8 Reasons Your Period is Heavier Than Usual

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No two women experience the same period flow consistency. For some women, they experience a light flow that may or may not get heavier as the days progress. A few other women, on the other hand, experience an abnormally heavy period that spans for several days, a condition termed menorrhagia.

Put another way, women with a light/normal period flow loses about 30 - 40 milliliters of blood throughout the duration of her period, but women with menorrhagia lose over 60 milliliters and up to 80 milliliters each month and may become anemic.

Also, a woman who has experienced a light to moderate period flow from puberty may suddenly experience menorrhagia and start to experience these very heavy flow that mostly comes with heavy blood clots.

If this suddenly happens to you,

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Here are Eight Possible Conditions that Could Cause It

You Have Uterine Fibroids

Fibroid are non-cancerous growth in your uterus that sometimes comes with grave symptoms and one of such symptoms is this heavier than normal bleeding.

Research has also found uterine fibroid to be quite common as a scary 70% of women will have a mild (one fibroid) to severe (multiple fibroid) case of it before they turn 50.

Treatment for fibroid usually depends on the severity. It however starts with a proper diagnosis through any of the following means:

• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Hysterosalpingography
• Hysteroscopy or
• An endometrial biopsy

Upon diagnosis, treatments like careful monitoring may be recommended by your healthcare provider or more result- oriented ones like the use of birth control pills, a myomectomy( a surgical procedure to remove the fibroid), the use of anti-hormone drugs like progestin and Danazol to lower your estrogen, or hysterectomy.

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You Have a Blood Disorder

An estimated 10% of women have a bleeding disorder, with the two commonest types being the von Willebrand disease (VWD) and Hemophilia.

However, while bleeding disorders are usually serious as they lead to anemia and other equally serious bleedings, they are mostly treatable.

Some pointers that show you might have a blood disorder include:

• Very heavy period that soaks your tampon or pad in an hour or two.

• Having a heavy flow that spans more than seven days.

• Having large blood clots as you bleed.

Treatment for such blood disorders include

• Being placed on birth control pills.
• Taking iron supplements
• Antifibrinolytics
• A clotting factor concentrates drug or
• Desmopressin acetate hormone

You Have an Infection

Infections like Pelvic Inflammatory Disease are also known to cause such heavy bleeding.

Some possible signs of this infection along this heavy bleeding include :

• Abdominal pain
• Pain after sex
• Running a fevera

Treatment usually involves treating the infection after which your period normalizes.

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A Side Effect of Intrauterine Device (IUD)

Intrauterine Device or IUD is a T-shaped device inserted into the womb which works to prevent pregnancies.

Like most birth control methods of it's type, it functions by secreting copper into the womb which makes the environment unfriendly for sperms to thrive.

However, while IUds are effectively in preventing pregnancies, they usually come with side effects and one of such is heavy or irregular bleeding.

You should speak with your doctor if you have such prolonged bleeding or discomfort.

The Use of Certain Blood Thinners

Blood thinners like aspirin and ibuprofen can cause you to experience twice as much bleeding with large clots inbetween.

They may also cause your period to last longer, become irregular, or start way earlier than usual.

Since blood thinners are usually a necessity for most people who take them, you can only mange the resulting bleeding that comes with it.

You should speak with your healthcare provider if the bleeding becomes a little more than you can handle.

You're Pre-menopausal

Women who are pre-menopausal experience inconsistent hormonal changes and the ovaries in turn respond by being erratic.

Premenopause or perimenomouse, is a condition that could span 10 years and comes with symptoms such as sleep changes, night sweats, hot flashes, and heavy bleeding.

Since premenopause is a phase every woman must go through, it can't be treated but can however be managed to give you the best possible comfort.

Management techniques during this time usually includes performing regular exercises, yoga, eating healthily, yoga, and getting adequate rest.

You've Just Had a Miscarriage

An estimated 15% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, and a lot of these end within seven to twelve weeks, before you even have any knowledge of it.

Also, when this pregnancy gets expelled from the body, it comes out as more of tissue and heavy blood and could very likely be mistaken for a heavy period.

These miscarriages, also called spontaneous abortions are mostly non preventable as they occur due to chromosomal anomalies. However, most do not reoccurs and women who have experienced it go on to have healthy pregnancies.

You Likely Have Uterine polyps

Like uterine fibroid, uterine polyps are also likely to cause such a heavy bleeding.

They mostly occur in women 40 or 50 years of age who have had one or more kids, or in pregnant women.

You're likely to get polyps if you experience a surge in your estrogen hormone or get clogged blood vessels.

Treatment for polyps is usually quite simple and can be done under an hour in your doctor's office.

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