Never ending period

[JS711]

I am struggling with a prolonged period. Day 18 and no sign of slowing.
I use the nexplanon implant for contraception. It's been in place for 13 months. It took a while to settle and I had spotting for a few weeks then no period at all. I was pleased with this because I have very painful heavy periods but they used to last 6 days at the very worst. Then about 6 months ago I had a bleed. Only 5 days but heavy.
Then another 45 days later. Short but heavy again.
Then 32 days gap. 9 day period
30 day gap and 10 day bleed.
21 day gap and still bleeding. Day 18 today!
At day 12 I called 111 who told me to go to a and e. Had a pregnancy test which was negative and a blood test and was not anaemic or showing signs of infection. Internal exam showed nothing around cervix so assumed in uterus and advised could be fibroids. I have a GP appointment to try and get a gyne referral.
I had some norethisterone from 2 years ago when we were going on holiday and my period was going to coincide. I didn't take them at the time so had no experience. I started taking them after the a and e visit following the dr's advice. It has done nothing to slow the bleeding down. If anything it's worse.
I'm starting to worry a bit now. I have unbelievable cramp which is why I called 111 on Monday. It felt on par with labour pains. I feel exhausted and like a hormonal mess.
Does anyone have any advice on how to get this bleed to slow? At one point I was soaking overnight pads in 2 hours to the point of leaking. I had a leaking incident at work on Wednesday. Mortifying.
Could it be something sinister? I lost my appetite about 2 months ago and subsequently lost about a stone. Not tried. Sleep alludes me and I feel hormonal in terms of acne, greasy and sweaty. GP can't see me before 28th. A and e would be a wasted visit. Nothing they can do it seems.
Thanks for reading a rambling post.

Also forgot to add, 4 years ago I had an induced labour that went terribly wrong. Ended with me developing sepsis. In septic shock on the op table having an emergency c section after failed ventouse and forceps.
I was very ill for quite a while with endless antibiotics and home injections. My son was checked for meningitis. Lumbar punctures at a day old. Just awful.
I'm wondering if there is a lot of damage in my uterus.
I'm 30 in November and definitely not having any more than DS.

I'm sorry you're experiencing this. It is not normal. I think a&e or a walk in centre are your only options .

It could be endo or fibroids which can be spotted with a scan. But please get it checked out, that much blood loss is not normal even for these conditions

It's not a period, it must be something else, so you need to go to a&e.

I'm glad I'm not overreacting. I think I will be off to a and e again. Thanks for your replies.

Is there any way of getting the implant removed? I had random bleeding which lasted 6 weeks but only two weeks were heavy (wasn't on contraception but went to the gp after 3 weeks who put me on the pill then had a couple of days of no bleeding, then bled for two more weeks so came off the pill and bled for another week). Did the a&e have a feel around your abdomen to make sure there wasn't any painful bits which would be a cause for concern? I took tranxemic acid in the end which dried it up - could you get some to lessen the bleeding? Also practical solutions to deal with the bleeding is to use a pad and a mooncup as it really helps with overspill. I definitely agree with others who say go back to a&e, my gp said as I was feeling fine in myself that was a sign that it was ok but you obviously are feeling very unwell so they need to investigate further- can you not get on the day emergency appointments at your gp?

I will be asking to have the implant out as I really do not like it. It feels lumpy around it too. I notice it all the time and it does actually hurt. I do have fibromyalgia though so I think the overreaction to the feeling of it and pain is down to that.
I will look in to that acid as I will try anything to stop it.
As for a and e exam, they did feel my abdomen and there were many areas of pain. Very low down above pubic bone and also over my right hip.
I'm going to call my GP again tomorrow and ask to be seen before but they were placed into special measures last summer and were very close to closing all together a few months ago. No other surgery will accept patients from this surgery until they are actually closed. So I'm a bit stuck. I will keep hassling them if they won't offer one or sit in reception until I get seen.

Def not normal. Please seek help! Agree with pp re Trans acid. Worked well for my heavy periods x

You are losing a lot of blood. That’s dangerous. Back to A&E with you. Emphasise the blood loss. Don’t say you feel fine in yourself, you are in considerable pain and are very worried.

