Strange Symptoms

You need to insist on a doctor's visit or find a doctor that will see you. My sister went on for awhile like this and ended up having to get blood tranfusions.

At the age of 45 I started going through symptoms like yours. I would be normal for two or three months and then go back to the three extremely heavy peroids in six weeks stuff again. Then at 47, which is what I am now, I stopped having periods and went through the change. I seriously don't think a 26 year old woman would be going through the change. But it does sound like your hormones are messed up.

You may have endodemetritis. I would check with your doctor on that one.
There are reasons to believe that the kotex that most women wear today have a chemical in them that cause it. Same with disposable diapers. I know this sounds strange, but do some searches on the internet, and see what you find out.

Marci,

definetely keep a calendar of what is going on. Mark the days you have your period etc, If you are having to change a pad or tampon more than once an hour, you need to call your dr. back and talk to the nurse. They need to at least check you for anemia. I had this off and on before my hystorectomy. What my dr had me do to slow down the bleeding and help the headaches and cramps was to take 3 ibuprofen every 3 hours. you can take more 800mg of ibuprofen is the same as one perscription motrin. You might need a dnc which isn't scarey at all and really helps. this type of problem. good luck

i just went through all this and although you think hormones may not be what's wrong that may indeed be what it is i avtually had my period for a month straight i visited my obgyn and he out me on the birth control patch to straighten things out now since taking it everything is normal again... somethings things just go haywire...

I'm sorry to hear about your problem. Have you tried calling your OB-GYN and asking for a referral to another trusted clinic? If there aren't any birth control hormones or devices you've encountered w/in the last year, you may be dealing with something that was caused by your last bc method. Are you taking any supplements or other meds? Contact your pharmacist and let them know what's going on also. I wish the best for your health!

This is going to sound very strange, but have you ever heard of someone having two uterus. You might ask your OBGYN to check and see if this is the case with you. You can menstrate at different times and could even get pregnant in both uterus at different times. I didn't think this was possible until I got in the medical field myself. You can read up on it on MedicineNet.com keywords double reproductive organs.

GO TO THE DOCTOR RIGT AWAY!!! If the Dr. wants to put you on Birth Control to help then be careful. I went on B.C. to regulate my cycles and when I went off the same crazy cyles returned. Find out if there is anything else you can do - take precautions to keep this from recurring or change your diet. Also if you have to take meds then see if a Compound Pharmacist could put something together for you. They are good at finding out what you specifically need and fine tuning for your needs!

What birth control pills are you taking? I ask because those symptoms sound like the same ones my daughter had when she was taking Ortho-Tricyclen. The doctor was not able to figure out what was causing her symptoms, just gave her some medication. We did have a CT scan, but nothing showed up there. In my personal, not professional, opinion...I believe the pills caused the trouble. She is now pregnant with my first grandbaby. You could try a different brand of pill and see if it makes any difference. I take Loestrin and have no difficulties.
Hope this helps....keep us updated sweetie, and good luck.

:-)

You need to go to the doctor ASAP! If your OB/GYN will not see you immediately then you need to find another one that will. Talk to your friends and family and find out who they go to and trust. First thing in the morning you need to call and make an appointment. It could be nothing but you health is nothing to guess or wonder about especially if you are a mother/wife. You really need to see about yourself and you doctor should be there for you. Most doctors also keep appointments open for last minute things like this. When I was having similar problems my OB/GYN saw me within 48 hours.
They should atleast see you within the same week.

Hi, your symptoms sound alot like what I went through! I would only bleed for the week of my normal period, but I would bleed so heavy that I turned anemic. I was also passing tissue/clots and the end result was fibroid cysts on my uterus. The body tries to slough them off because it senses your not pregnant and tries to rid everything from the uterus. IF this is whats going on with you, it will not go away on its own! Hope all goes well, P.

Hi M.,
As some have pointed out to you, it does sound like fibroids to me. This is not a huge deal and very common. However, I would call that office back and firmly tell them you are anxious and severely troubled at this point. Ask if you should go to the ER instead. They will take you more seriously and 'fit you in'. Good luck and let us know. God bless.

