"That time of the month"

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Hey all, I have some issues and questions. Sorry if my terminology is pretty bad, I'm new to talking about stuff like this. So, here are my issues: my periods have recently become very irregular. They used to be 28 days every month. Now, they are 28,29,30,29,30 days to just completely stopping. Nothing is regular anymore. When I get my period, I bleed very heavy and very long. I bleed through 2 maxi pads and then I still end up bleeding through my pants and the sheets if I'm sleeping, all in a half hour. Cramps are brutal. The only relief is to sleep, if I can. Nothing helps. When should I start to worry if I have not gotten my period this month? I started the 4th of march, and nothing yet. Should I start to worry after the 4th of April? I went to a primary care physician and he said everything was normal. I made an appointment with an OBGYN this morning, but the soonest they could see me is the end of may. What should I do in the meantime? When should I worry? Is anyone willing to PM me to talk about more of this stuff that maybe they know and I don't? Thanks so much.

I think it is good you are seeing a gynecologist. Your primary care doctor doesn't sound like he knows what he is talking about.

The range of days doesn't sound too off to me. I am usually 28 days exactly, but sometimes my period will come a day early or late. If I am hanging around a lot of females, my cycle will correct itself to line up with the other women.

The heaviness is causing problems for you, so it definitely needs to be checked out. I can't say if or what the problem is - the GYN will look into that. The only thing I can say is to ask the office to let you know if an appointment becomes available sooner, if anyone cancels. Other than that, just wait until May. I don't think that anything sounds so urgent that you are going to have serious problems waiting until then.

I always had very heavy periods, but not as heavy as what you are describing. I sleep deeply, and because I would stay in one spot for so long, I would leak at night. Now, I don't have that problem so much. In the morning, though, I have to get to the bathroom quickly. These days, because I'm getting older, some months are very light. But the next month my body makes up for it!

Of course, use your best judgment. You should look up signs of hemorrhaging and if you feel that is what is happening at any point, call for an ambulance.

I would just keep track of it for now till you can get an appointment, for me I get mine once every 1-3 months for one week only. I have been this way forever, and there is nothing they found to explain it.

This sounds a little similar to my problem although not exact: My periods started becoming lighter and less frequent for a while, then they start making up for it with greater flow and frequency until I'm bleeding every day for months at a time. Sometimes the flow is ridiculously heavy (menorrhagia) and I would completely soak those super-heavy-flow "overnight" pads in two hours, and I'd feel blood gushing out whenever I moved after sitting still for a while. Yuck. Fortunately for me, these weird periods are actually way less painful than the "normal" periods I used to have. However, the ridiculously heavy and long-term blood flow was causing me to become anemic.

My doctors, including the gynecologist I saw, can't figure out what's wrong, but they aren't dumb enough to say nothing's wrong. They gave me hormonal medication (usually the same thing as birth control, but last time they gave me something else) to keep it under control. My periods will be normal for a while after stopping the medication, but then the process will start over.

I've found that long-term menstrual bleeding is such a foreign to many doctors that it can be hard to explain your symptoms so that they understand.

A friend of a friend had similar symptoms as me, except more pain, and she was diagnosed with endometriosis.

Many things can throw your period off, stress, weight changes, illness etc. But bleeding so heavy isn't normal. That could be a number of problems, anything from a miscarriage to ovarian cysts or endometriosis.
I really don't know what to tell you. Maybe try incontinence products. My mom had endometriosis and would bleed through maxi pads. She used bladder protection pads, they absorbed more.

Come to think of it a sheet protector on top of the sheets might save you some laundry too.

I do use a sheet and matress protector and I still end up bleeding through. I sometimes wears 2 heavy flow pads then put toilet paper over that. And I still bleed through them

Any news, Laurie? Did you get in to seeing a doctor?

My daughter has started having similar problems. The GYN put her on the pill. So far, so good, but it's only been a couple of days. She had blood work done to check for Von Willebrand's Disease, as well. Waiting for results...

I learned that Von Willebrand's Disease is often discovered due to heavy, long-lasting periods (and large clots, too.) Who knew? The GYN said that every woman with heavy periods should at least get checked for it.