Sorry, see it was another poster that mentioned they felt fine in themselves. But same advice.

I'd definitely go and get seen today. You can't keep going on losing that much blood. Hope you get it sorted

I explained the blood loss on Monday when I went to a and e. They weren't worried as I was not anaemic on the bloods. But I agree it isn't normal.

Good luck anyway, hope it gets sorted.

Find another doctor. Perhaps it's not life threatening in the immediate sense, from the perspective of a&e but can still be a cyst or cancer or whatever.

You certainly need a gynae referral and you should be seeing your GP asap.

The symptoms and pains you describe could well be attributed to endometriosis; this can also cause heavy bleeding as well as pain. Its not detected on scans; the usual way it is diagnosed is via a keyhole surgery op called a laparoscopy. Fibroids can also cause heavy bleeding to arise and this should be looked for as well.

It's been another week of the same though so you need to get checked out again. Let us know how you get on x

Thanks everyone. Still the same this morning. Leaked all over my bed. S Towel didn't hold up. Luckily I'd put a towel down. And also had an accident on my sofa. I can't even sit on my own sofa without worrying now.
I'm going to walk in to GP after work or during work if it gets too much and ask to be seen earlier. I want to be seen asap.
I've been bleeding for nearly 3 weeks. Going by my cycles I won't stop before the next one starts 😫

You shouldn't call it "period" when you speak to the doctor, it could lead his thoughts in the wrong direction. Just call it "continuous bleeding" or something of that sort. Mention the implant, that you want to have it removed asap, and a thorough examination after that.

Managed to get through to the surgery. No appointments so had a call back from a Dr. He was not overly helpful. I said I was having a 'prolonged bleed' and he said 'where from? Vaginally?' so I said yes it is. 3 weeks of bleeding. And he said 'well some times periods can last longer than you would like.'And I just saw red. I spoke over him explaining my worry and all the symptoms but he said he is limited on the phone and to collect a prescription.

Anyway as no appointments he gave me mefenamic acid to take and keep my appointment for 28th. If it doesn't stop he said a and e.

So no further forward. Didn't really want to talk about the fact I've got horrendous pain in my pelvis hip and thigh. I've lost weight without trying although that could be because I feel so sick I'm not eating much.

I might send an email expressing my concern that this might be serious, i.e. 2 week wait appointment is necessary due to the nature of the pain. Or even I need the implant out!

I believe tranxemic acid is only meant to be taken for 3 or 4 days. Is mefanic (sp?) acid the same? If so you can take it and go back to a&e if necessary. And keep your gp appointment as pelvic pain and weight loss can we warning signs for other things. Did you have a smear test within the last three years?

I really do think you should have told the GP all of your other symptoms too because they really do sound quite significant.
I so hope you get sorted soon

Frustrates me so much how terrible women are treated when their women's health is having issues! Why do Drs just belittle you. 3 weeks bleeding is not normal or okay OP and certainly not with all your other symptoms.

I know this is a bit irrelevant to you as you hadn't have a baby that recently but I had all your symptoms and turns out I had an infection left over from labour as it hadn't all cleared. Took a year and me going private to get it sorted as every Dr I went to dismissed me.

Can you consider going private? Cost me £150 for half hour appointment and the prescription plus a follow up.

He didn't say anything about a restriction on how long to take it and the info sheet doesn't mention it either so I assume I take it for as long as I need to. It's slowing the bleeding so that's good.

Last smear was 2 years ago and was all good.

I did mention the weight loss and painful pelvis but he didn't want to go in to it on the phone. I will be telling the GP when I see her at the end of the month.

I had a severe infection which started while I was in labour. It was a bacteria that was introduced when the midwives struggled to break my waters. I ended up with sepsis and was very ill. At the time I didn't really let it get to me because I had a newborn baby to be caring for. But looking back I was actually quite sick. I was on antibiotics for a month.

Since then I have had 4 ovarian cysts, and now this bleeding.

Also can't afford to go private unfortunately. Although my mum has said she would pay for me to have a hysterectomy privately if they would do it. Seriously considering that if she could.

I'm sorry you feel it's causing you so much issues you'd consider having a major OP. That should indicate to the GP just how much of an issues this is to you!