Super Long Periods

[SABMc]

Sorry for the horrible post guys, but I literally can't sleep because I'm so worried.

I am 29 years old, and 7 months ago, I gave birth to my first child. The pregnancy and delivery was textbook, and the recovery afterwards was fantastic.

Since June, however, I have noticed that my periods have been coming a lot more frequent and lasting a lot longer.

I've phoned the doctor a number of times, and they keep telling me to monitor it. But I don't know what I'm meant to be looking out for. No doctor at my surgery will see me because of COVID-19 restrictions, and this month I've been passing quite large clots.

I have really bad health anxiety, and suffer from PTSD which is triggered by blood due to witnessing an accident that took my dad's life.

My gran died from ovarian cancer, and my mum had a full hysterectomy in her 40's. The doctor did say that it's not cancer though because it would have shown up during my pregnancy, but I'm really struggling to hold on to that, constantly having 'but what if' thoughts.

Has anyone had anything similar to this? I'm so scared that something bad will happen to me and my little boy won't remember me.

Thank you for any replies.

First of all don't stress too much- you are only making yourself worse. Second, there are various reasons this can happen and even if cancer can cause it , it is rare and chances of you having something benign and treatable is much higher.
Pregnancy is like a reboot of female hormonal system. You go back to your old system again and it takes time. A lot many women get newer issues after pregnancy. For me it was pcos, for you it could be something else.
Your first few periods could be heavy and this could be normal. When the GP says to keep a note of your symptoms, it means you need to maintain a period diary for atleast 3 months consisting of cycle length, length of period, how many heavy days and how heavy (how many sanitary napkins you needed to change in a day and how frequently), size of pads (normal, ultra, maxi), clots if any and how big, pain and how many pain killers needed.
Gp need all this info if you need a treatment plan or a referral.
Family histories can worry you a lot but ask yourself if you are bloated, and loosing weight. If not then cancer should not be your first worry.
Clots in periods are caused by heavy periods but it can also be caused by anemia. If you are feeling weak or dizzy do ask for a blood test from your GP.

Hi I'm 10 months pp and my last period (back in April) was 29 days long before the GP gave me a tablet to stop the bleeding. I paid privately for an internal scan and they said there was nothing wrong but a hormone imbalance and to take contraceptives... it's more than likely a hormone imbalance like mine.
How long is long?

Thank you for your response guys. I'm going in around 17 or 18 days. I'm getting quite large clots too. I spoke to the doctor, and she doesn't seem concerned, but I've made the mistake of googling things and it hasn't helped. The doctor said its a possibility that its PCOS.

I waa diagnosed with OCD when I was 17, so really struggle to turn off the irrational thinking

@SABMc I was going to suggest PCOS

We're your cycles regular prior to getting g pregnant though? Did you have trouble getting pregnant?

I ask because I have PCOS, which for me meant really sporadic periods (2-3 times a year) and they were often extremely heavy (like soaking through a super plus tampon in 30 mins). Most woman with PCOS find it very hard to conceive without drugs. So it would seem odd to me that if you were perfectly 'normal' prior to the birth of your child that you would just develop PCOS as I'm pretty sure it's a condition you're born with

If the GP thinks you have pcos why is she not offering test to confirm it? And if you have 18 days cycle length then that is no way of living , she has to offer you some solution.
Do you know that you can ask for a Gynaecological referral without your GP suggesting it. Next time when you talk to your GP tell her that your periods are affecting your quality of life and if she can't suggest a treatment then you need a referral. That will push her to to some tests. If it is indeed pcos then birth control pills can regularise your period again. For some women it is difficult to conceive with pcos, so you do need a treatment plan for future. Also it is not necessary that that if you have conceived without any treatment then you can't have pcos. I have pcos and never had a problem conceiving.

So, I've spoken to the doctor and she said I'm due to have my bloods retested (I'm anemic and have a B12 deficiency), and she's said that once this period has ended and the next one starts, she'll get me in to have them done and have an examination.

I've always had issues with my periods, but they were regular. Apart from once where I skipped it.

I did have a massive cyst in 2012 which was surgically removed too.

It did seem to be stopping yesterday, but has started up again tonight, although not as heavy. Was a bit of a kick in the teeth.

I had really similar symptoms and I was anaemic and B12 deficient . Since taking iron and b12 I have been much improved . Don’t start them before you have your blood test - so the true results can be measured . Initially the GP prescribed - but now I just take a women’s health Iron and Vitamin B combination and a separate B12 tablet . My periods are lighter , shorter and I have much more energy too .