My Daughter Is Having Unusually Heavy Periods?

Here is an about.com article about the top 10 reasons for heavy periods:

http://womenshealth.about.com/od/abnormalbleeding/a/cause...

I had very heavy periods with bad cramping as a teenager due to cysts on my ovaries. I would bring her in.

Please take your daughter for a check up. I know that the time to get there may seem long but for her to suffer for her entire reproductive years is not. She may need iron supplements and she may need a mild form of birth control to help with the flow but only a doctor can tell that.

I suffered through heavy periods like you described to find out I was anemic and it showed up through the periods (heavy bleeding only). My daughter has the same and is getting medical assistance.

Your daughter will thank you for understanding her issue and helping.

As for the mild von Willebrand's Disease please keep it monitored. If it is not it will turn into TTP (you can google ttp) and there is no cure. The treatments to get it under control are very expensive and time consuming with much blood work. My husband as this disorder and it is a rare one mostly women get it but there are men that do and he is one.

The other S.

Before I answer, I have more questions for you~

How old is she?

When did she get her period?

Is this the first time or has she had several periods like this?

Is she on birth control?

Are her periods painful?

Since I don't have that info, its hard for me to respond. But I would say if you have a way to call the doctor and talk to an advice nurse, I would do it. They can tell you if she needs to be seen. I personally would get her checked out just to be on the safe side and for peace of mind. Good luck!

M

Does your daughter think it is severe? Are her periods just long-lasting (7+ days) or is she bleeding very heavily as well. My periods started at 12 and I would have a period that lasted 10-14 days, have 14-21 days off, then start another period. Along with the heavy bleeding that soaked through everything, I had debilitating cramps. I couldn't move from the couch for days, and was in so much pain I would often end up vomiting.
After almost a year of this my doctor put me on birth control pills, which were a lifesaver for me. My periods were 5 days long and had minimal cramping on the pills.
So yes, this could be severe, and if this is affecting your daughter's quality of life I would say take her to the doctor. There is no need to suffer with this. I didn't have cysts or anything else and was diagnosed with dysmenorrhea.

I started getting my period at 10 1/2 yo. They were extremely heavy till I started taking bc at 16. Not for being sexually active but because of my periods, they eventually became more regular over time.
The periods lasted a week at least. I would usually end up missing 2-3 days of school on heavist days because of cramping and too heavy of flow to make it through classes w/o going through my pants. It was so miserable and embarassing.
I even ended up sleeping on a chaise lawn chair sometimes because no matter how many pads I wore I would get it all over my bed.
It was so horrible and if your dauhter is going through similar I would seriously consider getting her some type of medical intervention. Teens have enough to worry about.

Updated: I also wanted to add that I continually was anemic throughout that time and got sick very often because of a weakened immune system. It can affect your body more than just during the actual period.

Is this the 14yo daughter? I had heavy periods that lasted from 7-10 days and were painful enough for me to miss 1-2 days from school, from the very beginning. I bled thru a pad and a tampon in less than 30 minutes. The doctor said that this can be a normal pattern.

In my late 20's I started taking b.c. pills and this helped. In my 30's, I had exploratory surgery because I had abdominal pain all of the time. I learned that I had endometriosis and this is what was causing the paid and most likely the long heavy periods.

I don't know if a teen can have endometriosis or not. Otherwise, I do not know of any medical cause for this conditiion. I have been told that genetics, in part, determines what kind of periods we have.

I also suggest calling the advice nurse for a gynecologist and ask them this question. I suspect that they will want to see her in case their is a medical reason, unless she is their regular patient. If she is a patient of a doctor in family practice and a gp, I suggest you start by calling them.

Later: I'm glad to read that something can be done for long heavy periods, now. And it's helpful to know that there are a couple of bleeding disorders than cause this. I urge you to take her to a gynecologist who is good with teens and will spend time figuring this out. Long, painful periods don't go away and negatively influence all of life.

