[butterfly_dreams]

I'm afraid and worried. I'm pale looking. I have always had bad periods but this is one of the worst ones. When I get up I feel it gushing out of me, when I bend over I feel it gushing, when I do ANYTHING strainuous it gushes. I'm practically forced to stay seated all day. And I'm going through countless pads a day. I think doing the situps was a bad idea on my ovaries. I need to go to the doctor but I can't because I can't afford health insurance. I don't know what to do. Every single time I do even a little bit of exercise I bleed. I guess I just have to stop completely. I'm going to HAVE to lose this weight. I think my weight surpress on my ovaries and causes problems. I don't know. I'm tired of all this. Ever since I started my period they've always been bad. My mom had the same problem around my age and I guess it just passed on to me. Even her mother had the same problem. I sure wish it would go away. What if it causes me to have difficulties having children one day? Or worse what if it leads to a hystorectomy (spelling). If anyone here knows what's going on or has any advise please let me know.

Christina

[staja]

Do the sit-ups and other exertion cause bleeding issues during times other than TOM? Are you feeling any unusual cramping or other pain? Are you on hormonal birth control? Without more information, I do not know, but sometimes during my TOM, I have days where the flow is so heavy, I'm afraid to leave to my house.

Do you have any sort of free Women's Health clinic near you? They are usually really helpful and inexpensive (or free!) for those of us insurance free.

Good luck, and let us know how you are.

[butterfly_dreams]

I don't have any other bleeding issues. Yes I am having cramping. I thought it was just locked gas or something. I usually don't suffer from cramping. Not on any kind of medicine.

[aud]

Have you ever had a pelvic exam BF?

I mainly worked heavy manual labor my whole adult life - first on the Farm & then in Manufacturing - the flow would definitely increase on exertion. Asked the Docs about it over the years - none were worried about it becauseall of my exams were good - I think they said something like 3 soaked pads an hour would be cause for concern - I didn't ever quite flow that hard in an hour no matter the exertion.

ITA that you need to find a Family Planning/Planned Parenthood/Womens Clinic in the Yellow Pages - I've only experienced PlannedParenthood personally (along with several uninsured nieces/family members) - Just a totally wonderful orgainization - sliding scale or free - totally supportive & confidential.

Let us know & hang in there butterfly!

[KforKitty]

I doubt very much whether the exercise has anything to do with the flooding. In fact regular movement will allow your flow to be more even to prevent flooding occurring.

I've had years of very heavy periods and it gets worse with age. Do you pass clots as well? When you menstruate its the lining of the womb breaking down when there is no fertilised egg present. The lining of the womb builds up over the course of your cycle and your hormones regulate this. Chances are the balance of your hormones are out of whack which allows an overgrowth to occur. I know I was found to be estrogen dominant which is fairly common in overweight women as estrogen is absorbed into fat cells.

The good news is that birth control drugs can sort it out. I have a progesterone implant in my upper arm which means that my period are now non-existent (you can get pills, coils and injections which do the same thing). I would suggest you see a doctor as you really don't need to suffer this monthly misery. I tried various things for years which hardly helped and eventually ended up in the Emergency Room one evening when I lost so much blood in one day that I thought I was going to die. Would seeing a birth control counsellor be cheaper for you (I don't know this as I'm in the UK where b.c. is free)? Another thing that needs to be rules out is fibroids as these too can cause heavy bleeding.

Hope this helps.

Kitty

[bethbeth]

Like other people have said, there should be some clinics in your area. Search the internet and make some calls to find one. I have gotten so much free because I don't have insurance (including pap smear, 1 year of birth control, several doctors visits).
Beth

[Vates]

you should try to see a doctor at your local planned parenthood.

[butterfly_dreams]

Aud, luckily i'm not soaking 3 pads an hour. That gives a relief. I know you're not a doc but it make me feel better.

Kitty, I now believe that it most definitely is my hormones. About 5 or 6 years ago I took birth control to help regulate my period and it worked. I guess I need to get back on them. I wonder how much they cost. As for the medicine to stop periods...I've heard of this before but what if I want to have a child someday? When that time comes can they restart my period to have a child? Hmm....

