To wonder how you cope with heavy periods?

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I feel ridiculous even typing this as it's been almost 20 years since I had my first period. I feel I should know this, but I have never had excruciatingly heavy periods until now.

I gave birth a few months ago, and my periods came back like clockwork despite ebf. They are so heavy that I get through a tampon and a pad in the space of 90 minutes. I had to go as far as buying Tena pants the other day as even the pads weren't absorbent enough! I had a long journey with no toilet and was so scared I would leak.

AIBU to ask how to cope with this? Do I need to invest in a mooncup? I'm struggling.

I used to empty my mooncup every hour for the first 3 days. My bleeding was horrendous, I was severely anaemic and used to have seizures and pass out. This was caused from endometriosis.

I had an ablation in September which has calmed the bleeding right down now. But I'm on the waiting list for a hysterectomy due to adenomyosis which they found when they did surgery for the endometriosis.

If you feel you aren't coping with the loss, speak to your GP and ask to be referred to a gynaecologist.

Can you get fibroids and/or cysts just like that after having a baby? I had loads of scans throughout my pregnancy as it was complicated so feel like they'd have picked up on that

Endometriosis can cause really heavy bleeding and can't be detected on scans.

Moon cup and night time pads

I got sick of leaking on sheets & now at night use a maxi pad from honour your flow with a disposable night pad on top. Still sleep on a towel but this has been the best thing for me. Tried several reusable pads & these are best brand. Didn't get on with mooncup unfortunately

What absorbancy tampons are you using? Have you already used the maximum possible absorbancy?

Supermarket own brands mostly go as follows:

Regular - 6-9g
Super - 9-12g
Super Plus 12-15g

Lillets go from:
Regular - 6-9g
Super - 9-12g
Super Plus 12-15g
Super Plus Extra 15-18g
Ultra 18-21g

Mooncup massively helped

Washable pads much better for heavy flow too.

In your shoes I would also be trying period pants too!

I take iron tablets too, helps my head feel clearer

I take Tranexamic Acid for four or five days a month to control my flow as much as possible.

I use super plus tampons and pads (night time ones) and have to change them every hour or at most hour and a half. All outings are planned around whether or not I can get to a toilet. I have black (or very dark navy blue) jeans which I keep to wear during my period.

Mine are caused by a fibroid. I am 53 now, so perimenopausal too. I live in hope of each period being my last and get very annoyed each time another comes knocking.

Do I opt for a hysterectomy when each could be the last and the problem could resolve itself? I would do that if I knew I still had years of them ahead of me. I just don't know, so am thinking of revisiting the GP to discuss that or possibly ablation.

They have tried to push the mirena coil on me, but I don't want it for many reasons.

Mirena solved the problem for me. No more periods!

Transexamic acid worked miracles for me and now I have a mirena. Go and see your Gp. They can really help.

I had this for years, and tried both tranexamic and the other kind of acid mentioned already on this thread - neither really worked for me. Eventually, I got the Mirena coil which was a miracle!

Go and see your GP to get checked out and start trying various options to see what works for you.

I had this done, and it changed my life.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endometrial_ablation

It can only be done once you have completed your family though.

I had periods from hell after I had my childrenI had a cup that I was emptying every couple of hours on day 2, wearing a pad at night, on tranexamic acid etc etc. I was anaemic every 3-4 months and had to have IV iron. I had an ablation 6 months agoafter I had my last child and finished BFing. Absolute gamechanger, can't recommend it enough.

Mooncup and fleece pad (just in case).

Empty mooncup hourly at heaviest (days 1&2 even post-birth too). Stuff bum crack with fleeces too.

Mooncup makes a difference. Please try simple ibuprofen for the first few days, it’s made such a difference to my periods as it reduces blood flow significantly without the side effects of other medication.

Please go and see a Dr to get checked out.
A friend of mine suffered for 5 years with heavy periods that absolutely destroyed her. She ended up severely anemic and on medication for high blood pressure and couldn’t work for nearly a year while she recovered.
She had fibroids.

It might come get back to normal. The first six months of mine after kids were horrendous. But I’m back to normal now

I had really heavy periods for a while. I think it was due to fluctuating hormones as I'm perimenopausal. I did go to the Dr who sent me for ultrasound and gave me the meds which delay period as off on holiday.

Didn't know about tranexamic acid and wasn't offered it. However, took ibuprofen as I'd read that is meant to reduce flow and it really worked takes about a day to kick in.

I

Tranexamic acid plus 3 ibuprofen every 6 hours, seriously reduces the flow www.nhs.uk/conditions/heavy-periods/treatment/

Stage 4 PCOS here, so when they do show up (I go 4 months without, then 4 months with a period every two weeks) I get to the brink of transfusion.

Purple tampons, pad, cycling shorts over it all. Phone with 2 hour alarm during the night, although I usually wake up just in the nick of time. Avoiding ibuprofen (this makes me gush). Always on pregnancy multivitamins to get my bloods back to normal. No green leafy vegetables during the worst 3 days (GP explained they load you up with vitamin K which delays coagulation). Seriously considering mooncup, but haven't taken the plunge yet.

Topseyt

Sounds grim. I can't day what you should do long-term, but in the short-term, you need Ultra absorbency Lillets.

I find Super Plus don't cut it if you have 'ordinary' heavy periods, so if you have fibroids they must be like stuffing toilet tissue in your underwear.

@DrVonPatak do it. Get yourself to boots. Honestly it will make such a difference. Also switch to reusable pads, much more absorbent!

I have 2 days a month of hell but luckily it's no longer.
I don't work at the moment and I don't think I could work how I am at the moment. I leak and flood all the time. It's literally like someone's turned a tap on that's constantly running for 2 days. Nights are the worst because I'm lying down. I have to lie and sit on towels or else everything gets ruined. I've been for scans etc and nothing showing up. Never been offered the acid so may ask for that

Can you get fibroids and/or cysts just like that after having a baby? I had loads of scans throughout my pregnancy as it was complicated so feel like they'd have picked up on that

Yes, you can: it's possible they were missed by the ultrasound. I developed a fibroid after my last pregnancy, and the sonographer was surprised that my prenatal ultrasounds had missed it.

My fibroid led to me having the heavy kind of days you describe and being completely housebound for at least one day in 28: the fibroid is shrinking now, and the awful flooding has gone. It's definitely worth getting checked out for fibroids, if only to rule them out: I hope things get better for you.

I should have said I developed the fibroid during my last pregnancy; sorry. (It was discovered a few months afterwards, but the sonographer said that by the size of it, it must have been growing alongside the baby.)