Period problems. Posting for traffic. My stupid body

[Avoidtheshameoffloods]

Please help me.

My period goes like this;

Days 1-5 spotting/slight

Days 6-7 horrendous flooding/clots.
Used to be morning only (and only one day) but it’s gradually become all day.
Changing tampons/pads sometimes after 20 minutes.

Days 7-10 (or 12,14,16,18) spotting/slight

I can handle my periods lasting 12-18 days
but I can’t handle the 2 days of flooding.

I can change a super strength tampon and nighttime pad just before the school run and be soaked through my clothes when arriving home 20 minutes later.

I’m using tampax super plus and bodyform goodnight at the worst times and they’re failing me.

I only work part time, 4 hour shifts.
Previously changing before starting and immediately after was doing the trick but now it’s impossible.

I’m not supposed to have a break but am often excusing myself to sort this (which can take ages if I’ve leaked blush)

Any advice? I’m 40.

OP that is really awful. My periods have become slightly more manageable with a menstrual cup but I also struggled with the school run and a job for 2-3 days of the month.
My consultant suggested trying the Mirena coil which I was reluctant to do, but I bled every day to varying degrees for 9 months and suffered quick and significant weight gain.
Next on the list is ablation which I'm putting off for as long as possible.
Hope you get sorted, it's so miserable.

I had a fibroid the size of a six month pregnancy which meant my uterus had more surface area and therefore much more lining to shed Each month leading to flooding and acute anaemia. I didn’t realise how limited I had become for over a week a month until suddenly I wasn’t. (Hysterectomy).

Go and see your GP, you dont have to live like this

I have this. I just assumed it was perimenopause and hormones being out of whack. Everyone talks about clots and flooding being part and parcel of peri, so I am not too worried.

I would be more concerned about anemia etc if the clots and flooding were happening for several days per month, but I am just like you: it comes all at once for a few hours and then my period is incredibly light for a few more days. The volume of blood lost per month is probably no different, but my uterus decides to get shot of the lot all in one go!

Hope you manage to get some relief with some of the ideas people have suggested. It's no fun being stuck in the bathroom for hours at a time.

see your GP
Don't be fobbed off with tranexamic acid long term - I did and ended up with DVT (the TA worked really well at clotting blood, but not for my periods).

Underlying causes for me were fibroids and thickened womb lining - can't remember the medical term.

Agree with PPs that Mirena Coil is a great solution if your not TTC - my periods stopped completely once I had one fitted. - and that until sorted, menstrual cups (with back up towels) are effective.

Added plus for me was that from emptying the menstrual cup, I could quantify the blood loss, which was instrumental in getting the problem taken seriously.

I also find that reading the appropriate NICE guidelines and being armed with the knowledge as backup can be really helpful.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng88