Posted by CareBear04 on February 3, 2005, at 20:09:45
In reply to HEAVY PERIODS, posted by pretty_paints on February 3, 2005, at 3:48:22
hey prettypaints! i can definitely sympathize with your problem. i've had heavy bleeding, anemia, looong periods, and bad irregularity. in the past few years, i've had cramps the first day, but otherwise, i've been lucky to avoid bad pain like you have. i got my period kinda late, when i was 14. i've always been below the recommended weights but still active and healthy. when i competed in sports and trained hard, i would have maybe 2-3 periods a year. this may have also been because it was only a few years after the onset. but i still have no idea when to expect it, and it's horrible because i've been caught off guard while traveling the past two times!
as for heavy bleeding-- it's very likely that you lost enough blood that you were hypovolemic causing dizziness and fainting. do you bleed easily or profusely in other situations and bruise a lot? i went to the gyn to finally get on birth control to control my periods. she sent me to be medically cleared because of concern about the bruising. my clotting times were higher than normal, and i was sent to the hematologist who worked me up like i had a fatal disease! his conclusion is that i have a hereditary bleeding disorder, von willebrand's. especially before surgery or dental work, i'm supposed to take medicine to release more of the clotting factor so i don't lose too much blood. he also recommended oral contraceptives because they promote clotting in addition to shortening bleeding days and regulating blood loss. the iron supplements are pretty nasty, so if you can prevent anemia, i think that's best. i would love to be able to take OCPs, but i haven't had good luck. i'm diagnosed BP, and my first try, alesse, sent me straight into bad depression. that was before i was on a mood stabilizer. then, mircette caused 3 weeks of breakthrough bleeding, i think because the progestin amount wasn't high enough. actually, the hematologist recommended, and i've wanted from the start, to do continuous OCP, so i never have periods. my sister who has done OB/GYN rotations for medicine says that it's true about medical risks from having no periods. anyway, i've been having health problems and haven't been able to take mood stabilizers, so i've had to stop trials of OCPs. i think it's important to protect your mood, but it's well worth trying to find a pill to decrease pain, decrease blood loss, and increase regularity.
i hope this helps!
poster:CareBear04
thread:452287
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20050105/msgs/452691.html