Heavy menstrual bleeding...

Nurses General Nursing

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WARNING: Anyone grossed out or easily offended by menses posts, PLEASE READ NO FURTHER!

Okay, maybe I should post this in the OB/GYN area, but here goes:

A couple of hours ago I had an unsettling thing happen. I stood up from a seated position and felt this gush of warm fluid. It is time for my monthly cycle...I ran to the bathroom, rushed my daughter out to wash her hands in the kitchen...and found that sure enough, I had had a sudden, large flood of dark red blood and large clots. I mean it looked like someone had been brutally murdered, there was that much blood.

I have NEVER had my period start like this. I am also having some very painful cramping and pelvic area pain. I will be 40 years old this year. I haven't had a pelvic for a while (yeah, I know, but we've had money issues since my DH was laid off for so long). I will be calling my gynecologist on Monday.

Anyone else ever had this happen to them? What the heck is wrong with me?

As per my wife,

There isn't any good evidence stating that heredity plays a part in fibroids, however she's seen many patients who's mother had them, who's mothers mother had them.

A pelvic ultrasound would be the first step in dx'ing uterine fibroids.

Also, she asked me what your definition of HEAVY bleeding was. What color are we talking here? How often are you changing your pads?

Dave

Originally posted by MD Terminator

...Also, she asked me what your definition of HEAVY bleeding was. What color are we talking here? How often are you changing your pads?

Dave

A little darker than bright red.

So much blood that I had to get in the shower, it was a puddle at my feet...it was heavy. I am soaking 2-3 super plus tampons w/pads an hour.

Lisa,

I understand what you are going thru. I have always had long and heavy periods. The Dr.s keep telling me everything is ok but I have my doubts. I am close to your age and hope maybe the oppisite might happen and the bleeding slows down. I have to get up at night every 2 hours to change the both super overnight pads and the underwear and sometimes the linens. I don't use tampons because I will still have to wear the pads any way. I will gush with every movment : ie standing up , walking, or turning in bed. All this is normal for me. All I can say after several DR.s and lots of infertility is hang in there and SEE YOUR DR for hormone levels.

Good Luck, and eats lots of iron rich food to keep H&H up.

I just went through something very similar to this. It was initially dx'd as fibroids. However due to the heavy bleeding they did a TAH/BSO fairly quickly. Turned out not to be a fibroid tumor but stage one uteran cancer. Better safe than sorry.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

How many children do you have? It is not unheard of for a woman who has had a number of pregnancies (even though they may not be recent) to develop uterine atony. The uterus loses all tone and bleeding can be horrendous. My mom had this happen at age 45, 16 years after her 5th and final pregnancy.

Her doctor put her off over a long weekend, and when she was finally seen 4-5 days later, she required immediate hospitalization, several units of blood, then a hysterectomy. He admitted later that she may have responded to less invasive treatment had he seen her sooner. So, please consider calling the doc this weekend if your bleeding continues.

Best of luck!

Originally posted by LisaRN2B

I had heard of menstrual problems with women on low carb diets. I dunno though, i haven't been very "good" lately...especially when you consider I had two bowls of chocolate malt ice cream and about half a can of dark chocolate frosting! Can we say "hormonal eating"?!!! :roll

Yes, please post the herbal remedy! Thanks! :kiss

But of course ddddaaaaaaahhhhhhllllling! :p lol I've tried this, tastes like CACA but works. That's a lot of blood tho, i'd really push to get in to the doc asap if nothing else than to have an u/s to make sure of no fibroids or cysts, ya know??

Take 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, and mix with 1-2 tsp of lemon juice and just enough warm water to make it dissolve. Try to keep the amount minimal cuz it will be more to drink. Then down it. lol Sets your orifice on FIRE for a minute, and probably will give you indegestion, but totally works! lol Can repeat in a few hours if needed. Should slow you down relatively quickly (like an hour-2). Repeat it if you need to.

yes its gross, but it works. My herbalist in Chicago had me do this and i was amazed!!!!!! Feel better soon and GET CHECKED OUT!

Originally posted by SnowymtnRN

But of course ddddaaaaaaahhhhhhllllling! :p lol I've tried this, tastes like CACA but works. That's a lot of blood tho, i'd really push to get in to the doc asap if nothing else than to have an u/s to make sure of no fibroids or cysts, ya know??

