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Original poster

Heavy Periods

21 replies

JellyNump · 07/07/2006 00:51

Does anyone else get really heavy periods? One gp I saw said 'its just the way you are' but a doctor I saw at the hospital seemed to think this was wrong, but as I was pregnant with dd couldn't do anything about it at the time and now I'm not under that consultant. Another gp I've seen today has prescribed the pill, but I'm not 100% about it?? They usually last 10 days and are just ridiculously at the beginning and then stop abruptly.
Any tips/advice/ideas/alternatives?

OP posts:

AttilaTheMeerkat · 07/07/2006 07:15

No the underlying cause is not "just the way you are". Something is causing this to happen. I would remember the words of the cons at the hospital you saw and revisit your GP with a view to getting a gynae referral. Do not take no for an answer!!.

Fibroids for instance can cause heavy periods to arise so this may be a possible cause. For this reason it is best to see a gynae - some GPs seem woefully ignorant when it comes to gynae problems. Going on the pill in itself goes no way to address why this is happening in the first place.

sugarfree · 07/07/2006 07:34

Yep get a gynae referral,they'll also try to get you to have a Mirena coil I expect.
I eventually had an endometrial resection but that is only an option if you have finished having babies.
I had to really fight for mine.

sallystrawberry · 07/07/2006 09:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TinyGang · 07/07/2006 09:33

Mine have become a lot worse and also a very short cycle too It completely drains me and I feel bad tempered with pmt and knackered so much of the time.

My mum had fibroids - she thinks I sound like I might have the same, so I'm going to ask to see a gynae.

sallystrawberry · 07/07/2006 09:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

foxinsocks · 07/07/2006 09:45

it is true though that in many cases there is no cause

here's the netdoctor blurb

you may get a good, sympathetic GP but do not be surprised if you have to fight to get any help

if you are happy with the pill, it should help you - I get ludicrously heavy periods and the pill did help (once they had found one that worked properly - you may have to experiment with a few) but unfortunately, it's not an option for me now

also, the mirena does have a good track record for people with heavy periods

foxinsocks · 07/07/2006 09:50

have you got some buscopan sally? it is very good for nasty crampy pain (think this is often the pain that causes runny tum aswell!)

think it is called buscopan IBS relief now but it is used for painful, crampy periods aswell (just check with pharmacist if you take any other medicines etc.)

expatinscotland · 07/07/2006 09:51

Even if there is no cause, it STILL needs to be investigated, especially if you're anaemic from them.

My sister's heavy periods have no cause.

Excess weight can be a cause, but she is now normal weight and still has heavy periods.

Finally, just this week, after many tests and fights w/her insurance company (she's in the US), she has been scheduled for an endometrial ablation, which should ease the problem.

BUT she is 39 and completed her family 9 years ago.

sallystrawberry · 07/07/2006 09:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AttilaTheMeerkat · 07/07/2006 10:49

Sallystrawberry,

Re your comment:-
"period pain today is the worst I have had in years even dh is surprised, Ive just taken some pain killers but its been so bad this morning Ive had a runny tum with it as well I wonder if its because my period is a bit early this month".

Has anyone ever mentioned endometriosis?. I would ask the GP to refer you to a gynae as a matter of course. These things happen for a reason; there is an underlying cause. Endometriosis deposits can also site themselves in the intestines and this could also be why you are having bad stomach pains. I'n not suggesting that its not IBS but some women with endometriosis are misdiagnosed as having IBS.

Any symptoms which are cyclical and that get worse during menstruation may be due to endometriosis.A

Original poster

JellyNump · 07/07/2006 14:16

Thanks, I think I may try to get another appointment and I may also try to get a copy of my medical notes. I saw a gp yesterday who said:

'Hmmm you don't have to put up with that, you can either go on the pill or have a mirena coil'. I have got the pill she described but I dont want to rely on this for ever, also I have heard that prolonged periods of taking it can cause problems conceiving when you decide to have another baby?!?!

OP posts:

Beauregard · 07/07/2006 14:19

Has Endeometreosis been ruled out?

Original poster

JellyNump · 07/07/2006 14:29

Ok this will be quite a long story but it may best to tell you what has happened. I've always had heavy periods with excrutiating pain for the first day or 2, where I can't even walk. When I got married in 2004 I asked to go on the pill because I didnt want to deal with the wedding and have a period at the same time, so I stayed on it for the wedding and honey moon, but it made me feel bloated and my boobs ache so I stopped when we got back and got pregnant with ds almost straight away. I had loads of problems while pregnant. My HCG levels were sky high and I kept producing until I gave birth (my consultant said it should only be produced in high doses in the first 3 months and even they were higher than they should have been) my ovaries, which were supposed to be the width of a thumb nail were each 10cm across with loads of cyst looking things over them and the consultant said they looked like they'd been stimulated by IVF, which they hadn't. They found a second gesation sac at 12 weeks, which was empty and they thought it could have been a mole which produces extra HCG but when the placenta was sent off after the birth, they found no molar characteristics, so it could have been a normal twin, which is why I made extra HCG to sustain 2 babies, but my body never realised one had died.
Now after having dd, with no problems at all, I'm wondering whether the pill actually caused all the problems, I still have heavy periods and no one has checked for fibroids, endometriosis, which I think my Mum may have, (she also has very periods and did my gran and great gran). I'm wondering whether to actually write all this to my gp and see what comes back?

OP posts:

Beauregard · 07/07/2006 14:36

Endeometreosis(excuse my spelling)is usually associated with pain on the 2nd or 3rd day and can be hereditary i think,also it can cause lesions on the organs and has been known to fuse organs together,it irritates the bowl if there is any blisters near to it,and the degree of it pain can range from quite mild to severe.My periods used to make me sick they were so painful ,i used to leak everywhere and i used to have the most horrendous pain that went down my thigh so i couldn't walk.
Hope you get this sorted soon ,i was misdiagnosed for years!

Original poster

JellyNump · 07/07/2006 14:40

Yes that does sound a bit like mine!!! I don't get so much pain now I've had ds and dd, but the pain used to go down my left thigh, which I thought was my sciatic nerve (I dont know how to spell that)

OP posts:

expatinscotland · 07/07/2006 14:41

It's possible to have endo AND fibroids.

Also, some women over 35 should NOT use the combined pill at all - if they smoke, have a history of certain cancers in their family and/or heart disease, stroke, clots or hypertension.

You shouldn't be fobbed off w/Pill or coil, which do you want?

As Attila pointed out, that just masks the underlying cause and you can't use the combined Pill forever, anyway.

Dunno about the coil - in some people they can't be fitted. For me it was more that progesten gives me cystic acne so bad it's permanently scarred my chest and back.

It's not w/o side effects.

Beauregard · 07/07/2006 14:42

Pregnancy can ease the symptoms as it gives the womb a break.

Original poster

JellyNump · 07/07/2006 14:43

To be honest I dont want either, I dont want to rely on drugs to sort me out and I dont want a coil fitted either!

OP posts:

Beauregard · 07/07/2006 14:44

They can laser the adhesions off.

expatinscotland · 07/07/2006 14:45

And they can do ablation for women w/fibroids who don't want any more children.

But of course, it's cheaper just to fob someone off w/the Pill or the coil.

Original poster

JellyNump · 25/07/2006 23:18

Haven't been back to GP yet but because we're going to France next week I thought I'd take the pill just while we're away but it says on the leaflet not to if you have fibroids, which I've never been checked for, do you think I should just stop and wait til I see GP?? I really don't want a heavy period while I'm away with the really hot weather

OP posts:

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