menorrhagia - extreme bleeding during menstruation

Just thought I'd throw in a quick thread about my own recent experiences (in case someone else is going through this and wondering what it could be).

A little background:
I've been breastfeeding my child since her birth, and she is now 19 months old. I didn't get my period until about 5 months ago, and it was extremely light. The following month was a little heavier, but still pretty light on.

Three months ago, it sped up. I bled an insane amount, and it kept going for ten days. By insane amount, I was filling a large ladycup (34ml) AND soaking completely through a maternity pad within 30-60 mins, non stop. Even overnight (yeah, that meant NO sleep!!). Doc thought it might be a missed miscarriage, and wait until next month.

Next month was exactly the same. Might be hormonal (return of period after breastfeeding, etc), but here's a request for an ultrasound. Wait until your next period. If it is still heavy next month go in and see what is happening.

It started again Friday 26th Feb, and is just slowing down now. My ultrasound showed that I still have quite a bit of debris left over from birthing my little girl, and it is causing all sorts of problems. It was never brought to light before this as I hadn't had a period until recently, although have been feeling bloaty and uncomfortable for quite some time (apparently, this is also highly likely from the same problem). So now I need to go for a D&C and then wait for my next period to see if that really was the cause of the problem. D&C seems such a simple solution in comparison with some - especially given that the ultrasound technician told me that my ovaries looked perfect, so that rules out possible ovarian cancer!! I also felt incredibly brainless and weak from blood loss and sleep deprivation, and am apparently at risk of anemia, so blood tests to follow this week.

I should also add in here that natural therapies didn't help.

Not looking for pity or anything, just putting this out there in case someone else is going through similar problems and wondering what all of the possibilities may be. This is just one of those possibilities, but something else to add to the list! Obviously, I'd have to recommend going to a doctor, especially if symptoms are ongoing.

Does anyone else have/had similar symptoms with different resolutions to add to this? I know that some people have reported heavy bleeding after breastfeeding with acupuncture providing a lot of relief (probable hormonal imbalance in these situations?). Any other causes and related treatments that people have experienced? I think I would have felt a lot more empowered going into this armed with more possibilities in my mind than miscarriage, hormones or something far too scary to seriously contemplate...

Sorry for the novel... I believe that knowledge is power, and if my experiences can help someone else to feel a little better about their own situation then I'd like to do all I can to help. I'd never claim to know it all, I just know what I've been through.

Hi somewoman.

Thank you for sharing your story.

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you've been experiencing with your cycle. I hope that the D&C is able to fix the issues with the menorrhagia and that you see a return to something much more manageable, and that it doesn't relate to miscarriage. I would be surprised if you weren't suffering from some form of iron deficiency due to the blood loss to some extent by the sound of your symptoms, so I hope the blood test can clarify what's going on and that a simple round of iron tablets will help you feel much better also.

I just thought I'd share with you my situation so you can compare your own to what one of my doctors referred to as a "classic case" of menorrhagia. I've suffered from it since I was a teenager - within a few years of starting to menstruate, but it was never as extreme as what you've been going through. I often had iron deficiency problems (anaemia several times) and was on iron tablets more often than not. I would regularly "flood" through multiple pads and tampons and would sleep very badly during my period due to being up to change so frequently. I was often worried about "accidents" in public and would often have to excuse myself whilst doing my job (teaching) to deal with my situation. I tried various forms of the pill to help the problem, but they honestly did squat, except for giving me really bad hormone symptoms, which were bad enough as it was. I had a Mirena IUD inserted to help eventually in my twenties and it did a lot to make my period much lighter... for a time. Eventually after about a year I was gradually having more and more heavy periods and so much pain again (I also suffered from quite bad dysmenorrhea) - even more pain than before I had the IUD inserted. so I had it taken out. It had moved out of position in my uterus quite drastically, so perhaps that relates to why everything was so painful and heavy again. I quickly went back to even heavier bleeding, but at least the pain was a lot more manageable. Natural therapies and diet have never made a difference for me.

I started TTC as soon as the IUD was removed in any case, so I put up with the problem again for the sake of trying to get pregnant, until we needed to use IVF to conceive. During IVF treatment my AF varied, as all of my cycles were medically manipulated in a slightly different way each time trying to get pregnant. I can't tell you how wonderful it was not to deal with AF when I was finally pregnant. I was expecting to have a good break from her when my DD was born due to breastfeeding, but unfortunately AF returned exactly 28 days after my lochia stopped. I have been since been told that for someone that has had menorrhagia, this is not that atypical. In the first few months my AF varied quite a bit - sometimes it was light, other times it was quite a bit heavier, varied in length but it has progressively got more and more heavy and painful (and regular) as time has gone on since giving birth, despite demand BF. Perhaps part of that has been to do with starting solids and my body producing less and less milk and changing hormonally due to this.