For the rest, I live in a VERY small town and theirs nothing here but a regular hospital. But if the time comes that I really have to go to the emergency room or whatever, I"ll be going.

As of now my period has seemed to slow just a little. I dunno if some ya'll believe in God or not and I'm not trying to preach but because of prayer I think that's the reason it slowed. I opened my Bible and read Ezekiel 16:6 over and over again. It reads, "And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood I said unto in your blood, Live. Yes, I said unto you in your blood, Live." God knows what our needs are, and He knows my situation. And I believe that He won't give me too much that I can't handle.

My quote:: When all else fails, try the Master.

God bless you all and thanks so much for the advise. I love you all.

Christina

[butterfly_dreams]

I was just thinking....Since my hormones are out of control and I probably won't be getting any help from the docs any time soon I was thinking that I could try some hormonal stabilizing foods. I'm going to search for that on the net. Do you know any of these foods?

Christina

[rockstar87]

I once had to induce my period with provera (at 17) and during day 2 was literally soaking through a super absorbent tampon and super pad within 20 minutes. I remember running out of class and losing it on my teacher when he asked me what was wrong. Stupid boys...haha. Take a hint.

I've had the gushing feeling regularly. For the longest time I would come home everyday of the 7 days with awful cramps and sit in bed with a heating pad. I didn't sleep much days 1 through 3 because I didn't want to leak everywhere. Sometimes I had to skip out of lecture early because I needed to make sure I wasn't "leaking" . When I started working out really intensely it got significantly better. Barely noticeable cramps at first and more recently...a "normal" type of period that didn't have me changing my super-plus tampon every hour on day 2. (Haha. Sorry guys. TMI).

If you regularly have periods this badly I suggest trying to find out why...it could be your weight, yes. Higher body fat levels can be associated with higher estrogen production. If your periods stay within the 7 days though and follow a relatively normal cycle and you don't have any odd kinds of discharge throughout the month I'd say you're probably okay...just unfortunate.

But if you can, see a doctor at some point. Hang in there!

[CountingDown]

Similar problems all of my life. While I most certainly do not recommend self-medicating, soy products and black cohosh (short term only) do help. I had severely out-of-whack periods and dr. put me on birth control pills. I did not like the resulting side effects, and went off them after 3 months. Since then, I have used black cohosh periodically to get things back in sync. Again, the ideal is to do this with a doctor or nurse practitioner's supervision. And DO NOT take black cohosh long term - it has side effects as well.

[butterfly_dreams]

I'm so glad I"m not the only one dealing with this. My instincts tell me that it's my hormones and estrogen levels. For some reason I think that's the true problem. I believe also that if I was to lose a significant amount of weight my periods wouldn't be so bad. Right now, I"m feeling a lot better. I started taking iron to build up my blood, and they've helped some.

[kaplods]

I think planned parenthood often offers free or discounted birth control.

BC has definitely helped me (Necon) tremendously and I pay only $13 per month, though we have a Sam's discount card that adds an extra discount (this cost us $100, but we save much more than that per month, just by shopping there as opposed to other pharmacies). I think regular price was about $17 per month.

If you don't have a Planned Parenthood in your area, the health department should still have some free or low cost options for you, or should be able to refer you to a non-profit clinic, or other affordable resources.

[DeliciousBoo]

Taking Evening primrose Oil supplements will help balance hormones - I had flooding periods for years.
A combination of the contraceptive pill and evening primrose oil stopped all that and now I have normal periods.

Good luck, I can toally emphatise with what you are going through.

[snapless]

Someone suggested earlier in this thread to look for a free or low-cost women's clinic nearby. Excellent suggestion - at the very least you should have a pap done and bc pills to help control the flow.

Another thing to consider, if you can afford it, is an IUD. They have changed a LOT since the monstrosities of the 1970s. I had one inserted last year (the hormone kind - not the copper kind). It has actually reduced my pain and my flow...and it's good for 5 years.