Period flooding..how do you know what is 'normal'?

[alltoomuchrightnow]

I've started flooding for my current and last few periods and don't know what amount is normal or not. I only have my teenage self to go by which is when it last happened..in the 1980s! It's a horrible deja vu as I'm also back on towels for the first time since then. (thankfully they have changed a lot since then!)
The largest size tampons (yellow Lillets) aren't cutting it any more. For work I'm wearing night time towels. The longest ones I could find as with the flooding it (blood sorry TMI) goes far up, a long way, if that makes sense.
I assumed a night time towel would be foolproof as it was meant to last a whole night. I've just finished a six hour shift and the flooding has gone over the side , over the wings and ruined my pants and got on my work trousers. I'm in fear of this happening in public and noticing (as I'm with customers all the time) . So is it assumed that night towels should be changed more regularly than a night's sleep?
Or should one have been able to last me 6 hours? Basically I flooded out the night towel as it couldn't hold any more.
I used to get mefenemic acid on prescription (for pain..I know it lessens flow but that was never the issue) but I stopped as it makes me too nauseous and groggy for work (very physical work, always on feet)
Should I just assume all is ok, change more regularly (v hard to do at work though and loos are miles away) and assume it's start of menopause even though no other symptoms? (no hot flushes etc)

Constance, I have underactive thyroid, been on thyroxine for 15 years.
Last test has just come back as 'ok but not great' (receptionist's words!)
I don't feel my meds are really working
DP has said he's going to pay for me to see someone privately as my thyroid symptoms never seem to improve

Do you not get a toilet break during your six hour shift?

And if you have a manager who won't tolerate you dealing with your bodily functions in a timely manner, you need to ask your GP to write an all gorey details letter.

When mine were very bad I could go through an ultra tampon and a night towel in 20 minutes. The biggest problem was clots that seemed to suddenly make themselves apparent and would soak everything in minutes. I couldn't have done a public facing role.
This was a huge change in my 40s and I ended up with an ablation which was the perfect solution. Get your GP to refer you to gynae. GP will suggest a Mirena coil as the first option but you can say no to hormonal contraception and insist on a referral.

I have this problem and find the only thing that works is using maternity pads or doubling up pads I also use tampons but they dont do much. I'm so sick of ruining all my clothes. I also dread getting up in the morning for the first couple of days as I hate that gush of blood I get. I regularly have to scrub the carpet because of it.

Sorry I cant be more help. Just wanted you to know you're bot alone

I was suffering from the kid of flood in incidents you describe. I got a Moon cup from boots. It was a bit daunting but I wanted to try it. Omg. It is amazing. I find it doesn't leaks if it's in properly. You can tell how much blood you are actually loosing too. You can leave it for longer than a tampon and it doesn't fall out by itself when it's full. Personally I think it great. I just got that brand as I saw it in the chemist. There are loads of online charts about how to choose the best one for you nut i couldnt be bothered to faff around with online shopping. It's helped me.

It is completely u reasonable that you aren't given proper provision for toilet/hygiene breaks at work. Has this been raised with high level management? Surely it is a health concern if employees are impaired from using the loo when they need to. This should definitely be followed up.

You must definitely keep an eye on overall blood loss and your fldiet as I ended up an admin and low in ferritin which made me really unwell. Make sure you keep up the iron and vit c rich foods as well as keep a check on the bleeding. You should see the doctor if it's so bad all the time.

I empathise with you. I get this too, from 48 onwards. I too work in a customer facing role with not easy toilet access. I use a pad and tampon and change them more often than I need to. With me it just suddenly gushes, sometimes from an angle (sorry tmi!). I hope the doctor helps.

Honey, I'm 48 too, this is when the flooding started.
Sorry it's hard for you too. Crappy toilet access in the work place is much worse for us women!

Glam , yes. I can go to the toilet but have to tell someone (hate doing this as a middleaged woman..it's like being back at school).9 times out of 10 I can go when want but if someone else has gone or we are short staffed we have to wait. Also if I'm with a customer I can't just up and go. The issue is the loo being so far and so hard to reach at weekends due to walking against the flow of the shoppers and going down a floor. If you had a sudden attack of the squits you would not stand a chance. Getting to the loo of a weekend is a challenge in itself due to amount of people and distance. I have complained several times. No one got back to me except to say that I must not use the loos on my floor , strictly for customers only.

