unusual period, need advice please

[sarah861421]

Please feel free to tell me this is the wrong place to discuss this but I don't know where else I can ask. I am in my 40s and fairly healthy etc. My periods are regular but light and uninteresting until last week. I was in the middle of the cycle, went to Tesco, (wearing shorts because of the weather ) and suddenly felt a slight twinge. I looked down and then was blood literally running down my leg. I just ran. I went to my car, drove home and sobbed with embarrassment. I was wearing a pad as normal but the bleed had "missed" it.
Nothing like this has ever happened before, and now I am worried that next month I will be afraid to leave the house.
Please help me

I have had similar, but thankfully not in public, just a couple of v heavy bleeds recently, to the point that I thought I was miscarrying. Because of some other symptoms (spotting and pain between periods) that had been going on for some time, I was referred for an abdominal ultrasound.
This was clear, apart from a tiny ovarian cyst, which is inconsequential, apparently

GP thinks it's hormonal (I'm 38) and wants me to keep an eye on it. There are medications that can be prescribed, if it continues/becomes unmanageable. I would keep an eye on it and if you develop any other symptoms, or if it continues to happen, have a chat with your GP. The first time I went to the GP, he said that women can occasionally have a single, heavy period, with no known cause