In tears in the restaurant bathroom.. TW: Periods

[mygodd]

I know this is probably stupid but here goes.

come out this afternoon for a really special celebratory meal with my DH and his family.

I am currently on my period, however when I woke up this morning I woke up in a pool of blood. My underwear, pyjamas, bed linen - all of it was ruined. I’m sorry this is probably TMI. I didn’t have much pain, just surprised me.

Anyway - I am currently in said restaurant and I’m really struggling. My stomach is cramping beyond belief, literally one wave after the other and I can feel ‘gushes’ (I’m sorry )

I excused myself to come to the bathroom and literally cannot get off the toilet. I’ve been in here over half an hour and have text. DH to please explain to his parents I’m not feeling well.

My stomach is literally agony and I feel like I could pass out from the waves of cramps. Literally one after the other and the bleeding has gotten really heavy again.

I am on the implant so whilst I do get ‘periods’ they can sometimes be irregular / I skip them.

I am sorry this is probably TMI but I’m in so much pain I’m just doubled over and can barely move. I don’t know if this is normal or not. 😩

This sounds like an a&e situation, when that's not what your periods are normally like. You must be losing a lot of blood.

It's normal for me, something I've got used to.

If if it's not normal for you, then I would have a chat with your gp.

Sorry but why is your DH carrying with a meal when his wife is in pain and bleeding heavily and hasn’t been able to leave the bathroom for 30 minutes. He needs to take you home and at the very least you need to phone 111 if this is not typical for you.
OP you sound like a very nice person who doesn’t want to make a fuss but it’s fine for the meal to finish early.

Sorry this is happening to you. You need ibruprofen to stop the actual cramps. Paracetamol will help with pain as well but ibuprofen works on the hormones causing the cramping. When I have bad period cramps I take double the normal dose of ibuprofen!

You might need to get checked out at urgent care if this is unusual cramping and bleeding for you.

One tampon an hour is way too much bleeding. Agree with pp that you need to get checked out asap.
Hope you're ok
Xx

Get yourself home as soon as you can get your DH to get you some anadin extra, hot water bottle comfy pjs and get some rest. Go to your GP on Monday if it continues there could be something wrong or it could just be a one off.

iirc the rule of thumb is if you are soaking through a pad in an hour you need medical attention, esp as this has not happened to you before.
Please get help from your DH/MIL etc and call 111. And don't worry about the meal, you're unwell and it can't be helped.

That's what "normal" periods are like when you have endometriosis and adenomyosis - there's very little difference with miscarriage at the worst of the flow.

As it is unusual for you, get medical help.

But otherwise: strong painkillers, obviously, ibuprofen helps but paracetamol and higher doses of codein (higher doses only on prescription) work the best for me
Heat (even a towel on your belly when you are outside keep you warm and less in pain)

Periods pants AND maternity pads - double if needed. Mine tend to survive at least half an hour before being soaked through at the worst time

No clothes are ruined because of your periods, it's a nightmare, but let soak in COLD water and add loads of salt, before washing properly, on a cold cycle first and they will be good as new.

Good luck

Thank you everyone. DH was allowed into the ladies to help me get sorted as best as possible and I am now in the car on route to A&E.

I do have a few cysts that have cropped up on my right ovary since last year, which I’ve never had before. They were discovered during a scan when I was in A&E Feb 2025 with severe stomach pain. The dr was adamant that they were ‘fluid filled’ and nothing to be concerned about - they will come and go on their own apparently..

Other than that my periods are usually fairly manageable. Sometimes heavy but nothing I can’t deal with and nothing like this.

You poor thing glad youre off to a&e

It could be that the cysts have burst and that’s why you’re bleeding so heavily and in so much pain but A&E is the best place for you to be right now.

good luck but don't let them fob you off.

Even women will tell you "it's only periods, it's not that bad", but when it's excruciating and debilitating, it's not acceptable.

Some idiot will also pop up and tell you periods stop when you are in the water 😂so you can go in the bath or swimming. You can't argue with stupid, honestly.

Good luck, it's not "just a period", it's your life

You need to seek medical help immediately. I really hope you're okay.

This is exactly how I was when one of my ‘functional cysts’ burst. It stopped after a couple of hours, but it was terrifying. I hope you are ok OP x

Please update us when you're in a position to...

I hope you get answers and start to feel better soon xx 🤗

Oh you poor thing

I'm glad you're getting help. Don't give missing the meal another thought. It's what happens when you're not well. Best of luck

If this isn’t your normal experience of periods I would suggest hospital ? You could be having a miscarriage or anything else and frankly although that type of bleeding was normal for me and I spent 3 weeks a month bleeding in pools of blood that was due to endometriosis and adenymyosis and I had a hysterectomy in the end as I was so anaemic and also had up to 30 ovarian cysts growing and bursting every month. If this ISNT your normal then you need to go to A&e

Waiting to be seen but I will update you all as soon as I can. Thank you for all the support x

I hope you get some relief soon, your health comes first and I’m sure yous can rearrange meal ❤️

Even fluid filled cysts - and they always call them that even though often they are hormone filled ones but until they get them out and open them up and test them they can’t tell - when they burst it’s not pleasant. I had 30 years of that and things like implants and coils make them worse. Ask to go on a low dose of progesterone as that stops them growing

Do not take double dose of any painkillers!

What you’ve described was what I had with my mcs. Hopefully hospital will do a pregnancy test just in case. I hope you get the answers you need.

Don’t worry about the meal - it can’t be helped, and you can reschedule.

Hope you get seen quickly and feel better soon, losing blood can be so frightening but you're in the right place and your dh is there with you

I hope you get seen soon and everything is OK OP.