AIBU - period related (TMI warning probably required)

[Giraffe2020]

AIBU to request an emergency doctors appointment tomorrow due to heavy periods?
I use a period cup that holds 30ml and Always nighttime sanitary pads and today I’ve had to empty/change both about every 45 minutes. 45 mins to an hour is standard for at least the first 2 days of every period. Sometimes I’ll swap the cup for Lilets Ultra tampons but still need to double up with nighttime towels and change hourly.
I’m unable to sleep through the night, again for at least the first 2 days, and usually have to get up twice to change everything incl. underwear.
I pass large clots and often leak through clothes.
It’s exhausting, embarrassing and I’m really fed up. I had to run to the loo today in the middle of an activity with children and other parents as I felt the familiar gushing feeling.
The last time I spoke to my doctor about it, she suggesting the coil to control the flow but without any investigation into the cause of the heaving bleeding.
I’d really appreciate your thoughts/comments.
Thanks

I sympathise.. this happens to me a lot too - It’s definitely worth a GP trip, however take your time thinking about a coil - I have the copper coil and that seems to have made it worse unfortunately.

I think it's ridiculous you should have to live like that without any investigation about the cause, so no YANBU. That much bleeding can cause other health issues, too.

I'm in the exact same boat OP. Along with crippling pain. Dr's don't care. Tried the coil & it punctured my uterine wall and I bled heavily every day for 2 months straight!

Sorry I have no advice, just know you're not alone :(

Phone the doctor and say you have menorrhagia (mEN or raj ear) (they seem to listen more when you use medical words for some reason!)
Ask if you can be prescribed Utovlan, I take it as I have heavy and painful periods due to endometriosis. The medication is for heavy periods.
Good luck 💐

Agree you should seek an appointment. I have the same and as a result am anaemic. If you have symptoms raise those too.

Could be a sign of fibroids. I had one discovered while pregnant. Had clots and heavy periods too.

Livid on your behalf. Not normal, not ok to have to put up with this. Emergency appt and tell them you want it investigating asap, not a coil fix for the symptom.

My sister is like this and I get really upset at what she’s had to put up with. Good luck 🤞

I do know several young women who have had their flow - and period pains - cut down by two thirds after having the mirena coil. They struggled with the pain of it for a week or so and wished they'd never got it, (like very bad period cramps,) but then the pain went by day 8 or 9.

They wish they'd had the coil ten years ago!!!

Good luck @Giraffe2020 periods are fucking shit!

I had a Mirena inserted on Thursday to see if it helps with mine. Keeping my fingers crossed it works now. Been told to give it 6 months.

You may well be anemic. Ask for a blood test. It’s a viscous circle - you lose blood, become anemic, which makes you more anemic etc
You need to find out why this is happening. Mirina may or may not help but it won’t explain the blood loss and heavy periods

Thanks for the replies. I’m glad I’m not overreacting but I’m sorry so many of you suffer with the same.
I should say that I don’t suffer too much with pain, apart from when the largest clots pass. A dull ache the rest of the time but not that warrants pain relief really (thankful for small mercies).
I’m reluctant to go for the coil option. I really feel that the cause of the heavy bleeding should at least be looked into first.

Gosh OP that sounds exhausting. You can’t live like that, and I’m surprised you’re not anaemic! Ask for a gynae referral.

YANBU and keep maki g appointments until someone does a scan on you. It took decades of agony to get diagnosed with adenomyosis. Now I’m on the right treatment my quality of life is 100 times better

I’m constantly tired but have just put it down to family life. I will definitely ask for a blood test too.

@LibrariesGiveUsPower I’m so sorry to hear it took so long but pleased that you were diagnosed eventually.

I had a similar experience a few years ago. My periods had always been quite heavy (but within normal range, I think) then quite suddenly they became unmanageable - huge clots and very heavy (I could sometimes get through a super plus tampon and a night pad in 10 minutes). I was also getting constant severe pain for a few days during my period. I actually assumed it was caused by the contraceptive pill, as I'd started it fairly recently.

I saw a lovely GP who checked my iron levels (they were low), told me to start taking iron supplements and she prescribed tranexamic acid which honestly completely sorted the problem - periods went the other way and became very light and pain free. In the midst of all this, I had an unrelated emergency gynae appointment (stuck tampon!) and I mentioned it to the doctor, asking whether there was any way I could get a scan to investigate the cause - she said they wouldn't accept a referral to investigate until the GP had tried four things (can't remember what they were, but one was tranexamic acid and I think one was the coil) without success. Lots of secondary care services have these strict exclusion criteria, so it's not necessarily the GP's fault that they're not referring, though I know it's incredibly frustrating.

Anyway, after all that, I got pregnant around a year later and was found (at the 12 week scan) to have lots of fibroids, which I now presume were the cause.

Good luck. As others have said, get your iron levels checked, and I'd ask about tranexamic acid too.

It took me 20years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, after heavy, painful periods for years and back and forward to doc. Just keep pestering them

@SummerIsComingNowish that is crazy. It’s incredible that it can take so long to get diagnosed. Well I’ve made an emergency appointment for this morning after school drop off. Hopefully my GP will be understanding.

Thank you for sharing your experience too @poppyseed68. Have you had any treatment for the fibroids after your pregnancy?

I spend 14 years begging doctors for help with similar complaints.

It got to a point where I refused to leave a doctors surgery without a referral to a gynaecologist. I just sat there and cried until she agreed to refer me. I was weak, drained and in agony at that stage & taking painkillers regularly.

Turned out I had endometriosis and fibroids. The treatment changed my life. Insist on being sent to a gyn to have things investigated further.

My periods weren't particularly painful, just very heavy. I had a coil fitted and all was well. No more periods and very liberating. This was all post three children and a D&C following a miscarriage. No fibroids or endometriosis.

I changed from a copper coil to a Mirena coil last month after 10 years of incredibly heavy periods. My first period with the Mirena has been AMAZING - its like a normal period again.

Go see your GP - there are things that can be done for heavy periods.

There is also NICE guidance for heavy periods:
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng88/informationforpublic

Update: my GP has referred me for an ultrasound scan and gynaecologist appointment. Also arranged for bloods to be taken immediately. There was definitely a sense of urgency with how she responded after I explained my symptoms. Quite different to the experience I had with the last GP I saw.
She examined me which meant I had to remove my period cup in the room - a little yuk but she was keen to check that my cervix appeared normal and I guess she could then at least see the extent of the bleeding herself.
I have a follow up GP appointment next week to discuss blood test results and will wait for appointments to come through for the scan and consultant.
Thank you for all of the very helpful replies. I’m really glad that I posted about this. :)