Heavy periods making my life a misery

[Moondust]

Since having children (youngest is now 3) my periods have been really heavy and clotty. Usually I just have one day of heaviness and clots (so not terrible really) but it makes life really difficult on that day. I can feel the clots coming out which is horrible but more difficult is that they then soak the pad so I end up having to change my pad every half hour or so or risk leaking when I go through a "clotty phase" on that day. Fine if I'm at home but so tricky when at work (in a school) or out and about.

I've got a prescription for tranexamic acid which works well some months but not others. The GP said I could increase the dose (I was taking 3 a day during my period but she said I could go up to 6) but I'm worried about doing that. I know it's probably silly - the GP has said it's ok - but as it's a thickener/clotter I'm worried it's going to cause a clot elsewhere and I'll get a DVT or something. Is this even a possibility? Or am I being silly?

I don't want to take any hormones so the pill is not an option. Is there anything else I can try? Or do I just need to keep on with the tranexamic acid?

Thanks x

I had it done on NHS in 2013 when my youngest was 2 no real periods for 4 years and now they are very manageable. It was done under GA and I was back at work a few days later- had some issues with low BP immediately after surgery.

With heavy clotting and periods generally I found a mooncup ok when I was at home but out and about and at work where we didn't have sinks in the cubicle completely unusable; no warning before overspills and get it wrong in a tiny cubicle you get a blood bath!

That and not being able to last the night with super tampons or moon cups led me to get a mirena, life changer with only occasional spotting now - I'm trying not to spend too much time regretting the years before when managing my period took all my energy (and my iron!)

I dealt with my constant periods with peaks of floods with the mini pill and ablation. I have fibroids.

I had ablation under general anaesthetic with a weeks recovery. No bleeding since the day after (5 years now).

So,e else I know had the same but it didn't resolve her bleeding as her fibroids were larger, she had a hysterectomy about 6 months later.

@Moondust have you been offered an ultrasound to find the cause? I’m asking because mine was fibroids and my 40s were miserable, I wish I had got on towards getting sorted sooner (I’m 48 now). Fibroids can grow, so my periods got worse and worse. Not at all trying to be a doommonger, just wishing I had pushed hard at your age to get diagnosed and sorted and saved myself some grief, just wanted to pass that on 💜

@LulaK can it be fibroids if there's no pain?

@YukoandHiro for me, yes. I had very little pain. My only symptoms were flooding and clots.

I had an ablation this time last year. So wonderful! I still have periods but they are sooooo light compared to what I had. I can actually function now.

Highly recommend

Thanks @LulaK that's my only problem too - two days of flooding and clots each period, it's horrid.
I'm going to mention it at my over 40s check up I have coming up.
What treatment did you have?

@YukoandHiro I think I may have left it too late for some of the treatments. I was thinking of going to the doc by 2018/19, never got around to it - I’d have a few bad periods and think, I must make an appointment, then a few ok ones and think, oh, maybe I’m nearly at menopause and it’ll sort itself - then of course there was covid. So periods were a bit of a nightmare before I finally saw GP. Mini pill did nothing. Mirena I bled out. Then GP arranged ultrasound but I had such a huge bleed I ended up in A&E, and the gynaecologist said I needed a hysterectomy so that was what happened (six months later). I wasn’t offered myomectomy or ablation, think I had too many fibroids and too big by then. But obv that doesn't happen to everyone.

Mini pill sorted out mine.
No side effects.
No period. Bonus!

I was fortunate to get my ablation privately through work. My bill was 2.5k but that included an ovary removal at the same time, so might be around 2k with a general anaesthetic? If there is anyway you can stretch to that it is an absolute game changer, as PP say. Mine were so heavy I had serious anemia, so fixing it was worth it.

I have mefenamic acid which has really changed things for me, period much more manageable and you can take it alongside the ones you are already taking. Hope you get it sorted x

I know it's not a fix for everyone but I'm another one that the mirena coil has been life changing for - no more heavy periods with big clots (no more periods at all!), no more painful periods, no more leaks - it's been such a huge improvement for me and wish I'd done it earlier but at early 40's it's in and I'll likely keep (with the replacements) to see me through menopause as the progesterone side.