I feel you may want to find another OB-GYN. I understand that you may love or be comfortable with your OB but it sounds like you need a docter now. If you don't want to leave the practice see if another doctor in the office(if there is one) can see you sooner. My OB-GYN is a big practice but if I ever feel strongly about a problem they can always get me in within 2 days. A MONTH is to LONG! Go to the doctor NOW or at least an ER.

Have you taken a pregnancy test? My friend had an ectopic pregnancy and I think the symptoms might be similar to yours--you can google it. And I agree with the other women, you should find a doctor who can see you NOW. This needs to be addressed even if it's nothing.

(You might want to print this out.)

First off, don't panic, and you probably don't have to go to the ER unless you're hemorrhaging (soaking a pad in under an hour). An old friend of mine had similar symptoms, it went on for about a year, and she ended up getting a hysterectomy because it was making her severely anemic. I have a strong hunch that her hysterectomy wasn't necessary - that alternative medicine could have resolved the issue.

Surgery is a last resort! There are so many options out there that might be at least as effective as surgery, without the problems that come with it.

I, for example, had a kidney problem that the doctors couldn't fix, not even with surgery, but an acupuncturist resolved it after a few appointments. You might want to give acupuncture a try, and it's not as expensive as surgery, painkiller prescriptions, time lost from work, etc. I went to Health & Harmony on College Ave.

See a nutritionist and, actually, a midwifery practice (they know all about the uterus and reproductive health). Birthroot Midwifery is top-notch, and I'm sure they can see you a lot sooner than a month from now!

For free nutritional advice, a vegetarian non-profit group that I know is sponsoring a Call-a-Dietitian Day; they like to do this sometimes to help vegetarians to eat a balanced diet, but even if you eat meat, you can schedule an appointment and talk to a registered dietitian for free to see what he says about excessive bleeding. I called him once about eating right during my pregnancy, and he didn't push vegetarianism at all. It says in their newsletter that he specializes in women's health concerns, among other things. Here's the info you'll need:

Mark Rifkin, MS, RD, LDN,
will be available from 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST on Friday, March 28,
2008. To reserve a 20-minute time slot, please email the VRG office at
____@____.com or call ###-###-####.

The headaches might be due to fluid loss from the extra bleeding. Try drinking more water. Of course, they could also be from a hormonal problem (like the loss of sleep), but whatever the cause, if you find them getting better by drinking more water, you've at least solved that part. The bleeding can definitely be *worsened* by using aspirin. If you have a headache, go for something else, like ibuprofen.

If you take fish oil, flax seed oil, or flax seed, stop taking them immediately. They thin the blood and increase bleeding. Just like the aspirin.

Vitamin K is good for stopping bleeding. Do a quick search online to find K-rich foods.

As for the underlying cause, you might be experiencing a hormonal disruption from exposure to large amounts of them from meat (animals are given high doses of hormones to grow fast for early slaughter, and dairy cows are injected with it to produce large quantities of milk), and also exposure from hormone-mimicking chemicals in plastics and other chemicals in the environment. You can talk to a nutritionist about this or just do some research online.

Chemicals: best to avoid conventional cleaners, esp. bleach (and bleach-containing products like bleached coffee filters and tampons). For cleaners, there's a new line out by Clorox that's "green" - you can find it at Wal-Mart. For feminine hygiene products (when I'm not pregnant!), I use a Diva Cup (love it, though it took a couple of days to get used to; I just used pads as a back-up just in case, and continue to on the heaviest days) and Luna Pads (non-bleached, of course).

Start taking iron supplements immediately, and include citrus in your diet, too (it increases your absorption of iron). Use cast-iron cookware (Teflon's toxic, anyway, even at lower temperatures, and even if it's unscratched), as iron gets into the food you cook with it.

