Question about periods (TMI!)

[healthquery]

So I'm 23 and my periods are a constant annoyance to me. I'm very irregular, and can never predict when I'm going to come on which is not ideal. I previously was on the pill for a couple of years but that wasn't doing me any good, and just masked the fact that my periods don't follow the normal way they're supposed to. Once I came off the pill, I also didn't have a period for 18 months at ALL.

My periods in the last year have been as follows:

February 4th
May 25th
August 22nd
October 2nd
November 22nd
February 15th- today

Whenever I do come on, it usually lasts for around 2 weeks of either really heavy bleeding or lots of clots and feeling completely drained for the whole time.

I guess I'm just worried that there's a problem with me which will mean that I can't get pregnant (something I really want). I'm in a long term relationship, we don't use any contraception.

Has anybody ever experienced periods like mine and been able to get pregnant fine? Should I see my GP about this?

Thanks for reading my essay...

Have you been to your GP to check for PCOS?

I have PCOS and my periods were similar. I take Metformin (it's actually a diabetic drug) and that regulates my periods

I was also going to mention PCOS as a possible cause of your irregular menstrual cycles. Do see your GP about the irregularity and your heavy periods too. Something is causing this and it is in your interests to find out what it is. GP should refer you ideally to a gynae.

You should have blood tests done to see what your hormone levels are like; if the cycle is irregular such tests can be done according to calendar days.

My daughter suffers terribly with her periods and has done so for years. Gp told her once she'd had a child things would settle .. no they haven't, in fact they're probably worse. Definitely keep on at your gp but also I've read the research that states using cloth pads could help alleviate pain, severity and number of days. This would mean leading a normal life. However, after this ramble, I can't find anywhere to buy them that isn't either very expensive (from Canada) or very cheap from China (suspiciously so).
Any recommendations?

@healthquery I've no experience of being that irregular (mine always come, but +/- 5 days from average)... recently I have found that charting my basal body temperature has been really useful for predicting when AF is coming. I choose to do it when I first wake up in the morning.
Also I recently invested in cloth pads from cheeky wipes... can give you discount code if you send me a message. They are UK and sometimes have sales on. They're not waterproof but tend to take long enough to leak through that I can use them on all but my heaviest day. I plan to use them constantly with my mooncup soon... but due to surgery haven't used it in a while.

p. s. I'd def say talk to your GP. Don't wait. It might take a while to find the problem, but a solution (and knowledge!) will give huge benefits to your well being. Don't get fobbed off with "for some people it's normal". It's not normal! I had that... after wasting years of being compliant in the end I needed surgery to make TTC even a possibility.

Yes I did/do. I was referred to gynae and the appointment came through the day after I got a bfp