Perimenopause heavy periods flooding

Very heavy periods, ruined underwear, and not wanting to leave the house?  This is called menorrhagia and it is life altering.  And, if you are in perimenopause, you know all too well about perimenopause heavy periods flooding.

Menstrual flooding

If you are going through almost 20 Regular tampons or maxi pads each cycle, you have a heavy period.  When I first found this out, I thought:  ‘Regular tampons / pads’?  I only used these at the very end of my cycle.  Generally, before my 40’s, I used Super Plus, Super and Regular (in that order) through my cycle.  When I hit my 40’s and started getting very heavy bleeding, it was debilitating.

I discovered Ultra tampons!  Hooray to the tampon ‘gods’.  But, worse, I thought the heavy bleeding was a normal part of aging.  I had no idea that using the higher absorbency products were a sign that something was not right.  Enter my 40’s and that meant perimenopause was rearing its ugly head.  And, the heavy bleeding, it was perimenopause flooding.  Awesome!?!?  NOT!

Here are some signs you might have menorrhagia (heavy period)

• Periods last longer than they should (more than 7 days)
• Tampons or pads need to be changed very frequently.
  • When I started having heavy periods and discovered the Ultra tampons, eventually mine got so bad that I had to change every 30 minutes.  THAT is not normal.
• You use multiple menstrual products – a tampon and a pad; a tampon and period underwear.
• Very large blood clots (i.e. flooding)
• Fatigue

These are definite signs of perimenopause heavy periods flooding.  It’s awful but you’re not alone.

Quality of life

This is soooo traumatic!  Heavy periods and period flooding can really put a damper on our lives.  It only needs to happen once, but if you are out in public, thinking you have enough protection, and suddenly you have a leak.  You realize that not only did you leak through your tampon or pad, but through to your underwear and your clothes!  It’s downright humiliating, stressful and anxiety provoking!  In addition, we are so tired.  Can heavy periods cause anemia?

Anemia during period

If you experience tiredness or fatigue, where you just have no energy to do the things you normally would do, you likely have anemia.  This can be confirmed with a blood test with your primary care doctor or gynecologist.  They may prescribe over the counter iron tablets for you.  And, they will tell you how long you should take them since you can’t take these forever because you don’t want to get iron poisoning!  But, if you do have this symptom, please know that it could be because of all the blood (iron) loss.

3 Main Reasons for Heavy periods

1. Messed up hormones – whether it be too much estrogen or a thyroid problem, your doctor will be able to tell you.
2. Issues with your uterus – issues such as fibroids, polyps or endometriosis.
3. Other – something else is going on.

In any of these cases, you have to see your doctor because it is NOT normal.  I suffered from perimenopause heavy periods flooding for a long time.  First, it was gradual.  For example, I had heavier than normal periods where I could still use a Super Plus tampon but I needed to change it more frequently.  Then, I needed to supplement with maxi pads.  Eventually, I found the Ultra tampons but by then, I still had to use multiple menstrual products in order to manage it IF I absolutely had to leave the house.

There’s no doubt Menorrhagia significantly decreases your quality of life.  But, it doesn’t have to.  Talk to your doctor to see if they can do some tests to rule some things out.  In addition, I hope you stay with me on my journey to see how it turned out for me – after I figured out how to change some things in my life.  Perimenopause heavy periods flooding is tough but there is help.