Some food sources of iron include:

kidney beans
canned baked beans
spinach
blackstrap molasses (I put mine on my oatmeal, and bake with it)
meat, but the biggest iron source, liver, contains a lot of toxins (its the toxin processor of the body), and the more I learn about animal-sourced foods in general, esp. these days, the leerier I am of it.

Good luck! Remember, harsh medicines and surgery are the LAST RESORT! Treat your body gently, and it will return the favor in kind.

L.

i had that samething happen and i misscarried and i found out also that my birth control was too strong for my body.

M.,
I know of a woman that does remote biofeedback and she is a naturopath. You put your hand on a hand cradle and your electrical energy is sent to her computer where the information is read. I know it sounds crazy, but she is very accurate and has treated many children and parents. Let me know if you want more information.
L.

Hi M.: I'm sure you'll rec. lots of differing advice for this, so here's my "two cents". I'm 42 yrs. old, with a 12, 10 and 6 yr. old. About 4 yrs. ago I was tired of not feeling well, and all my drs. wanted to do for me was give me another pill to try. Even though you no longer are on the pill, and you recently had a baby, it sounds like your hormones are not in balance, as I found mine weren't. After much research and trial and error (which is still ongoing), I found the advice of Dr. John Lee (johnleemd.com) to be very helpful and accurate. He suggests getting your hormone levels checked by your saliva (which you will more than likely have to pay for out-of-pocket) rather than by blood serum. He explains that the levels of "usable" hormones are found in the saliva, not blood. Our balance (hormones, nutrition, exercise, stress) should be treated as a whole. Through natural, avoid synthetic, hormone replacement you can bring your health back into balance. Dr. Lee explains that most symptoms: excessive bleeding, fybroids, headaches, insomnia, and so many others, can all be remedied by getting back into balance. Don't just listen to your drs., do the research yourself. You know your body better than anyone. Getting into balance again is a process, don't expect miracles overnight, as I said above, I'm still "fine-tuning" my balance. But, I'm in a much better place today then 4 yrs. ago, and my husband appreciates that! I hope this helps.

The replys about fibroids sound spot on. I had fibroids at about 30 years old and the DR wanted to do a hysterectomy but at that age I didn't want to do it, so they just removed them. When I went back for my 6 week check up, I had not had a period since my surgary. They did an ultrasound and I was pregnant. They made me have a c-section because they were afraid the walls of my uterus where the fibroids were removed might rupture during natural childbirth. When they did the c-section they found the fibroids had returned and as a consequence after I recovered from the c-section they did do a hysterectomy. Sorry to be so wordy, but my symptoms were the same as you are reporting. Hope this helps, but do insist the Dr see you, or go to another DR.

Hi M.,
It sounds like you are low in progesterone. This is the hormone that relaxes you and helps you sleep. It relaxes smooth muscle, so without it, you may have headaches related to tight muscles. When you bleed too often it is a sign of low progesterone. I would go to a OBGYN doctor who would use natural hormones. You would most likely improve on natural progesterone cream. No provera though. It is a drug and does not work the same as the natural bioidentical hormone progesterone.

B. S. RN,CCM

Hmm, could be a number of things but the first thing that comes to mind is whether you have fibroid tumors or not. The headaches could be anything (bleeding too much causing a lack of iron). I'm just throwing things out but check with your family members to see if there's a history of fibroids. Anytime I've talked to someone who had heavy menstrual cycles always said they had fibroids. Hopefully it's not but good luck and keep us posted.

Is there a possibility that you got pregnant? Maybe the heavy bleeding has been your body having a miscarriage? It does seem unlikely though since you have been doing this for three months now but you never know. You might consider trying to see another Dr. since yours is not very easy to get into. Have you mentioned how concerned you are to the scheduling person at your Dr's office or just that you want an appointment? Maybe you need to be adamant that you need an earlier or appointment or at least be put on a cancellation list. Please let us know what you find out.

I had the same symptoms and it turned out to be fibroids. I'm on that "wait and see if they grow" approach. If they are bothersome enough your OB can take them out with outpatient surgery. It's a sign of hormone imbalance and they usually go away with the hormone change of menopause.