why are my periods SO heavy? :(

[MathsMadMummy]

got my 2nd period since DS was born, he's still BFing maybe 3 or 4 times a day, he's 11m. is that why it's so heavy, because of the oxytocin womb-contracting thingy? DD was mix fed and it was never this bad. I've always had heavy periods (as did my mum) but this is extreme, I feel utterly awful I really don't want to stop BFing BTW.

so is it normal or should I be seeing a GP?

.

Hi I have always suffered with painful and very heavy periods like you. After DC2 who is now 2 they became horrendous and unbearable. I have just had the mirena coil fitted and although bled for 6 weeks non stop it has been nothing like before.
Thats a condensed version! Had various scans and tried other things first.
Just want you to know it is common for them to get worse after 2nd child and not connected to your BF. Don't give up but I would go to your GP to start ball rolling to see if you can get some advice on options for you.
You don't have to put up with it!

I shouldn't think you would have to stop bf-ing. Do you know if there was a particular reason for having had heavy periods beforehand? I have horrendous periods due to fibroids & take pills when I have them called tranexamic acid which reduce the blood loss.I have been bf-ing for 2yrs & have taken them whilst bf-ing as I checked if they were ok to take & never noticed anything amiss with DS (got my periods back after only 3 or 4mths post-birth) so that could be an option for managing it - check with GP if there are no other obvious answers. You'd probably want to give it 3-6 cycles to see if it settles down of its accord. Also make sure you are not aneamic as I have heard that paradoxically you can bleed more if you are low in iron. Or you could always bf more frequently to stay period-free!!!

good idea re: anaemia, I've had that on and off since my teens. at the last check my iron was low but not enough to warrant iron pills, maybe I should ask for another test as I'm generally tired etc. interesting about anaemics bleeding more, I didn't know that! also I have had nosebleeds before both periods this time, so maybe that's related?

not really sure what the reasons were when I was younger. went to GP, she said I had some problem where I was ovulating too often and gave me mefenamic acid to take during the periods. they worked a bit, but I stopped taking them after a few years as I had no idea what they were and what effect they were having. also I have no idea how the GP reached that conclusion, it felt like she was fobbing me off.

TBH I feel a bit uncomfortable with the coil idea - I was thinking about getting the implanon, as I hate using condoms, and my friend who had it now gets no periods! not sure though.