help swimming on very very heavy period

[belltenthelp]

Hi,

Sorry for essay!

Very heavy periods are new to me since having a baby and I am really struggling. I am hoping to get some tips.

Anyway, I have just realised that our trip to Centre Parks will likely fall on my period in a few months time. I am honestly debating whether to cancel the trip as from experience my family spend all day every day at the pool.
But I want to man up and make it work for family's sake. Ideas? Help?

I tend to flood randomly 3 or 4 times. The flooding often goes through sanitary towel etc and through clothes. Basically when I have my period I am on constant high alert as to what sofa/chair/bed I might ruin :(

It makes me totally miserable to be honest.

I have been to a (quite unfriendly) GP twice and returned empty handed but happy to go again. The holiday is a couple of months away.

I was prescribed tranexamic acid when I was in hospital for an unrelated matter and a Dr saw how bad the bleeding was. I guess I could go back on it but it made my bleeding continual with no break which also wasn't great.

Before babies I was on microgynon, I don't plan on having more children so could go back but I felt very unstable for about 6 months when I came off it - deeply unhappy and I am normally quite chilled!

Thank you to anyone that answers.

How anemic are you, OP?

@belltenthelp, I had similar though not as bad.

You need norethisterone and tranexamic acid scrips. My GP happily prescribed both: TA for when a period starts unexpectedly and you need to make it lighter; norethisterone for eg taking before a Centerparcs holiday to delay your period till afterwards (can then be painful and heavy so be prepared). I carried both with me for years (never use both for same episode). I would take norethisterone from a few days before your holiday if it is possible your period is due.

I used a mooncup but when I flooded it just filled that and went down the sides. Nothing would have worked with swimming.

I would also get your iron levels checked regularly. I ended up very anaemic without noticing as i thought it was child-induced tiredness. My GP said I could have been anaemic for years.

(btw, you just take TA for the duration of the period that needs managing, and don't need to take it every month - if I was mainly at home or local I didn't).

My periods have got heavy - suspect I’m peri-menaoausal. I’m on iron tablets as they did made me anaemic. Like you I flooded and no pad/tampon combination could contain it. I’ve now discovered modibodi 24 hour period pants and they have been a game changer. They totally cope with flooding. I have had to get multiple pairs (and they aren’t cheap) as I like to change them after flooding but I went out once for a very long day without spares and despite me worrying all day, they coped with a couple of floods with no leaking at all till I got back home. They also last all night too so I don’t have to sleep on a towel either now. When I go swimming, I use a tampon and a fresh pair of period pants on under my normal costume. Works a treat. I sometimes forget I’ve even got my period until I go to the loo now, which would have been unimaginable before when I worried all the time I was going to flood.

Re the norethisterone your period shouldn't come while taking it. Once you stop you can expect a bleed to start 2-4 days after.

Agree you should see your GP again. My heavy periods (TMI flooding for upto 10 days with big clots) were downplayed. I now really struggle with anaemia as I can't seem to catch up.

Re the Mooncup. Many years ago I thought it was great, but as my periods got heavier and more clotty I found it just didn't work for me as I would leak the same way as with pads. By all means try it but don't be using it for the first time at centreparcs!

@belltenthelp I took ibuprofen for my heavy periods (before and during) to reduce the flow. But I’d go on the mini pill to get round your holiday issue.

@lamaze1 you can get otc iron tablets, and also ask about B12 injections.

@lamaze1, sympathies.

I don't think there is enough info available. Iron tablets sorted me quickly but I had a very strict regime with them - only two cups of tea or coffee a day (tannins inhibit absorption) and at least two hours from food, juice or satsuma with every meal and with tablets, lots of red meat (temporarily), avoid oxalic-acid containing foods. I had a schedule and stuck to it. There isn't good evidence for all of that but it was fairly easy to do and my GP was surprised at how quickly my levels came up.

Go to gp to get the pill that delays periods. I recently took it while on holidays.
€65 for a three minute appointment and €17 for the pills 🙄 but well worth it !
you take them I think two/three days before your due and then one tablet three times a day for up to 10 days.
I wasn’t sure when exactly I was due so started taking them the day before I went away when I started getting that crampy feeling .

Like you , we spend a lot of time in the pool so would have really put a dampener on the holiday if I couldn’t go in!
Don’t let your period stop you from going , book an app with gp today and enjoy your break away !