Ive recently started using Naproxen and its reduced my bleeding a lot. I had previously tried mefanamic acid which helped a bit but no where near as much as Naproxen. You can get it over the counter as Feminax or on prescription.

Feminax is ibuprofen. You need Feminax Ultra for naproxen. However, a pharmacist told me naproxen is more like aspirin and will thin the blood and increase bleeding. Ibuprofen can help reduce bleeding. However, other meds mean I am now contraindicated for NSAIDS, so no aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen for me. Tranexamic acid is okay for me and quite effective - it means on my heaviest day, I can get by with tampon and pad every 2 hours, not 1 hour.

You should follow the advice to see your GP, particularly if this is new for you. There's a whole range of possible treatments these days, some of which are effective with some women and some not. Some GPs are better with menstrual problems than others, too.

Don't forget that under the Working Time Directive, if you work more than 6 hours at a time, you have the right to a break of at least 20 minutes, which must not be athe the beginning or end of the shift, but an actual break in the working day.

Feminax is ibuprofen. You need Feminax Ultra for naproxen. However, a pharmacist told me naproxen is more like aspirin and will thin the blood and increase bleeding.

Yes, Feminax Ultra, I didn't know there was a not ultra version. Naproxen is an NSAID just like ibuprofen. My GP and pharmacist said Naproxen can reduce bleeding by up to 50%.... It's definitely worked for me. Mefanamic acid worked a little for me but ibuprofen didn't reduce it at all.

Have you tried Tena incontinence pants? If they can contain me losing a full bladder, I'm sure they could cope with heavy bleeding. I wear the number 6 ones for heavy incontinence.

no, would they show under trousers? never tried anything for incontinence. I'm new enough to towels (as an adult , anyway..last used in the good old 80s when they were like bricks! pre wings then)

It's Peri-menopause, op, and you need HRT. It changes everything.

i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/teach-me/113666670/perimenopause-lead-up-to-menopause-very-uncomfortable-and-poorly-understood

It's horrible isn't it - I massively sympathise. I had the same from age 48, tried Tranexamic Acid, helped a bit.
The one thing that really helped was starting on Cerazette (progesterone only pill). I now have hardly any bleeding. If you can take it, it is definitely worth a try

I had flooding during perimenopause and menopause - didn't do anything about it because a friend who was a little older and had started experiencing these things a bit sooner had it even worse. Thought it was normal. Post menopause I had some bleeding and was seen (swiftly) for thorough check - the transvaginal ultrasound operator said, as an aside,' ohh, I see you had some very big fibroids which have now shrunk' . I asked if that could have contributed to the flooding and she said yes, in this case.

I had had no idea that I had the fibroids at the time. Might not be this in your case, OP, but don't just accept this level of flooding as normality .

If you have a heavy flow, you need to change the protection sooner than 6hrs!!!!
I'd suggest you try changing every 4hrs, and maybe some days every 2hrs.
Surely this is not difficult to do, at work or otherwise. You surely go for a toilet break before 6hrs is up?

Have you tried period pants OP? They are expensive but are so much better than towels IMO!

If you have a heavy flow, you need to change the protection sooner than 6hrs!!!!

^This. I would have to change a so-called “nighttime” pad every hour. I use a mooncup as no pad or tampon can absorb the flow for long enough when I’m at work or commuting.

I had a laparascopy three years ago (not for flooding as was ok then) and definitely no fibroids, which everyone was surprised at as had textbook endometriosis symptoms
Sonsmum I do go for a loo break before the 6 hours is up but all of us put it off. It's a nightmare walking against the flow of the crowds (v v busy huge store with a restaurant - you can probably work it out from this description!) to get there, it's in a totally different part of building . It's taken me up to 20 minutes at weekends before.. no exaggeration.
Just to give you the (grim) idea.. a customer handed me a bag of vomit the week as they couldn't make it to the loos in time.. (and customer loos are much nearer than ours)

I'm going to invest in some period pants I think. Just for extra reassurance