{"id":12760,"date":"2017-08-22T17:56:55","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T09:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/?p=12760"},"modified":"2020-07-16T12:14:18","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T10:14:18","slug":"why-heavy-periods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/why-heavy-periods\/","title":{"rendered":"Flash Flood: Why is My Period Suddenly Heavier than Normal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;\"><em>This article was medically fact-checked by Women&#8217;s health expert and Gynaecologist  <a href=\"#drscroll\">Dr. Alyssa Dweck<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We like to think that, no matter how light and short or long and disastrously heavy our periods are, they at least follow a familiar pattern. It can be quite disconcerting then, when our previously steady cycles deviate significantly from the norm. To put your mind at ease, here are the basics of heavy bleeding, including when it is and isn\u2019t a big deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>First, What Constitutes \u2018Heavy\u2019?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average period will see about 30 mL ( 1 fluid oz ) of blood loss with a normal upper limit of 80 mL (2.7 fluid oz). If you\u2019re using a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/lily-cup\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lily Cup Classic A<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example, you\u2019d probably fill it completely less than 3 times over the course of your period. Menstrual cups make it very easy to monitor the amount of flow you have but \u2018heavy\u2019 can also be indicated by:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Needing to change your pad or tampon at least every 1-2 hours<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Needing to change your pad in the middle or the night or double up<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pass blood clots larger than an American quarter<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heavy periods are more common when hormone levels may fluctuate such as in our teens or right before menopause, or, again, always be heavy throughout your life. It\u2019s called menorrhagia, and if it\u2019s a sudden shift (or you are anemic) this is something to discuss with your doctor.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Main Causes Of Menorrhagia<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><b>1. You Just Switched Up Your Birth Control<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve just switched to the mini-pills (the ones that are progestogen-only as opposed to combination pill containing estrogen and progesterone) or are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/coming-off-birth-control\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">coming off oral contraceptives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> entirely, chances are you will notice a heavier flow. The patch is also associated with lighter periods, so discontinuing use of it may cause your flow to get heavier.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In general, when discontinuing hormonal contraception, your period habits will likely revert to what they were prior to initiating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/cup-and-iud\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IUDs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while the hormonal varieties such as Mirena tm, Kyleena tm and Liletta tm are associated with lighter periods, the non-hormonal copper IUD Paraguard tm, may actually cause heavier bleeding in many women.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>2. You\u2019re Peri Menopausal<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yep, this wondrous 4-8 year transition leading up to menopause\u2014known as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/peri-what-perimenopause\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">perimenopause<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014can affect women as young as 30, so don\u2019t rule it out as the cause of suddenly heavier bleeding, especially if there is a history of early menopause in your family.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3. You\u2019re Taking Blood Thinners<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you ever gone to get your ear pierced and forgotten to mention to the piercer that you took some Advil for pain? You (and your poor piercer) probably encountered a LOT more blood than they were banking on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It doesn\u2019t always click\u2014and we aren\u2019t always warned\u2014of all the ways that new medication will impact our bodies, so you may have not realized that anticoagulants such as coumadin will indeed cause a heavier period than normal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anticoagulants and other anti-inflammatories prevent clots so that blood can flow more easily through your body\u2026 which includes, you guessed it\u2014your period.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>4. You Have Uterine Fibroids<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it might sound serious, uterine fibroids are actually benign and super common muscular growths usually found in the uterus. In some cases, fibroids can cause unpleasant menstrual side effects\u2014painful cramping and heavier flow.\u00a0 In other cases, they are unnoticeable.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>5. You Have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Affecting between 8-20% of women worldwide, PCOS is a condition in which ovulation occurs infrequently, irregularly or not at all resulting in hormonal imbalance, thick uterine lining tissue and you guessed it, wonky periods.\u00a0 Menses might be absent for months at a time, irregular, heavy and lengthy when they do come.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>6. You Have An Infection<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"drscroll\"style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any infection of the uterus can cause heavier bleeding\u2014yes, this includes STIs like gonorrhea and chlamydia. These types of infection cause pelvic inflammatory disease, which can lead to infertility. If you have had unprotected sex\u2014penetrative or oral\u2014and notice heavier bleeding and pelvic pain\u00a0 it\u2019s important to get yourself tested and treated if need be.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"drstamp\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; background-color: #fff5f7; padding: 20px 20px 5px 20px;\">\n<h3 style=\"padding-bottom: 10px;\">Facts checked by:<\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"color: #ed008c;\"><strong>Dr. Alyssa Dweck<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-28100\" style=\"padding-top: 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/dr.dweck_.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Alyssa Dweck\" width=\"110\" height=\"96\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Alyssa Dweck MS, MD, FACOG is a practicing gynecologist in Westchester County, New York.  She provides care to women of all ages; she has delivered thousands of babies.  She is proficient in minimally invasive surgery and has special interest  and expertise in female sexual health and medical sex therapy.   She is top doctor in New York Magazine and Westchester Magazine.  Dr. Dweck  has co-authored three books including the most recent release The Complete A to Z For Your V.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/drdweck.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Website<\/a><\/strong> | <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drdweck\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 style=\"padding-left: 20px;\">Written by:<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article was medically fact-checked by Women&#8217;s health expert and Gynaecologist Dr. Alyssa Dweck. We like to think that, no matter how light and short or long and disastrously heavy&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":17263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[384,2],"tags":[47,205,249,252,253,254],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Flash Flood: 6 Reasons Why Your Period is Heavier than Usual<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A suddenly heavier flow can be a surprise and an inconvenience \u2014 here\u2019s how to tell if it should also be a cause for concern.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.intimina.com\/blog\/why-heavy-periods\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" 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