nightmare heavy and painful periods - any advice please?

[booot]

have hunted through the thread titles to see if there is any help around, but no luck as it has only shown me a few days worth.
i'm resorting to super-dooper-mega-huge-plus tampons(ok slight exaggeration, but if they made them i'd buy 'em) and maternity towels -as in both to get four or five hours of sleep.
i am in agony. I had this as a teenager, and for the past six years have been producing or breastfeeding three children, so no huge problems with it. but now OUCH. have just had seven weeks of nothing then this. and no i don't want another baby - though labour does seem attractive in comparison as it was shorter
get the picture?
sorry this turned out longer than i meant to!

If you search threads for Endometrial Ablation you'll find some that I have posted and I honestly couldn't recommend it highly enough.

If you get to your GP then if you are at low risk of DVT you can be prescribed Tranexamic Acid which encourages clotting and helps quite a bit.

Also... don't take any Aspirin-based painkillers - you will bleed more.

Good luck

Mirena coil? I have one of these and I don't have any periods at all. They last for 5 years and you can just have one put in at your family planning clinic.

ooh i think i had trans-wotsit acid and mefenamic acid as a teen.
thanks much for advice - will try! does one have to nag or prove unbearable pain to get the ablation treatment?

and no periods sounds fab - tho they are making it really hard for me to get mirena they said i have to have the 'normal' one first, which i gather will probably make periods 'heavier and more painful' so obv don't want to do that

No - I had very painful periods in my late 20's/early 30s but no pain after babies. I had normal periods for several years afterwards but then they started getting heavier again.

Mirena coil works for lots of people, too, but Endometrial Ablation is a permanent solution with no drugs/hormones etc. Mirena coil can cause horrendous mood swings and spots I think.

By the way - there are a few ways of doing it - you need to make sure you have it done using the 'Novasure' device. It's only been around 2 or 3 years but has effectively zero risk of side effects, unlike some of the previous methods.

I don't know about nagging... I had mine done privately. I think the total cost was about £2000 - all covered by insurance of course - but frankly I was getting so desperate I would've paid it myself if I'd had to!

40+ great advice, i'm off to search for more of your info

Here's some more info... www.novasure.com/irregular-period/heavy-menstrual-bleeding.cfm

booot

Would suggest you make an appointment with your GP to see a gynaecologist.

You need to determine exactly what is causing these problems rather than just try something in the hopes it wil go away becuase that approach often does not work.

I note that you were previously given transexamic acid and mefenamic acid as a teen - both are often given to women with endometriosis. The pain and the heavy bleeding may well be caused by endo. Another possibility is fibroids.

Not all gynaes do endometrical ablation but it is certainly worth discussing with such a person.

I thought seeing the GP was too obvious to mention? Yes of course you need to do that - you can't pursue any of the options without doing so.

My GP prescribed Tranexamic Acid (absolutely no history of endometriosis in my case) and referred me to a gynaecologist exactly as AttilaTheMeerkat has suggested.

I was extremely pleased to have some improvement in the situation whilst I was waiting for the results of scans, blood tests etc.

I had sickeningly painful periods until I went on the pill - oestrogen type. Are you/have you ever been on any oral contraceptives, it seems almost too simple a solution but it certainly helped me.

Hope you feel better soon.

That's a good point... I was offered the pill even though I was 45. These days the amount of oestrogen is lower than it used to be and you can stay on it into your 50s. But I still preferred the no-drugs/hormones permanent solution.

My dr prescribes me mefanamic acid tablets whichs really help with heavy periods. Not sure if you are breast feeding but it's worht asking- I find them very helpful

thanks people! have had tranexamic acid and mefenamic acid, have seen the gp who just does... erm not much, and i am reluctant to get on to pill-type stuff as i am still on quite a bit of AD medication for PND, and from what i hear the hormones would undo what balance i've actually got
I am going to go back and nag, i think. you wonderful ladies have given me plenty of ideas to go with, to get something done. Need to find out more about mirena, if the hormone doses aren't too high in it, and whether they would cause me mood trouble...
after five days of hideous pain and bleeding things are starting to get to 'normal' and of manageable proportions.
thank you for all the advice - and please carry on, i'm gonna make notes to hit the doc with (i hope not literally)

Not having periods is sooooo liberating! I went from bucketfuls to just a bit after EA to nothing at all. About 75% of women who have EA have no bleeding at all.

I'm still on the pill (marvelon) and I'm nearly 47! It sorts out my PCOS symptoms too.

at no periods

whats your pcos? me not understand

Polycystic ovarian syndrome, apparently...
...here