Some conditions of the womb and ovaries can cause heavy bleeding, including:. A GP will start by asking you about your heavy bleeding, any changes to your periods and any other symptoms you have, like bleeding between your periods or period pain. All women who have heavy periods should be offered a blood test to check for iron deficiency anaemia.
The GP may also suggest a physical examination or refer you for further tests to try to find out if there's an underlying cause for your heavy periods. Find out more about diagnosing heavy periods. There are various treatment options for heavy periods. These depend on what's causing your heavy periods, your general health and your preferences. The choice of treatment will depend on the cause of your bleeding. If a reason for the heavy bleeding is found, such as a fibroid, this will be treated.
However, sometimes no cause for heavy periods can be found. In these cases, heavy periods can be treated by medicines or by surgery, with the aim of decreasing the amount of bleeding. Some treatments may stop your periods completely and others may affect your fertility. Considerations for treatment include your age, general health, whether you require contraception or want to have children.
Some treatments are ongoing and others are done one time. Read more about medicines to treat heavy periods. Surgery is only considered when medical treatments have not been effective.
Surgical options include:. Read more about surgery for heavy periods. If you have heavy periods each month, one of the key things to watch out for is iron deficiency. One of the most common causes of iron deficiency is prolonged or heavy periods. This can leave you feeling tired and lacking energy. In some cases, this can even lead to anaemia.
Ask your doctor or nurse if you need a blood test to check your ferritin iron and full blood count. If your results indicate your iron is low, you may need to also take iron supplements. Women lose an average of 30 to 40 milliliters mL of blood during a period.
Women with heavy bleeding may potentially lose up to 80 mL. Women who do experience abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding may have a condition called menorrhagia.
This condition causes flows so heavy you need to change your tampon or pad every hour. You may also use more than six or seven tampons a day. This condition can cause anemia and severe cramps. You may also pass blood clots larger than a quarter during your period. Because measuring your total blood loss is impractical, the best way to know if your period is unusually heavy is to talk with your doctor. Several conditions or issues can cause heavy periods. These heavy periods may occur frequently, or they may be more sporadic.
The signs and symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy may be confused with a heavy menstrual period. It can cause severe health issues, including heavy bleeding and severe cramping. Left untreated, an ectopic pregnancy is life threatening. During and surrounding a miscarriage, heavy bleeding is common and may be mistaken for a very heavy period. Heavy menstrual bleeding is a common side effect of a non-hormonal IUD.
After a few months with your IUD, you may find that bleeding becomes less severe. Many women experience heavier bleeding on the first day of a period and lighter bleeding on the last days. A heavy flow that might get in the way of your normal activities is unusual. If you recently stopped using hormonal birth control, your periods may be very heavy in the first days as your cycle adjusts to the hormone changes.
Like birth control, medications you take may interfere with your cycle and lead to heavy bleeding on the first day of your period.
If every period is heavy, painful, and difficult to work around, you may have underlying, long-term issues. Your body typically balances progesterone and estrogen, the two hormones that play the biggest roles in menstruation. Too much estrogen, however, can lead to a thickened uterine lining. This can cause heavy bleeding as the lining is eliminated during your period.
An underactive thyroid gland hypothyroidism may also cause heavy or irregular menstrual bleeding.
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