Mooncups and heavy periods (TMI!!!)

[CandleQueen]

I've always had heavy periods. When I used tampons I needed to change the Super Heavy ones every 1.5hrs or so during the first heavy part of my period. I just excepted it as a part of my womanly life.
Now I've got a Mooncup and have used it for 3 periods. But I'm beginning to worry about the amount of blood & junk the cup is collecting.
This period started 4pm Monday and already I've emptied out at least 60ml. I've also leaked overnight. I expect my period to last until Saturday at least.

I'm sure I read before that you normally lose about an eggcupful of blood. Well the biggest eggcup in our house only holds 35ml! (can you tell I'm beginning to obsess about this?!)
Is there something wrong do you think? Should I see my GP? Does it leak because I've got a super-huge fanjo?

Google says: Menorrhagia is the excessive duration and/or amount of blood loss during a period. Normal periods last three to seven days and involve a blood loss of about 4-12 teaspoonfuls (20-60ml). Menorrhagia is defined as a loss of blood of more than 80ml. A period is defined as heavy if it leads to frequent changes of sanitary towels (every two hours or more), the need to use double sanitary protection (tampons plus towels), passing of large blood clots, flooding clothes or bedding at night, prevention of normal activities and/or anaemia.

So it sounds like you have all the classic signs of that, perhaps there's something they can do to reduce how much you're bleeding (I'll have a further google)

I would definitely see your doctor. And have them check your iron levels if you think you might be anaemic because of it.

Thanks for that fedup. I was a bit unsure of Googling it! You never know what it'll cme up with.!

I think my iron levels are ok, any tiredness I've just put down to Ds1 (3) and Ds2 (10 months).
I think I will see the Dr, but it's just something I thought I'd have to put up with.

I don't think you have to put up with it. It says the first thing they will do (after ruling out other causes etc) if talk about fitting a mirena coil to see if that helps. If you don't want that or it doesn't help, it looks like there are plenty of drugs they can give you to help.

Don't suffer if it's something which blights a week of your life every month! Best of luck.

I really don't like the idea of the coil, especially as we're thinking of TTC fairly soon (next year, anyway!)

Well obviously your doctor will know if there's anything else you can take which won't affect your fertility (a lot of the drugs I mentioned were combined contraceptives etc) but I did read this:

NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) reduce uterine prostaglandin levels and can reduce flow by 20 to 50% as well as reducing dysmenorrhoea. The medication is taken only during menstruation.

Hope this helps!

is it just the begining its like that? I only ask, cos mine are. Day 1 is manageable, but day 2 and 3 i have to empty a very full mooncup very regularly. In fact for about half of day 2 its full in an hour or so. Then is calms down and there's hardly anything for the rest of the week. Its like it all leaves in one go!

i'm not sure how they worked out the averages. But 60ml doesn't seem very much really.

I am the same as Thrifty, day 2 I need to empty the mooncup every 2 hours (sometimes even sooner)and I reckon I loose around 90-100ml per period. The heavy periods started after DD was born. I also used to donate blood on a regular basis but not anymore as my HB levels are not high enough to donate although are within the healthy range.

I have noticed though now I am doing the GL diet a reduced flow when having period. Last month I didnt follow it very stricly and had a really heavy period/painful

Candle, heavy flow isn't necessarily a problem - it all depends on how it affects your life. It sounds as though you've been pretty happy with/resigned to the situation until now, and it's just having the mooncup that has made you worry about it?

FWIW, I looked into this topic recently, and as far as I could make out, heavy flow is not a problem in itself; what medical peeps get worried about is noticeable changes in flow. So, if you've gone from light-ish periods to heavy ones, you should get it checked out. But if your flow has always been heavy, that's probably just the way your cycle is.

Your flow sounds very much like mine.

It's really heavy for 2-3 days, then reduces to a "managable" flow for a day or two, then is very light for a day or two, almost as if the period is finished, before coming back with a heavy last day.
I think they've always been like this.
And yes, it's having the Mooncup with a very handy gauge on the side that has made me realise quite how much I'm losing!
Used to be very strange cycles bfore DC (anything from 30 - 60 days) but are now a bit more traceable (about 35 days)

I had similar to this. If you look on NHS Direct website it will define this amount of blood loss as too much.

I went to my GP and I now take tranexeamic acid (SP) which decreases the amount of blood I lose. Still quite heavy but much more manageable.

By all means get it checked out if you're worried - I wouldn't want to tell you not to see a doctor! - but if this is how it's always been, the chances are there's nothing really wrong.

However, if it makes life difficult for you and you'd like to have lighter periods, then things like tranexamic acid (as cece says) are commonly prescribed.

FWIW - and this is a minority view on MN, I know! - my mooncup is absolutely rubbish at dealing with my heavy days; it leaks like nobody's business. I tend to resort to tampons on heavy days and reserve the mooncup for the lighter days.

Policywonk, Thank you for that confession! For my last two periods I have resorted to tampons at times, but felt like I'd let the Mooncupping sisterhood down!

Nothing beats a SuperPlus Lilet IMO

I like to be green, but I reckon the extra laundry/knicker-liners associated with mooncup leakage is less green than using a few tampons.

agree with policywonk, mine have always been like this (apart from when ihad a mirena - then i had none for 5 years!),its only since i started using my mooncup that i've really got to grips with it.

I havent used a tampon since i started using the mooncup. whilst i agree its more of a plug on the heaviest days, i just use a heavy duty pad if Im away from the loo, but i had to do that anyway,even with lillets superduper plus (anything smaller than a super size just fell out since having ds ).

I wouldnt go back now, cos since i discovered the mooncup (thanks to mn) the pain has dramatically decreased to 2 paracetamols a month instead of 2 packets!

I don't think I'm that heavy but definitely more than 60mls in total, on heaviest day I have to empty about every 3hrs and it's full. It had never occurred to me that it might be 'too much' but I think I will mention to the doc next time I go, whenever that is!

My problem ... slippage at night on heaviest day. last night DD kindly woke me up a few times, felt like it was leaking, got up... yep. Not much in there but it had gone up too high and I'm positive I didn't insert it that high. This doesn't happen during the daytime and I'm on about my fourth month of using it so I'm pretty confident that I'm getting it in right, it's only a problem at night. Is it just me??!

I have been resenting the small amount of leakage, but to be honest I would have gotten this with tampons anyway, difference for me is instead of 5 pairs of knickers with spotting in I have one pair I've thrown away. Must try and remember to buy some (horrible word) pantyliners!

Cheap pants is the answer. Sensible, black, washable but ultimately cheap knickers to wear for night time leakage. Not so bad to throw them away!

I know this thread was ages ago but are any of you still there? I have super heavy periods of doom (or the blob monster as I call it). I wear night time towels during the day and go through one an hour. I wear two length ways at night as I pour with blood. I flood at least once a night and have very sharp, intense cramps. I've had smears and appointments at the hospital but they said there was nothing they could do and I had nothing 'wrong' with me.
I was wondering if any of you out there with heavy periods have had trouble with your pregnancies? The consultant I saw said it had nothing to do with my abruption but my mum had complications with all of her pregnancies and so did my aunt. They both had heavy periods, then fibroids and early hysterectomies.