Norethisterone
Period swimwear
Cups

Get a period tracker app and track your period for the next couple of months so you know when to take norethisterone. If you get to a few days or a week out from your holiday, and you haven't come on yet then just start taking it from then until you come back.

Have you tried period pants as well as pads for the heaviest days just to reassure you there won't be any leaks

Tran Acid should only be taken from the first 4 days of a period, it won’t cause prolonged bleeding as it’s not a hormone it’s more like a clotting agent that reduces heavy bleeding.
It’s worked fairly well for me but you have to take it as prescribed, for me that is 3 times a a day for 4 days.
I no longer flood through but I still use a mooncup and period pants. You can get swimming period pants now that you could test in the bath before you go, alongside a moon cup and TA that would work for me.
I also take iron every day.
Good luck as it is so miserable to have life governed by periods as we do.

I'm in exactly the same situation as op. Although I'm due on but no sign yet any tips for forcing one on would be welcome. I usually were period friendly swimwear but wanted the heaviest to be over done with before I go.

Just to say because I knew this would happen because it always does I went to get a prescription of norohisterone and the pharmacist said that there was a real shortage of it. I tried 3 pharmacies and they were all out

I didn't find TA helped me at all. Could you start taking the pill for a short while?

You can get period swimwear OP, although I've not tried it.
A word of warning - whenever I've taken anything to delay my period it hasn't worked. No clue why, just hasn't. So it may be worth either trialling it before you go or being prepared to sit out the pool if you're flooding.

I'm perimenopausal and mooncups are better than tampons. However, even a large one only holds so much, and then you will leak. What it means though is n the heaviest days, I can go up to 2 hours before it leaks, whereas a super plus tampon was less than an hour.

My lovely GP said, "no woman should have her life dictated to by periods in this day and age, and there's a range of treatments we can work through, up to hysterectomy, so we'll start with tranexamic acid, and stop when we reach something that works." Fortunately, TA was helpful for me, but good GPs are out there. She also quizzed me on periods and menopause when I saw her a few months ago for something else, to make sure I'm informed. So if your GP isn't like this, I'd see if there was another around I could go to.

You can get period swimwear OP, although I've not tried it.

Don't rely on it for heavy periods. Good for lighter flow, though.

Maybe even start with the Norethisterone the week before if needed? I took mine for 16 days - think you can take it up to 30 days so will be fine for to your CP trip :) xx

I’m a GP and it also makes me so cross when I hear of women being under treated and dismissed. Sorry to you and others who have had this. There are lots of different options not just for your trip but to help regulate your periods in general, so please do speak to another GP at your surgery- perhaps ask the reception team if there is one who has a special interest in womens health although really this should be bread and butter for all GPs!

Hope you have a lovely holiday!

I've never used a cup but if you try it and it works then you can also get some period bikini bottoms to wear under your regular swimsuit! I was just finishing up my period for my wedding and there was a hot tub I wanted to use so I bought some high waisted ones and wore them under my costume and it worked great! Because I was finishing up my period I didn't feel the need for anything else at all, but maybe get and try a cup like the others say and if it reduces your leakage then the period bikini bottoms are a backup if you do leak in the pool!

I just bought some off Amazon - annoyingly they're unavailable now but have a look and see what you can find. The ones I bought had excellent reviews so it's worth going by the reviews for others.

Good luck!

Good luck getting the Norethisterone! I am prescribed it medically for another condition and cannot get it due to everyone who wants to delay their periods 👍🏻

Thank you for all of the advice, I am feeling far less alone. I have 2 months 2 try out the various options and I am feeling hopeful that I can make it work now.

And I guess worse things have happened than a woman leaking if it comes to that.... Onwards and upwards.

I will definitely ask to see another GP/be persistent with that too. I might wait until the baby is a year old so that things are a bit more regular/settled and I can see how bad the new normal really is.

I am grateful for all of your help and understanding!

I'm really glad the thread has helped, OP - though I don't think you need to wait? Neither TA or norethisterone have to be taken consistently. You can see what the new normal is on months when it doesn't matter, and try meds when it does, depending on the situation. But as pp have said, there really is no need to suffer like this if safe meds can help, whether or not a holiday is involved. And anyway, the pattern may change in the future. I hope you have a really fun holiday!

I'm sorry about anyone having supply problems.

Norethisterone