You wrote another post asking about her being a bully. I suggest that hormones may be part of the reason for her bad attitude as well as her long, heavy periods.

I have always had long heavy periods, from age ten, when I started, and through adulthood, on or off the pill. Off the pill, they are up to 9 or 10 days long, and very heavy the first 4 days, over 5-6 ounces of blood a day ( that is the averae they say most women lose in a whole cycle), the middle 3-4 days are average and the last few are spotting. As a pre-teen and teen, it could be very embarrassing, as my cycle was somewhat irregular, and I never knew when I was going ot start, I had no fore-warning, when the cramps hit, I had better be wearing something, cause I would start flowing like a river immediately. Once I felt cramps start at the beginnning of Geometry, I didn't want to ask for a bathroom pass, so I waited the 50 minutes till the end of class - when I stood up I had bled through my jeans all over the chair - luckily longer sweaters were in style then, 1992, and I hadn't been sitting on it, I pulled it down over my stained pants and ran to the nearest bathroom - luckily that was my last class of the day. I never went to a gyno appointment ( Mom never suggested it or took me) till I was 18, and heading offf to college - he was actually just her GP, and he did my first pap, but never asked about periods, symptoms, etc., so I didn't know there were any options available to me, to fix it - I mean, I knew there were birth control pills, but didn't know that the side effects of them might help my periods - I wasn't sexually active and had no plans to be, so I didn't need those.

I didn't get on BCP till I was 26 and married, so we could have a few years as a couple before bringing babies into our lives, it helped A LOT! It shortened them to only 7 days, only 2 were heavy, and I knew when they would start and end every time, so I could be ready!

I have now had 2 babies and one miscarriage, and my periods are even worse than they were before, I have tried 3 different types of birthcontrol, including Ortho TriCyclen ( when I first got married, when it worked great, and after the second baby, when it didn't help my periods at all), Yaz, which caused me to bleed for 2 months straight, basically, and the one I am on now, Junel, seems to be doing better for me, only 6 days, and only the 3 middle are heavy to average, spotting on either end. I would have loved to get Mirena IUD (it can lighten or even stop periods), but my Insurance doesn't cover it, and without Insurance, it is over $700 at my Dr. office. DH just got a vasectomy, and once he is cleared as infertile, I will be going off BCP to see what my body will do on its own....I wish there was an easy solution, I really don't want to be on BCP my whole life just to keep my periods manageable.

I highly reccommend you take her to see a GOOD gynocologist and talk to your daughter and the Dr. about the options, and what will suit her best at this point in her life. I know she is young, and the gyno might be an embarrassing and uncomfortable thing for her too, but it only has to happen once a year to make what happens once a month much easier, possibly. You know how much of a pain a period can be, let alone when you are young and it is heavier and longer than normal - embarrassing and uncomfortable. Talk to her and ask her if she wants to go see if something can be done to lighten it.

Good Luck - I wish someone had given me a clue or an option to go long before I did.

Jessie

My periods for the first several years lasted 7-9 days, and for 3 of those days I needed to change out a Super Plus tampon every hour. The rest was barely a trickle (1 regular tampon every 8 hours). When I started BC pills, the length was shortened, as well as how heavy it was. Changed to 4-5 days, with one of the heavy enough to change a SP tampon every hour, and the rest a SP tampon every 4 hours.

As an adult my periods (not on hormones) last about 6 days, and I've bumped down to Supers. First day is light. Day 2 is the every hour day. Days 3-end are every 4 hours.

I have moderately heavy periods. More so than most (who are on the pill), but less than many others.

About a week, and fairly heavy, is pretty typical for women not on hormonal birth control.

So is she in the "normal" range? Probably. COULD there be something wrong? Yes, but unlikely unless she's been having a lot of pain OR this is a wild departure from her normal cycle.

