Menstrual stuff

[clevermanka]

I have heavy periods. This is not news, but I'm wondering if it's something I should ask my doctor about. My period started late Saturday evening and was ramping up by Sunday afternoon. Since late Monday morning I've been emptying my menstrual cup (which holds about 1.5 ounces--it's approximately the size of a shot glass) every two hours. This includes overnight, when I wake up at least every two to three hours to empty it because the sensation of overflowing my cup wakes me up (thankfully). So that's nearly 20oz of menstrual fluid in 24 hours if my math is right (erring on the high side because sometimes I empty it hourly).

Is that medically excessive? Obviously it's exhausting (and tedious), but is it unusual enough that I should bring it up with my PCP? FWIW, I show no signs of entering perimenopause. I'm still on a regular, if short, schedule with a 23 to 25 day cycle.

My cramps at least haven't been so bad (yet) this cycle. They kicked in about two hours ago, so I'll see if they get worse.

Comments

[indybaggins.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to say that yes, that is excessive. I think as long as your cramps are not suddenly more severe than usual, and you are not dizzy or in any other way feeling it worse than usual, it's still close to normal enough not to worry, but yes, you should mention it to your doctor/maybe have a sonogram if it has been a while? ...but I don't know about patient care in the US and I am not a medical professional in any way!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Well, my cramps are always pretty bad. I count cramps that aren't literally bring-me-to-my-knees as liveable. There are times that I can't stand up, my cramps are so bad.

I should have clarified, too, that this is normal for me. What I'm going through right now is what happens every period.

Noticing any dizziness is a really good point. I'm tired (and god, starving all the time), but there are no feelings of faintness. Thanks for mentioning that! That actually makes me feel a little better.

[indybaggins.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been checked for uterine fibroids? I think the bleeding is definitely something to mention at your next check-up though, but I'm glad you're not feeling dizzy/faint!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I haven't, no. I gotta see my doctor for some bloodwork soon, so I'll ask her about them then. I've got six out of the seven indicators mentioned on the Mayo Clinic site. Yikes.

[indybaggins.livejournal.com]

Then you should definitely ask! Good luck <3

[the-lucky-nun.livejournal.com]

I wonder about that, myself. I second checking on that.

[splix.livejournal.com]

When was your last annual?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

In January. But I didn't bring up the heavy periods because on top of all my other health crap they were kind of minimal. Now that things are progressing on that front, though, I'm getting more frustrated/tired with these outrageous periods.

[splix.livejournal.com]

That so sucks. D: Yeah, I'd make mention of it for sure. On top of possible fibroids or endometriosis or any of the seventy billion possible reproductive-organ fuckups out there, you don't want anemia as well, it's so exhausting. Thinking good thoughts for you.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thanks, bb! Good thoughts are always appreciated.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Heavy like that could be that your progesterone is falling, since it balances estrogen for your uterine lining.
I had to look up perimenopause symptoms, because I never really had any except a sudden shortening of my cycle and then it was a bit irregular and finally just stopped. *That* was when the hot flushes and night sweats ramped up for me, not prior to.
I wonder if having a tubal ligation changes the "usual" symptoms?
NGL, my micronized progesterone is the Holy Grail of Feeling Good For Me, for sleep and general well-being, so I might wax a bit poetic about it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on the miracles of progesterone. The tincture I get from Dr. Khosh has done wonders for my sleeping.

[write-out.livejournal.com]

I'm going to second asking your doctor about fibroids. That amount of fluid does seem a bit excessive. I've got personal experience with fibroids and polyps; they can wreak some havoc but are pretty easy to have removed.

I hope the cramps don't get any worse for you.

eta: also ask about endometriosis. I had stage four endo and had surgery 3.5 years ago and it made a HUGE improvement in my cycles.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's good to hear from personal experience.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

also seems like an excessive amount to me. And I recently had a biopsy of my own fibroids, since which, interestingly, I have decreased pelvic pain AND decreased the amount of flow from my periods. Correlation is not causation, but they did say the fibroid was the reason for the heavy flow in my case.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much for weighing in. As I mentioned to write_out, it's incredibly helpful to hear "this happened to me" stuff. For all sorts of reasons!

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

I think if your pattern has CHANGED, then you should ask the doctor about it. If it's always been this way, then that's just the way you're built.

I never used menstrual cups. Was always very heavy and wore one of those huge-ass diaper-style sanitary napkins. It was never enough.

Both my sister and I went through menopause at 37. Right before menopause, my periods were so bad I couldn't go anywhere. I was told that I was experiencing pre-menopausal "flooding."

Regardless of whether you're "built that way" if it makes you feel at peace to ask the doctor, then you should do it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

pre-menopausal "flooding"

Good lord, these terms they come up with.

This has been fairly normal for me since I stopped taking hormonal birth control. My periods when I was a teenager weren't horrible, they were just two weeks apart.

Thirty-seven oh my god. My mom didn't go through it until she was in her mid-50s, so that's good news for me overall health-wise for keeping bone loss issues and other things at bay for a little while longer but I could certainly deal with less bleeding over here.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

It seems like a lot to me, and it's really similar to my experiences with my own period, except that I use tampons instead of the cup. Mine are usually so heavy that I have to use a super-plus tampon and wear a pad just in case. It's frustrating and exhausting, but I can't remember a time when they weren't so heavy :S

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Solidarity fistbump. The fact that I bleed so much is what prompted me to switch over to a cup and cloth liners. Buying disposables was so expensive.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

*fistbump* True story! I think that having my IUD removed might help with the excessive bleeding on my part, but who knows?

[athenaartemis.livejournal.com]

I would definitely suggest talking to your doctor about it. About ten years ago, my mom was having serious issues with fatigue - not dizziness, but like she would be out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs. Turned out she had uterine fibroids and she was losing so much blood every month that she was getting anemic.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Wow, that sounds...scarily familiar. And I wouldn't know if I'm anemic since I don't donate blood regularly anymore. Okay, so maybe doctor talk sooner rather than later. Thanks, bb.