Weird period

[whatsthatnow74]

Morning,

I posted this on the autoimmune thread the other day because I wasn't sure if it might be related to my borderline high thryoid levels, but as it's period related I thought I might post on here too.

So, I'm now on day 10 of my period - this is not normal for me. I'm 45 by the way. I usually have periods every 25 ish days and they last for 4-5 days and then tail off.
This month, all started normally last week, got to last weekend and it was starting to tail off around day 5 and by day 6 it seemed to be finished.
I woke up on day 7 and went to the loo to then find that I was wiping bright red blood (sort of day 2/3 level). I also had a period pain in my lower abdomen. This bleeding wasn't heavy but was there each time I wiped. It started to tail off again though and by yesterday (day 9) I thought 'great, it's done!'.
Today is day 10 and again, when wiping this morning, there's browny-red blood again, not much but enough to show me that it hasn't ended. I also have the niggling stomach ache again.
Does anyone know what might be causing this? I'm guessing hormones of some sort?
TIA

At 45, having a period like that once in a while is normal. In an ideal state your progesterone levels should start to rise around mid cycle and then fall before your period starts. The rising of progesterone oppose the estrogen and thereby stop the building of uterine lining. When progesterone fails to rise properly the estrogen works unopposed and creates a thicker lining which causes heavy or lengthy cycles. After 40 we start having hormone decline and if you are in perimenopause the shift is even further . Now if both estrogen and progesterone decline at the same pace we would not notice the effect but progesterone decline is roughly 3 times comparison to estrogen and that is cycle is irregular, shorter than 28 days with more bleeding days. If your period does nit stop after a week then go to a GP so they can scan for other causes. Normally it is just hormonal.

Thank you, @ahran2K.

My cycle length can also be a bit hit and miss and over the last couple of years it has tended to be shorter than it used to be, but generally, once it starts, the period itself is pretty standard.

The bleeding today is only noticeable when I wipe and it's very light, but I've had cramping all day. Does this mean that my uterus is still trying to shed? And is this down to low progesterone? Sorry for all of the questions - you seem knowledgeable!

It is true that if your uterus is not able to expel the blood completely then it will try to expel the remaining blood at the end of period and the cramps would be sharper . The leftover blood is usually not a lot so the bleeding might be light or just spotting. This condition could be temporary and caused by hormonal imbalance. Sometimes the uterus is not able to contract properly during period resulting in painful cramps and spotting in the end. Ibuprofen can help so if it suits you , you can take it. If the cramps don't stop and the spotting / bleeding continues for another week then visit your GP so she can rule out fibroids , endometriosis and thyroid condition.

@ahran2k thank you so much for your advice. 😊 I’ll go to my gp next week if there’s no change. I’ve got some other symptoms which I think could relate to my thyroid, so I think blood tests might be in order (I had borderline high TSH levels last summer and I’m supposed to have this reviewed annually).

Come over to this thread OP - http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/menopause/3779410-Two-week-period-and-going

There's a few of us who've experienced similar recently. I had one last year that lasted from 27th November to Boxing Day. I thought it was never going to end. Finally got a Drs appointment two weeks ago and he was very blasé about it - I'm 47, so prob peri menopause, but has referred me for a scan anyway. Do go to the Drs if you're worried though.

@Divisionbelles, thank you, I’ll head over to that thread 😊