Heavy periods

It's no wonder I've been diagnosed anaemic, since I hit my 40s my periods are getting heavier and heavier. My Dr doesn'r seem concerned, she says that's normal as women head towards menopause.

I'm pretty sure I'm in perimenopause as I get midcycle spotting these last few years (anovulation apparently), and although my cycles are very regular they are a little shorter in length. I guess I should be grateful as I no longer get cramping or breast tenderness either.

The bleeding drains me though, because I have a mooncup I know how much I'm losing and on day 2 of my cycle I'm already past 100ml (I used to lose 70ml over the whole period, I'm a 7 day cycle person). Feel so tired with it. I wish menopause would just happen.

A friend mentioned tranexamic acid (she used before her menopause) and I'm thinking of seeing my GP again and asking about it. Anyone tried this or indeed anything else that helped?

A few people on here have menioned progesterone cream before and I'm curious but as far as I'm aware it's not available over the counter or by prescription in UK (I have seen it only via web).

Depending on how well you get on with your GP, how about talking to a pharmacist? Lots of things can be helpful without a prescription. Black kohosh worked well for me. You could also ask for a blood test, to see what your FSH and iron levels are. GPs are great at saying it's not a problem, but you have to live with it.......

BTW life AFTER the menopause is FANTASTIC

Think I am ready to go through the menopause too. My periods are now only lasting 3 days, I used to bleed for about 5-6 days.

My daughter has very heavy periods and is really in pain with them, It was recommended that she went on the mini pill (been taking it for a month now) this month her period wasn't heavy and she only had mild pains, hopefully this works for her.

I used this for a while and I think it may have helped a little:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Emerita-P...&wl13=&veh=sem
I went through the same thing during the three-four months before my attempt. The condition made my stressful, call center job worse.

You should try the Emertia. I went thought heavy periods and bad moods so bad I worried about pushing someone off a subway track... but the Emertia worked amazingly.

It takes a few months but the blood returns to normal and after about a month my moods stabilized. Amazon has reviews and they are kind of glowing from a LOT of people.

Tranaxemic acid didn't work for me

I'm curious about the emertia, but can't seem to source it in UK.

I think I will be having a trip back to the GP as my anaemia needs monitoring, to check if supplementation is working. I tend to downplay symptoms generally but perhaps I need to be a bit pushier here. I'd really like a hormone profile so I can find out if there is anything out of whack before I self medicate.

Day 3 has been a bit easier at least. Thanks everyone for responses.

Try birth control perhaps? Are you on medications that could be causing this. I was on depoprovera yet still cycling when I shouldn't have my period at all. I had a discussion with my pharmacist however and she informed me that the Metformin I was taking for weight management is also used as a fertility treatment. Well that was enough of that. I haven't had a period since (I've gone 5 weeks).

Mini pill has caused my periods to go all over the place but they are significantly lighter and starting to settle 🖒 I haven't had a proper period in about 6 weeks just random spotting

I believe I am perimenopausal, as well, and I have been having odd and heavier periods for about a year now. And I'm just 36, but I started my period younger than I think most girls do and have never had kids. The thing that sucks for me is they are heavier but they're still lasting 7 days, basically.

I've honestly been ready for menopause the second I started having periods...

Oh, and progesterone...I don't know if anyone else here who has been using any of those creams, supplements or anything has gotten some info about it to the contrary...but I did look into it several months ago and believe I saw that it can increase your risk of cancer. That made me leave it and just deal with what I'm dealing with because a good percentage of people in my family have died from cancer, so I'm already at risk. Anyone, feel free to clarify for me/us on any risks with progesterone.

Does Progesterone Cause Cancer? - Dr. Anna Garrett

This could help. For me.. I know a lot of women who took the natural progesterone and there are tons of reviews on amazon. If it caused cancer, I believe it would be well known by now. Certainly someone would have reported it there. But we haven't seen tons of cancer outbreaks. Just as about 5 years after people started using HRT it became obvious that there was a problem.

There is a book by Dr. John Lee called what your doctor won't tell you about perimenapause where he goes into detail on why it is safe.

Thanks Emily FS, like BrokeTech I have concerns about supplementation so this was a very interesting and helpful article to me.

Sorry to read you are going through this too BrokeTech, that seems really young for perimenopause, I was told that the younger you are when you start your periods the later they will go on for but no idea if that's true (source: school nurse). Have you chatted to your GP about it?

Thanks. I believe my mother told me the same thing you'd heard, but I have recently found some articles that say the exact opposite. Some also mention never having given birth as a cause for early menopause and say it increases the odds combined with an early period. I turned 10 and then 3 months later I got my period. I also read you can be in perimenopause for 10 years.

I have not seen a doctor about this yet, but my mother has started suggesting I do so. I have at least three things I should see a doctor for right now, lol.

I got my period at 14 and I still think I entered the early stages of perimenopause at about 37. I am now 46 and I think having the final throws. The heavy period thing was the first tip off and also extreme PMS. I did use the emerita and it helped. Actually it helped so good that either my body adjusted or the progesterone nudged it back into alignment because I was able to stop taking it after about 1 year.

I recently took a saliva hormone test (which I Hope to check with blood tests) and my progesterone is super low and my estrogens is not. So I probably need to start up again.

Wow. Very interesting. I have had a few hot flashes, and I have very strong PMS symptoms, in addition to the increased heaviness. They also have been coming on very weird the last year, like a very slow/spotty/on-and-off start for 1-2 days and then just very heavy--that started when I turned 35.

Just curious, did you have heavy periods since you first started at 14 basically, or did they just start getting heavy around 37? I have always had heavy ones and have always had to wear 2 pads. So the fact that they're even heavier now is just worrisome, always worrying about accidents (which I already had to worry about).

Also, have you had children?

Thanks.

No to the children. I did not always have heavy ones. I wouldn't say they were lite but I wouldn't have to change pads during the day. Around 37... somewhat gradually I started having to change the pad in the middle of the day on my heaviest day. I would also get ghost white looking.

I believe that as you get older your natural progesterone in relation to estrogen starts reducing. This increases the thickness of the uterine lining. Restoring your levels of progesterone to closer to what it used to be will keep your lining thinner and reduce bleeding.

One reason I tried the natural progesterone was to see if it worked. It did. But I know a friend who had a uterine lining ablation procedure and that worked too. She had kids.

I have same problem. As I entered my 40's it got worse and worse. I had an ultrasound and it showed I had a uterine polyp. So I went in for surgery to have the polyps removed. the first period after surgery was sooo much lighter!!! Then the next month it was back to being heavy again!!!!! ughhhhhhh.
I was prescribed tranexemic acid and I can't take it because the pills are way too big!!! At one point my iron went down to 9.6. I was a complete wreck!
I just take iron pills here and there and I seem to be okay. I tried figuring out how much blood I use based on tampon/pad use and I came up with somewhere between 300 and 400 ml. I use a super plus tampon and pad at same time. and on the first day I am changing the tampon every hour or less! I can soak it in about 30 minutes!

Periods are still regular, may be a day shorter too.