We're currently TTC our 2nd baby at the moment (we will start IVF treatment again in a few months if we are unsuccessful naturally) and I am putting up with very heavy, painful periods again, although I can say (please excuse the TMI) that I experience somewhat less clotting than I did before I was pregnant. I don't know if this is because of having been pregnant or whether it's because of BF still. I don't know if or when I will ever have any way of dealing with my menorrhagia in the long term until I go through menopause (short of being pregnant!)

My experience of menorrhagia is quite a bit different from yours, so I'm hoping from what you're experiencing and going through that it is totally related to your retained products from your birth, I certainly hope it's not anything at all too difficult to contemplate, and not a state that your body is naturally functioning in at this time (as it seems mine does). Thanks for sharing what has happened to you - I'm sorry that it's taken all this time since your daughter's birth to establish that there was a problem post birth. I hope that your AF following the D&C returns normal, and I would really like to hear how things resolve for you - I am hoping for the best.

Please excuse my novel also - I agree with you about knowledge being power, and I hope my experience is useful for you, and anyone else reading, even though I can't offer any treatments or solutions that have worked in the long term for me.

hi there! thanks for sharing your story!

i too suffered from severe bleeding (to the point where i would fill a super tampon in the time it took to put my knickers back on). in the end i would wear a super pad with tampon on the less heavy days, and on the really heavy days (and nights!) i would not be able to leave the house as all of a sudden i could have a major bleed and it would be EVERYWHERE. once had this happen at 2am when sleeping at a friends house. complete nightmare. i still shudder when i remember how mortifying that was. gosh.

my situation was slightly different in that i had a miscarriage (8 weeks) that was not dealt with appropriately (OB told me to just let it pass naturally...big mistake, it never really did). so from that time on it just got worse and worse, to the point where i had endometria growing across ovaries and the cervix.

i had some treatment done (in this case it was homeopathically treated in Italy by a fertility specialist there) and i fell pg about 6 weeks later and thankfully, it never returned. i would still have one very heavy day,but nothing in comparison. i am just :pray: that it stays that way after this bubba is born...

This is something I have dealt with on and off. As my periods are also quite irregular, my doctors tend to like to keep me on the pill. I find that themore time between periods the better.

Things were ok in my first 12 months off the pill while TTC. But after that and during IVF things were just dreadful. At the worst I was flooding through super tampons in about half an hour so was using them in conjunction with pads - couldn't leave the house and was just about passing out each time I stood up.

My FS gave me a drug to treat it - cyklokapron. I don't know how much of an issue it would be while breastfeeding, but it could well be worth checking out. It seems that not many doctors know about it. The first time I had it I had to go to an after hours medical centre to get the prescription on the instructions of my FS as he was out of town. The GP I saw had never heard of it and needed to look it up in MIMS in order to be able to prescribe it to me. I still have some stocks of it left - I really only use it now on the heavy days when I have to go out - just for a little bit of extra confidence.

BW

Thanks ladies for sharing your stories! Hopefully this will be a good place for people to look to when wondering what is happening to themselves and what others have been through and done about it.

Acacia - OMG, I can't believe you have had to deal with that for so long! It puts my three months into perspective - at least (I hope) this should only be temporary for me. How awful! And what a woman!! *hugs*

I'm glad that Cassius2 and BW have it under control now - I am sure that it will give some hope to others going through it in future.

I had issues after DD2. At my 6 week post check they put me on antibiotics incase my excessive bleeding was retained placenta. I was on antibiotics for 4 weeks, and didn't have a period. When DD2 was 18 months old and weaned, I got my AF 2 weeks later. It was excessive and lasted 8-10 days and then I would have a 10 day break and then it would start again. I went to the GP who said it could continue like this for 12 months or so. I then went to my acupuncturist who helped me tremendously with breastfeeding and hormonal issues post birth. She gave me some chinese herbs and 2 days after I started them, I had an even bigger period which lasted for 2 weeks and had rather *TMI* brown chunks come out as well. After that "clean out", I went back to 4-5 day periods every 30 days or so. We called it the big clean out in my house as I went through a maternity pad every hour for the first 4 days and then it started slowing. I wasn't able to wear tampons because she told me not too in order to keep everything clean.

