I feel like I'm slowly bleeding to death while pretending it's not happening, should I "advocate" for myself with the doctors? How?

[questionzzz]

TMI and long. Please help. Nothing like this has happened to me before.

background: 45 yrs F, 2 DC, generally healthy. No former complications with childbirth, reproductive system, periods etc.

So, over the past few years I have generally had regular, fairly light periods, lasting 3 days at most. A bit of cramping and heavier flow on the 2nd day, nothing an ibuprofen couldn't take care of.
Right on the dot 5 days after my 45th bday, I start a mild spotting (last Sunday, to be precise) just less than 2 weeks after my last period. I have a bit of a panic, wonder what going on, make an appt to see family dr but that's not until 20th Sept, continuing to bleed, so on Tuesday I go to walk-in clinic and see dr who examines me, takes swabs and writes up bloodwork, also gives me a pep talk about how it's probably just "life changes".
Call back from dr following day (last Wed) saying the bloodwork returned all normal, even for peri menopause my hormones don't indicate that, so just a fluke. They'll call me if anything irregular
in the swabs, but not otherwise.
No phone call so far, thankfully.
meanwhile the blood flow is getting heavier and showing no sign of stopping.
It's been ten days now I'm bleeding, with some clots, feeling a bit weak and woozy sometimes, but otherwise no pain, no cramps or anything.
Sex last night ended up looking like a murder scene. (dr said I could have sex)
What should I do? Just wait it out? Seeing my family dr on 20 Sept. Should I just wait till then? I feel at this point I'm slowly bleeding to death but not sure what to do?

[WineAndChocolateAgainForDinner]

I'm sorry OP, but counter to what everyone else is saying, this just doesn't seem normal to me. Im sorry to worry you and hope I am not panicking you, but please go to the doctor asap. It feela like something isn't right

[PotterHead1985]

Raw as heck @PookieDo just like when I was a baby - I was prone to nappy rash according to my mother. And the cost of SanPro! I switched to Lidl's finest after years of Always cos I just couldn't justify the cost anymore.

[PookieDo]

I am sure that tena make it worse actually, I don’t know what chemicals are in them but they are the best shape and size to cope with it. The key is keep wiping your bum crack a lot and put cream in it 😂😂

[PookieDo]

Super tena are always on offer, 2 packs of 10 for £4 I think (or maybe it’s 8 in a pack)

I laugh at the purple always ultra now. They look like little panty liners 😂

[PotterHead1985]

That they do. And I always still seem to manage to go over the top of them at night time.

[Mishappening]

I used to use two large tampax at a time with two mega pads - and I would still flood the bed. Just gross. Great day when they removed my uterus!!

I hope you get some reassuring advice soon OP.

[jennymanara]

@WineAndChocolateAgainForDinner I assume you don't know much about peri menopause? Because it is normal.

[LittleMy77]

flouncy thanks for posting the link, I stopped counting at 20 too!

I'm convinced I'm in the early stages of Peri (not in a hypochondriac way, but because of the symptoms of weird periods, crazy arse weight gain and general mood issues) at 42, but my GP and OB-GYN were all "oh you're too young for that!"

Surely that's bullshit? Isn't it possible to start early on and then get more full-blown as it progresses?

[SofiaAmes]

Treatment with hormones is generally very helpful with peri-menopausal symptoms and the latest study says that it can reduce risk of all sort of other things too if you are under the age of 70.

[crabb]

Saw that the Mirena’s been mentioned several times. Just a warning - they can surf out of your body on the menstrual flood tide if you’re unlucky! Happened to me.

[maggiecate]

My periods have started changing and I’m thinking peri menopause - more regular but heavier. I recently switched to Lillets ultras and OMG so much better than Tampax/own brand super plus. They expand outwards (all the way round) rather than lengthwise and seem far less leak-prone. Much more comfortable as well. They’re not stocked everywhere though which is a pain.

[Rachelover60]

I remember now I was treated with Danazol; Danazol is used for other gynae problems but can be very effective with menorrhagia.

I took it for four weeks and my periods became lighter and more regular.

When I went to the gynaecologist about three months later, I gave him details of when I'd periods and told him about the positive changes - no more flooding! He was very pleased, he'd made the right call for me. I never had any problems after that and thought it was quite miraculous that a month's worth of pills could make such a difference. I felt generally better and more cheerful.

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

I didn’t realise this flooding was so common.
It’s kind of reassuring (although not great) that so many women have been through it.
It’s definitely worth us asking our mothers, if they’re around about menopause symptoms. My mum had a hysterectomy at 43, which was when I should have had one.
I wanted a mirena coil, but my fibroids were too big.