Didn't say her age or when they started & how many yrs. she has had them.So here is what happened to me I began my periods @ 9 yrs of age reugular from the start in 5th grade I remember having them heavy I had to wear the over night heavy pads for the first 2-3 days & still leaked day & nitght it didnt stop there I had very bad cramps followed by diarera my mom often came to get me from school or I didn't go to school layed in bed @ gma's house with the heating pad & Tyelnol.After I started HS they began to be less & the cramps.BTW I had clots but always had my yrly exams they never said that it was bad to have my painful periods but I did have 1 Dr try to tell me I had edometriosis but not the case I have 3 kids that were naturally conceived

It really depends on how long she has been getting her period. If she just started her body may need to regulate itself into a regular cycle. My daughter had to go on birth control at about 19 because she has a condition called ITP it is a blood clotting issue and she would bleed for 9 days and very heavy so the birth control really helped her. She also had very painful cramps and the pill helped as well. If she has had her period a while then it is worth getting her checked out and the doctor may put her on a pill to regulate her.

Ask your doctor if it is ok for her to try taking GLA.

Hi,
Don't know for sure but a friend of mines daughter has polycystic Ovarian syndrome, she has bad periods. Guess you could look it up on the internet.
Good luck,
S.

Usually doctors become concerned if you leak through a super tampon AND fill a pad within an hour for several hours in a row.

Does she bruise easily? Does she have nose bleeds that take longer than 15 minutes to stop? Does she have abnormal bleeding (longer time to stop the bleeding than her friends)?

She could have a bleeding disorder. My daughter symptoms include severe, 30 minute nose bleeds (She is only 9; no period yet.) But I always had heavy periods, but no nose bleeds. Both of us bruise easily and healing takes a bit longer because cuts tend to reopen and re-bleed. We were both diagnosed with mild, type 1 Von Willebrand's disease.

My periods have lasted 7-8 days since I hit puberty when I was 12 y/o. When I'm on b/c they last the full week of placebo pills. My doctors have never been concerned and said that the normal range is 5-7 days, but 8 days is nothing to worry about. The only time you need to be concerned is if she is constantly going through a regular tampon or pad in an hour. Heavy bleeding like that for more than a day or two can lead to anemia. Google anemia and find out what symptoms to look for. As long as she doesn't have anemia, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you are really worried, putting her on b/c can make for lighter, shorter periods, but since you didn't mention her age, I'm not sure if that is an option that you would be comfortable with.

Updated

My periods have lasted 7-8 days since I hit puberty when I was 12 y/o. When I'm on b/c they last the full week of placebo pills. My doctors have never been concerned and said that the normal range is 5-7 days, but 8 days is nothing to worry about. The only time you need to be concerned is if she is constantly going through a regular tampon or pad in an hour. Heavy bleeding like that for more than a day or two can lead to anemia. Google anemia and find out what symptoms to look for. As long as she doesn't have anemia, I wouldn't be too concerned. If you are really worried, putting her on b/c can make for lighter, shorter periods, but since you didn't mention her age, I'm not sure if that is an option that you would be comfortable with.

I don't know all the things it might be. Teenagers are still getting onto a regular cycle for the first few years (irregular periods are normal). But if it is very heavy or long it may be worth at least calling your ob/gyn. A friend of mine had a period that went on for nearly a month and her doctor put her on birth control to make her regular. But we were in college, about 20, not younger teens. She could take an iron supplement if is feeling extra tired (so as not to get anemic).

I had terrible periods in high school. Painful and heavy and the the first few days were the worst. it would slow down but last a week easily. I think cysts may contribute to this. I had to get to a restroom every two hours even with a super tampon and a pad to avoid leakage.