christy - thanks for sharing! I'm glad that your "clean-out" worked so well for you!! =)

My D&C has been booked for this coming Monday. I'm a little annoyed because I have to be at the hospital by 7am for 3pm surgery - I'm still breastfeeding my girl so this is going to SUCK! I'm happy to do the whole fasting thing all they want, but can't I stay here and look after her and show up a couple of hours prior to the surgery instead of waiting around in a waiting room all day? Urgh

Hey SW just dropping in to say hope it all goes well and solves the problem!
Can you ask the hospital if you can go in later or alternatively can someone bring her to you? Thinking of you for Monday x

Could it be such an early arrival because they want to apply the gel to your cervix to start it dilating before surgery? Just a thought...

BW

Gosh, that doesn't even sound logical to have you waiting around for 8 hours before your surgery! Can you check whether they have made a mistake about the time you are meant to arrive if you're having PM surgery as opposed to AM surgery - I would think a 7am arrival would be for any day surgeries in the morning, not later in the day!

I really hope you can sort out a way not to have to be away from your DD for that long, and hoping that the D&C is a big success for you, SW. Not long to go now... :hug:

Thanks all! Hugs right back =)

Just got off the phone with the docs rooms. I told them that I was concerned about being there for so long and wanted to know if it was ok for my child to be in and out as necessary so that she can feed (having said that, she usually feeds after breakfast, after lunch, before dinner on the days that I work (as soon as she sees me she wants it!) and before bed, so she'd really only be in in the morning and lunch time).

The administrator there changed all the schedules around to put me first up in the morning! Said that fasting for that long would be very counter productive to breastfeeding, and that if they switch me to first thing in the morning then hopefully I'll be good to go home by lunch time =)))) They'll also be sure to only use meds that won't harm Alyssa (although she may be a little sleepy Monday afternoon apparently - but that's ok because I probably will be, too ;)

wishing you all the best and hope that they can get you in first thing first!

Thanks! =)

By this time tomorrow I should be just about ready to come home after the procedure... Nervous much? ;)

All done and dusted. Have had a headache since I woke up, so still attempting to get rid of that three days later. Not sure if it is related or not. Other than that, cramping here and there, but nothing that I'd complain too much about. Mainly this blasted headache... Can't get in to see my GP about it until Friday

It really kinda sucks though that drinking heaps of water to try to get rid of a headache is so highly incompatible with trying to sleep off a headache!! Hard to sleep when you're dashing out for a pee every five minutes!

I have to wait until my next-next period (not the one due at the end of this month, but the one after) to see if this really is the likely solution, then go back to see my doc about it all. If I'm still bleeding stupidly heavy at that time then it's back to the drawing board!

Anyways, the girl is with the MIL for another 2.5 hours. Back to bed!

I've been thinking about you hoping it all went well. I'm glad to hear you home resting, but not so good about the headache :( I wonder what it could be? I really hope you're feeling better soon, and that you see a complete change in AF next time she's here :crossfingers:

:hug:

Thought I should jump in here and give an update!

so far, so good. It has been a month and a half since the operation, and have had 2*AF since. The first one was insane (as per my more recent usual), but the most recent one seems like things are looking up!! It was still much heavier than I am accustomed to, but certainly nowhere near as heavy as recent times. Instead of filling a 34ml menstrual cup AND maternity pad within a half hour timeframe (day or night) I could go about four hours during the day, 8 hours at night. A WHOLE NIGHT OF SLEEP!!! Only pity then is that Alyssa was having teething pain, so I still had to get up a couple of times ;) I was still using pads with the cup as I wasn't ready yet to trust my body not to start gushing blood everywhere. And it only lasted three days instead of my more recent 10+ or my usual 5.

I'm so rapt!! We actually managed to go out to the zoo for a family outing! I've been avoiding leaving the house at all during AF lately as I was constantly needing to change, and some times I wouldn't even go for ten minutes without leaking through!! I feel like a new woman =) (as in like I am one, not like I want one - hubby may not approve ;)

SO relieved!! Might still look at some acupuncture or something to see if we can get it back to what it used to be, but realistically I have birthed a child since then so I guess some change should be expected! If it stays as it is now, I'm pretty happy =)

YAY!


btw - thanks all for the support and well wishes - means a lot =)

That's great SW :cheer: I have been wondering how it went
:crossfingers: it continues to improve for you