I would not fear a hysterectomy, though.
Everyone I know who had had one has never regretted it.
Mine was a laparoscopic, so incision through belly button, one in the abdomen and 2 in the bikini area. Surgeon had to go in through my c-section scar ( but much smaller) as my uterus was the size of a 6 month pregnancy due to fibroids.
Recovery was much faster than a c-section.

Another friend had her uterus removed through her vagina; it was minimally invasive.

[Jesaminecollins]

@crabb

The mirena was the worse thing I have ever used, it gave me continuous bleeding and spotting, spots, hair loss, loss of libido. It took me several months of begging the doctor to remove it before I did it myself. I then ended up with an inflamed cervix which had to be biopsied by a gynecologist which came back normal thank god. I do realise it does suit some women but there is an ongoing law suit in the US because some woman have had their thyroid affected by the artificial hormone in the mirena - I ended up with thyroid disease after I had it inserted and have no idea if this caused my goitre and graves disease.

[Rachelover60]

I wasn't perimenopausal when I had flooding but my hormones didn't get back to normal after giving birth. It was dreadful - my periods had always been heavy but this was something else entirely. The Danazol cleared it up, I carried on having periods for approx twenty more years but they were 'normal'.

[longtompot]

I have always had really heavy periods, (wearing always thick nighttime pads during the daytime, changing every hour, waking in the night due to flooding kind of heavy), and then I had spotting in between periods, which got to the point I was bleeding more than not. Turns out I had some huge polyps which I had removed and all was fine. Still heavy periods though, though thankfully no period pains like others have mentioned.
Now, a good 6 or so years later, I was diagnosed with anaemia and my gp wanted to find out why. I said about the heavy periods so she suggested, as they all do, to get a Mirena fitted. I have never been keen, but thought, I'm 47 now, it will be the only one I'll have, so I'll give it a whirl.
I had it fitted 3 months ago, and have, yet again, had more bleeding that not. I was assuming this is down to the hormones trying to stabilise. Two periods ago, it started very suddenly. I usually get some small spotting, or bloody discharge, but this was like a tap switched on full when I stood up to clear the table after dinner. I passed a huge clot, the biggest I can remember, and I mentioned to dh that if I didn't have the coil fitted I would have thought maybe I'd miscarried.
Anyway, I am at my 3 stage month with the coil, and I will give it another 3 months to see what happens. But now, after what everyone has been saying about the perimenopause, that maybe that is in play too?
I would just like a day where I don't need to wear any type of protection 'just in case' as the heat/nappy rash is not fun :(
I hope things settle down for you OP, and for everyone else

[Taxicus]

My mum had this! at around the same age and everykne thought it was "just" menopause. It was actually thyroid issues and no one picked it up. In the end she had to be admitted to hospital due to anemia and then they took it seriously.

[scottishdaisy]

@LittleMy... I think you could be right - my brain fog started in early 40s and anxiety levels started going up... it was only after a few years that I connected the earlier symptoms, although a number of older friends had assured me that it wasn't early onset dementia but hormone issues.... It's hard when you are younger than the expected age - NICE guidance I think says to blood test until a certain age then GPs can treat symptoms without blood tests. But blood tests are really inconclusive! From what others have said, you really need to know your stuff if you end up going down the medical route - and try to find a sympathetic doctor with an interest in women's health.

[PookieDo]

Well I saw the endocrinologist this morning who is annoyed with the gynaecologist for not just giving me a hysterectomy. I am having a cortisol test at 9am along with a ton of other weird and wonderful blood tests

[questionzzz]

@PookieDo Good luck! Hope that you will get the best possible putcome for your health.

[lvsel]

Sound horrible are you okay

[Phoebesfleas]

I'm in peri menopause and flood at night, pads and Tena are useless so I use pull up dry nights for girls (age 11-15) I'm a size 10 and they fit very comfortably, no leakage and no sore bits and they absorb really well. I would never tell anybody this in real life!

[PotterHead1985]

They sound good. If only I was t fat!!

@PookieDo good luck today.

[EugenesAxe]

I felt similar recently - went to the doctor as I'd been bleeding really heavily for about three and a half weeks. It was insane; honestly about two full weeks at least, of saturating about three or four nighttime pads a day. It kind of crept up on me how long it had been and towards the end I was thinking to myself 'how have I got this much blood in my womb?' - it was like incessant clotting.

I had various tests done and they found nothing except slightly low iron. Bloods did not show any menopause hormones. No fibroids or anything. Since then my periods have been back to normal. It was so weird!