Soaking through a pad or tampon every hour or two, passing clots, waking at night to change, or planning your week around your period: many women live like this for years because they were told some people simply have heavy periods. If it limits what you do, it deserves to be taken seriously.
Heavy periods are common, and they are not something you have to put up with. "Heavy periods" describes a symptom, not a diagnosis. Fibroids, adenomyosis, polyps, thyroid disease and clotting disorders can all cause it, and each has its own treatment, which is why finding the cause comes first.
Ask whether you need to be seen
Message us with what you are experiencing and we will tell you whether an examination is worth making, and what the appointment involves.
WhatsAppLINEWhat matters most is whether your periods have changed from your own normal. Flooding, clots, changing protection every hour or two, periods lasting longer than a week, or cycles that have become much shorter or longer are all worth an appointment.
Heavy bleeding is also a common and under-recognised cause of iron deficiency, with or without anaemia. The tiredness, poor concentration and breathlessness that follow are often put down to stress, age or menopause. That is why iron is worth checking whenever periods are heavy, and putting it right can change how you feel.
Assessment starts with a conversation about the pattern, what changed and when, and what you use for contraception or hormones. An examination and usually a pelvic ultrasound follow, which shows the lining of the uterus, fibroids and polyps. Blood tests, commonly a blood count and iron studies, are added where needed, and a sample of the lining can usually be taken in the clinic when it needs to be looked at directly. You are told what each step is for before it is done. Treatment options are discussed after assessment, and results differ between individuals; no outcome is guaranteed.
See a doctor sooner if bleeding soaks through a pad or tampon every hour for several hours in a row, if it comes with dizziness or fainting, or if it comes with severe pain or fever. Bleeding where pregnancy is possible needs to be assessed the same day, and any bleeding after menopause should be checked promptly.
If heavy periods have been shaping your life, send us a few lines on WhatsApp or LINE about what you notice and how long it has been going on. The team will reply with whether an examination is worth making and what the appointment involves. Consultations are in Thai or English at EMSPHERE, next to BTS Phrom Phong, and you do not need to have worked out the cause first.