As an adult I am now into nutrition, vitamins, etc... and have learned there may be some things that could help your daughter. If I were you I would not feel panicked or rushed, but I would make an appt with a gyn just to have her checked out. Get piece of mind and a diagnosis so that you know how you may be able to help your daughter be more comfortable.

you never stated how old she is-i would strongly suggest to get her into an gynocologist-i had the same problem-but back then they didnt have info like they have now-i had yrs of embarrassing heavy bleeding-messy,physically draining etc.what will happen eventually she will become extremly anemic-i myself almost died-had to have an emergency hysterectomy 11 yrs ago.best thing that ever happened to me-but it was pure hell before.get her seen.

You evidently think soeting needs to be done or you wouldn't have written this.
Take her to the doctor for piece of mind for both of you.
It will be a trip of bonding.
Talk about stuff ont he way, without dwelling on the fact of how long it takes to get there and back.
This is your daughter, it is her health, and she needs your supoort.
What would you feel if you were her, what would you want to hear, shat woud you be thinking?

You didn't mention her weight, that has an affect on this situation.

My oldest daughter is 14. Last October she started her period on a Friday and it was abnormally heavy. My Saturday morning she was still bleeding heavily and by that evening she started to look pale and was dizzy. I decided this was more than just a heavy period and took her to the ER. When we got there she was going into shock from blood loss. She had lost half of her blood supply in 24 hours. The ER doctor told me if we had waited one more hour she would have gone into cardiac arrest and she might not have been saved. After blood transfusions she was transported via ambulance to a hospital with a more advanced ER. She was seen by a gynecologist and had an ultrasound done. Anatomically nothing was wrong with her. They diagnosed her as "abnormal uterine bleeding." They put her on a high dose estrogen birth control pill to control her periods and keep her from bleeding as much. My family doctor told me that a diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding is just an umbrella diagnosis. It is the same as diagnosing someone with fatigue. Well something is causing the fatigue just like something caused her to bleed out. We still don't know why it happened or if it will happen again.

If your daughter is bleeding heavily please get it checked out because as I found out you can die from your period.

Lisa

I'd recommend going to the doctor. Even if it turns out that nothing is wrong, he may have some advice (or meds) that will help control her periods (and cramping, if she has that). I started at 11 y/o and had periods lasting a week or more with heavy flow. When I got older and got on birth control, my periods decreased dramatically in length and flow. It was awesome.

I had very heavy periods (no school the first few days because the flow was too heavy to get through a class) and horrible cramping I can compare only to labor. These periods would last up to 14 days and I only had a period every six weeks.
I was always anemic (so bad I passed out on a regular basis) which was always blamed on my eating habits.
When I tried to explain to the small town doc how bad my periods were, I was told that never happens and obviously I wasn't smart enough to use a calendar. (I was a straight A student) My mom refused to take me to a gyn. because it was too far away (hour and a half).
As an adult, I lost many babies, managed to have two birth children - bed bound through my pregnancies. I almost bled to death following the birth of my first child. Still had docs and my mom convinced I was a hypochondriac.
Finally, the pain was too much and I switched Dr.s - again!
I entered menapause at age 22 and had a hysterectomy at age 23. By that point I had PID caused by lack of proper medical care following multiple miscarriages. The old docs just assumed my uterus was 'clean' and didn't do D&Cs.
When the pathology came back, my new doc told me he was apologizing for all the doctors I had ever seen.
Pathology showed I had adenomyosis. He explained for me it would've started at puberty. I shouldn't have been able to carry a child to term and it was the reason I almost died after giving birth to my first.
What ever your daughter is going through, the risk that it could be serious: PCOS, endomitriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, etc.....this is more than just about 'right now'.
This could be about about your daughter's entire future.
I saw my mom's unwillingness to help - as a lack of caring. Her time (an hour and a half?) was worth more than my health.
Please do the right thing for your daughter.
And let us know how she is.

Do not put her on pills is my main advice!! And taking her to a doc is what you should be doing.Meanwhile if she has staining issues i suggest you get her these perfect cotton period panties named adira.I am sure everyone and anyone would have had horrible staining experiences in their life,but lets make sure that we do not scare our little girls with the same sort of experiences.