Night time period problem (women reply only please)

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I've always suffered with many period problems, but I'll narrow this one down to just one. I am unable to sleep for longer than an hour without having to change my pad, and it's turning me into a zombie. I've not been able to sleep through the night for 2 days now, and having to keep getting up wakes me right up and I cannot get back to sleep before the next "bathroom trip". I use the largest damn towels they have and still they are not enough, I kinda need a quick fix before I go mad.

Sleep with a very friendly vampire between your thighs.

Sorry. I don't know.

If you are able to use tampons, they can be left in for up to 8 hours. A common misconception preventing their use is a concern for chastity: don't worry. Those little rolls of cotton don't go deep enough to disturb your hymen.

Sorry if this isn't helpful; I have never been able to use pads.

although i have never used them myself i have heard of and seen these little cups that can be inserted much like a tampon, and for lack of a better term plug you , or hold so much and then just have to be emptied. i thnk they're around $20 but re-useable, i have considered using them myself. i don't know a brand name or anything but hopefully you can look them up online if it is something useful.
or else sleep in the bathtub

I think you should see a gynecologist. That sort of heavy bleeding is abnormal and birth control could help regulate. Or, you can use Super tampons or a vaginal cup (it's resuable but can slip if you move during sleep).

You can start wearing diapers at night for your bleeding if tampons are out of the question. If diapers are also out of the question, try pull ups.

Menorrhagia:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/menorr ... DSECTION=5

Many doctors are unaware of this one:
von Willebrand Disease

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Dis ... ptoms.html
It' more common than recognized. Ask for a test for it.

My advice, for your sanity and for your health, is to see a professional about this. You need your sleep, and you need to get to the bottom of the heavy bleeding issue. That is not normal, though I figure you know this already. Also, if you're not already taking a women's multivitamin with iron or a doctor-prescribed iron supplement, this might be a real good step since I can't imagine your iron levels could withstand that and not drop.

Sorry to hear you're feeling miserable. Sleep deprivation is the worst! Hope you feel better soon.

I think getting it checked is the most important step. In the meantime, tampons are a good idea, and you can get pads designed to soak up urine, so they can obviously hold a lot, so maybe they will do the trick? I'm not sure whats available in other countries.

Try an applicator tampon if you find you have difficulty with regular ones.

Certain pain killers such as Ibuprofen? But only an option if there's real pain involved, otherwise it would be unwise to take any, despite that some pain killers like Ibuprofen can reduce the bleeding, for whatever miraculous reason I can't comprehend.

I used to suffer through long, painful periods, with flow so heavy that I was visibly pale from blood loss. That was before I discovered the NuvaRing. It's this clear thing that's slightly smaller than a hula-hoop for a Barbie doll would be. Just a little larger than one of those plastic rings that goes around a milk gallon to keep it "sealed" prior to purchase. You slip it into your vagina for 3 weeks, take it out for a week, and then put a new one in at the end of the 4th week. The hormones are absorbed through the mucus membranes there, at a constant level. You can have sex around it.
Since I began using it a year and a half ago:
I might (but usually don't) get cramps for 2 hours now TOTAL, each month, and they're so mild I no longer take ibuprofen (I used to take 6-8 every 3-4 hours, which isn't good for you)
I can use "normal" pads at night
I can use "regular" tampons (which I'd never been able to do in my life)
My periods last about 4 days, with really light flow on the first and last day
When I change a pad or tampon, it's because it's hitting the 6-8 hour "limit," not because it's overflowing

I took oral birth control when I was younger for endometriosis, and didn't have the same amazing affects that NuvaRing has had. You should definitely see your physician, preferably a gynecologist, about bleeding that is that heavy. It isn't normal, or safe.

Someone had advised to use tampons because they can be left in for up to 8 hours. If your flow is that heavy, that won't apply to you...you'll probably have to change them just as often as the pads. When a tampon is "full" the blood starts leaking out. This presents a really good opportunity for a lot of bacteria to grow, and possibly to grow inside of you too. If a tampon is left in too long, you can even get toxic shock syndrome (like those little warning papers in all the boxes).

I hope things get better, and take care of yourself.

Ditto on the nuvaring. Most predictable cycle i have ever heard. Light periods. I used to have ten day periods when i first started. I only used pads for a while, but I felt so gross lying down at night. . Tampons are a godsend. they may let you sleep.

I used to have that problem, and when I finally got it checked out, they discovered that I had uterine fibroids. The excessive bleeding was my body's way of trying to slough them off the uterine wall, which of course is impossible. Thus, the heavy bleeding. The worst of it, was that I had to get a blood transfusion, because I was dangerously low on both blood volume, and iron levels. I ended up getting a hysterectomy, which I really didn't want to do, but the fibroids kept growing, and the hemorrhaging continued, despite everything I tried. You might want to look into Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, which can regulate blood flow and possibly stop the heavy bleeding. I wish I had known about those things before I got the hysterectomy. But I certainly don't miss having periods!