Periods: How heavy is HEAVY??

[Drained]

I think I'm having my first period after the birth of my 2nd child about 6 months ago, but I'm not entirely sure it is a period because it seems just SO heavy...
I know it's a yukky and tasteless subject, but how heavy can it get and still be 'normal'??
For the last 24 hours I have been leaking through a super plus tampon within 2-3 hours. There just seems so much more blood than I've ever had in my period before - I'm worried that I'll end up anaemic if it doesn't stop, and with the Dr's surgery closed, I don't know what to do before Monday, short of trooping down to A&E (with a toddler & baby in tow... I think not!)
It's about the right time for a period since I finally stopped b/f about 6 weeks ago.

Sounds normal to me but of course we are all so different. Would suggest that you eat plenty of iron rich foods now you have stopped b/f there is nothing to stop you from getting some supplements from the health food store if you are worried about becoming anaemic. Of course I am no expert but my periods vary quite a bit and sometimes I finish within days after a light bloodloss and other times I feel like I'm flooding everytime I stand up! Hope this helps.

Oh yeah thats normal (well as long as I am)- horrible isn't it. After about 2-3 months the flow started to get a bit lighter, but is still heavier tahn I used to have. The good bit for me though was that my periods used to last about 8 days, but now seem to be over in 4.

This happened to me too, after my DS2 was born, he's now 18 months and they have settled down although they are still heavier than before.
Your 2-3 hour tampon sounds quite normal to me but as I've said mine have settled down and as we all seem to be agreeing that this is 'normal' hopefully yours will too.

Sounds like me to me too. I've found mine to be heavier but slightly shorter than before.

Since I gave up breast feeding my dd, my periods have been terrible. At my worst I get through a super plus tampon and a towel in under an hour. It makes me feel physically sick. Lil-lets have just brought out a new tampon for extremely heavy flow, super super plus or something. They might save you a few trips to the loo if its troubling you.

I'm the same, still b/feeding but have had my second period since have DS2, first one was quite light, but the second one was like someone turning a tap on, disgusting. That was two weeks ago and I feel like I am getting another one already, all crampy and bloated.

I was exactly the same after the birth of my daughter Drained, and even now I find that my periods seem to be heavier than they were before. I normally find that day 1-2 are the worse then it settles down. If you are worried about being anaemic then pick some tablets up from the chemist. Just try and take it a bit easier if possible as you may find that you have less energy than normal.

Just had my first after ds2 (9mo) and I was getting through a super tampon every 1.5-2hours for 6days. Over night was the worst. I awoke to a bed full of blood and to avoid waking dh, had to sleep on a towel in case of any more leakage. It was only 2am at the time and woke again at 5am with another huge loss. YUK! Not looking forward to my next one, but at least I'll be more prepared.

Well you haven't had a period for nearly 1 1/2 years, your body has to make it up somehow!!!!!!!! hehe.
Saying that my period is very heavy this month, it started a week before it should have done, am still bleeding heavily nearly a week after I came on. Am losing clots and can't believe how heavy it is, normally bleed heavily for 2 days then its slows right down. It was also very painful at the start with cramping. Oh well.... the joys of being women........ men don't know what they are missing!!!!!!

The Pill is a good way to reduce heavy periods. You can even eliminate periods pretty much altogether by taking it continuously. And yes, if you are having heavy periods you are at risk of becoming anaemic - lots and lots of women are. A daily multivitamin with minerals and iron is a very good idea.

If you're not plannign to have any more children (at least for a while) I can heartily recommend the mirena coil which has meant I havent had a single period since ds was born, and I have really heavy periods normally. It is sometimes fitted for heavy periods as much as for contraception.

Drained - your perios does not sound too abnormal although it is heavier for you. They will probably settle down to some extent. You certainly may need to have your iron levels checked if you continue to have heavy periods and your GP can give you medication to help reduce them, or you could try the miena coil. I tried various things but then accepted thatmy periods were heavy and prepared better for them by using superplus tampons AND satitary towels for the first 2-3 days. Hellish being a woman isn't it?

The pill certainly worked for me. I went back on it as soon as I stopped breast feeding. Did mixed feeding for a while during which I had heavyish periods - assume they would have got heavier when I stopped feeding altogether but may be wrong.

Funny what's said about the coil being good for heavy menses; maybe that's true for the hormone-releasing coil, but not the non-hormonal IUD. My periods are quite annoying -- they just go on and on... I think about 10 days of on-off bleeding (I only had very light periods, of just 4 days before).

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Sorry to be so yukky on a Sunday morning, but I've just started using a mooncup and it's made me realise just how heavy my periods are. I've had to empty it 3 or 4 times a day and had some terrible clots. Does anyone know the significance of clots, do I need to worry about them?

Angiel - has everything calmed down? I don't know about the significance of clots - I know they are very significant immediately after birth and you should notify your midwife but not sure if they matter in the normal course of events. If you are worried - or if they seem very large - I would measure them so you can tell your doc about them (sorry - is that really gross!). Mind you, I am a complete hypocondriac so probably not the person to give reassuring advice!! BTW - what is a mooncup???

I too wanted to know what a moon cup is so I googled and... oh my god hope this link worked, it's definitely worth a look

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Tranexamic acid is the answer for heavy periods if you don't want to go on the pill or get a mirena coil. I was prescribed them by my Gap a few months ago and they are fantastic. The are thrombofybrolitic drugs - ie. cause clotting to stop reduce bleeding and have cured my anaemia with no side effects. Brilliant IMO.

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Hi
My Doctor has put me on tranexamic acid as I've been bleeding very heavily with huge clots (like afterbirth) for 9 days, also the same after missing a month 8 weeks ago. Also very aneamic and on iron. The tranexamic acid is making me feel so ill, very nauseas so after two days I've stopped, still bleeding but a little lighter will it work if I just take say three a night instead of the four tablets four times a day that I've been told to take as I feel so ill on it. Any help would be gratefully received as I'm going away for the first time ever for Christmas and I want to feel better than I do now, which is pretty rough as the iron tabs make me feel sick too. Help!

I started tranexamic acid and found it to be a wonder drug ( as you can see from my last post). I start taking it on the first day of my period, 3 times a day. When the flow is tailing off I stop it. I am fortunate not to have any side effects at all and my iron levels have gone up. Try cutting back to 3 times a day and see how you get on.