feel okay just a bit tired.
DD1 is 9 and DD2 is 7, both now how to call any of the emergency services and have our full address and postcode memorised and have done from an early age. DH is an ECA (Emergency Medical Assistant) and is waiting to do the tech 1/2 training then on to train as a paramedic. I feel happier now he is home.

The bleeding is definitely slowing down now, I am still passing clots but they are smaller than before. I am changing my pads every hour or so now. I feel much better than I did last night, I will end up at the GP surgery again today but I cant go without an appointment. Our surgery doesn't make appointments in the usual way, you call on the day and get a call back from a GP and if they think you need to be seen they will give you an appointment for the same day. It seems to work well only a pain when you have ongoing medical issues (as I do, lots of congenital issues unfortunately) because you cant make appointments for a later date with the receptionist only the GP. I do have an appointment with my GP for next Wednesday due to being prescribed Diazapam because of my declining mental health which has been exacerbated due to the stress from the last week or so.

You ladies are awesome and I felt so much happier last night having someone to agree that I wasn't overreacting to the blood loss.

In all this I have found out about how more likely a vasectomy can fail further down the line. The OOH nurse who I spoke to said after 5 years it's approx 2-5% that fail. I knew they weren't completely fool proof however I wasn't aware of those stats! We could do with getting DH checked just in case.

Thank you all xx

You are absolutely right Bit

I'm glad your feeling better - just an idea, would it be worth getting a pregnancy test just to check today?

wineandsunshine the thought had crossed my mind. I will speak to DH once he's had a couple of hours of sleep (he had a horrendous night shift, lasting almost 15 hours in the end) and probably get to town to pick one up.

No. If this is sepsis it is time critical. Go to A&E.

Please just go and get seen.

Bleeding through a pad very half hour and through towels just after a period needs examining and basic blood tests at the very least. It is not stress.

Have you gone yet?

I cannot emphasise enough the need to get seen urgently. Presumably your children are at school at the moment so please, just go and get checked out.

Why are you not getting seen to OP? Don't be a flippin' martyr. Get to the doctors / A&E

You are still changing a pad every hour. That is a lot of blood loss!

Your DH should really be aware of how serious this is given his background and if he's going to be a paramedic I hope he takes blood loss seriously.

You sound determined to minimise this (DH being tired is more significant than extreme blood loss?!) I hope that works out for you. If everything does turn out fine in a situation like this that was more luck than judgement.

I'm going now. DH is taking me to the GP's.

xx

OP you need to be seen, NOW. Everything you describe is concerning, and you need this managed by a competant physician, especially given your DVT history. You need to get to a&e now.

I'm fuming that you were brushed off with the "stress" explanation. What utter bullshit. You are bleeding extremely heavily, outside of your monthly period. That is not fucking stress. I hope you see someone with a few more brain cells today.

OP - I hope you have been seen by a medic by now.

I remember the recent thread where the poster had heavy bleeding like you and was very, very ill.

This is no time to be fobbed off.

I'm surprised your OH works in emergency health and isn't taking you straight to A&E.
The GP? They can't do proper tests there.

I'm glad you're being seen.

Definitely mention it. I had exactly this. I was sent for an ovarian scan but everything was fine (which the GP expected and had said as much but it was when Jade Goody had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer).

It turned out I had menhoragia (?sp) and it was solved by going on the minipill.

I agree, I'm glad you're going to be seen but I'm REALLY surprised he isn't taking you to A&E.

What if you get fobbed off again with " it's just stress" this isn't something to be messing about with

You need to be checked over urgently with blood tests

Fingers crossed, but this isn't being taken seriously enough

These threads, as PPs have also noticed, always make me

If a person was bleeding that much from any other part of their anatomy it'd be an A&E job, no question. But because it is from our vaginas it is just seen as part of being a woman