Take 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, and mix with 1-2 tsp of lemon juice and just enough warm water to make it dissolve. Try to keep the amount minimal cuz it will be more to drink. Then down it. lol Sets your orifice on FIRE for a minute, and probably will give you indegestion, but totally works! lol Can repeat in a few hours if needed. Should slow you down relatively quickly (like an hour-2). Repeat it if you need to.

yes its gross, but it works. My herbalist in Chicago had me do this and i was amazed!!!!!! Feel better soon and GET CHECKED OUT!

Cool! I'll try it! Thank you, SnowymtnRN ;)

Thank you all for your input. Bleeding has slowed way down. Don't know what that was all about for sure, but I have spoken with my doctor and will be calling his office on Monday to schedule an appointment.

What a scary thing this was for me. I am thankful I didn't have to go it alone; thankful that you all were here for me. :kiss I will let you know what the doc says.

Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

((((((((((((((((Lisa)))))))))))))))))):kiss

OK - I KNOW this is a touchy subject with MANY opinions - so please don't kill me about my opinion...remember - "everyone has one...":chuckle

Hi Lisa by the way - all of this started and happened to me when I was in my 20's...as with most women, I put up with it and found ways to deal with it the best I could - mine (the gushing/clots, etc) was accompanied with GREAT (and I mean GREAT) pain - not the "normal" cramping type - but sudden and VERY severe - all I could think of is someone swinging an axe and hitting me just below the navel - and it stayed that way for days sometimes - as you are ALL aware, "cramps" or " a heavy period" has never been an accepted "excuse" to be off work, etc - so we women just endure...I was VERY lucky to get in my opinion one of the best OB/GYN's on the planet - male, but honestly, truly, interested in the pain, symptoms, etc - and not to just pacify - he's probably the only male I ever met that I know in my heart of hearts would have changed into a female for a month or two just to understand his job better - it finally got so bad and I had a laporscopy (sp?) - this was the 5th one - no one could ever seem to figure out what or why...Charlie (my doc) went a couple of steps further - turned out my tube for some reason ate my ovary - no infection, no signs of disease, no nothing - and no apparent reason for it - well the pain/heavy bleeding subsided for a couple of years - then it started all over again - I was in my 30's - toward the end (when I couldn't put up with it anymore) the bleeding was non stop - and yes, the anemia began, and you're right - it didn't take long - so Charlie agreed that this all needed to end - it wasn't like I was going to have kids, etc. - so get it out - all of it........so I did - in my mid 30s - and as many women will say - I wish I would have done it 10 yrs earlier - there is absolutely no reason to be in that kind of pain endangering other organs - I was in the beginning stage of kidney failure when I finally had the big H done - my point to this novel is even though you may be able to deal with the pain and horredous bleeding - you need to get it checked out and checked out by someone that doesn't view women and their unique problems as "so what - it's just cramps.."

If I would have had an appendicitis attack during those years I would have died from it - I was SO used to the intense pain and fevers - if I had let the symptoms of pain/bleeding go much further the second go-round I would have died or been severely disabled from kidney failure...

Get it checked out girl - and don't be satisfied with "it's normal for your age" it just "ain't so." I would love to refer you to Charlie, but because Ohio and the health care system treats docs so "well" he left the state - I was pretty impressed by the guy he referred me to, but now I just need a once a year for HRT and mammograms - so I don't need a full blown OB/GYN anymore - his name is Luis Morales at MVH if you're interested - ignore his office staff, they're nazis - but he and his nurses are really cool........

As Charlie used to agree with when I said - "I don't know what it feels like to be kicked in the balls - don't tell me what it's like to have cramps..."

Good luck..........and if you're not going to have anymore kids - get it yanked...if you're having severe cramps, you could be bleeding into your uterus - and that's the same a bleeding into a muscle - BIG pain!!

:)

Originally posted by LisaRN2B

Cool! I'll try it! Thank you, SnowymtnRN ;)

Did you try this and it slowed you down? Or did you slow down first? lol Just curious.......

Specializes in Med-surg; OB/Well baby; pulmonology; RTS.

(((Lisa)))...hope you can get an answer on Monday....:)

BTW, yes the D&C helped my bleeding problem ;)

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