Why am I bleeding so much?

Most women occasionally experience heavy menstruation during their menstrual cycle. This heavy bleeding typically occurs during the final two to three years before menopause, or during the first few years after the onset menstruation during puberty.

A good rule of thumb to help you determine weather your bleeding is abnormal is:

• If you are soaking through enough sanitary protection products to require changing more than every one or two hours, or having a period that lasts over seven days, you are probably experiencing heavy menstruation.

Some women are concerned by clots in their menstruation, but clots, in most cases, are a normal part of your menstrual cycle. (The lining of the uterus is shed during menstruation and any clots you see are part of the uterine lining and, most often not cause for alarm.)

What Causes Abnormal Uterine Bleeding?

Menorrhagia (excessive uterine bleeding) most commonly results from a hormonal imbalance in adolescents during the years following the onset of menstruation, and in women who are approaching menopause. Our periods tend to be irregular during these times when our ovaries may or may not release an egg.

• A common cause of abnormal uterine bleeding is fibroid tumors. Other causes of excessive bleeding that your clinician should consider include:
  
  
  • cervical or endometrial polyps
  • lupus
  • pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
  • cervical cancer
  • endometrial cancer.

Women using intrauterine devices (IUDs) for birth control, may also experience excessive or prolonged periods. If you experience menorrhagia while using an IUD, the IUD should be removed and replaced with an alternative birth control method.

Usually detected soon after menstruation begins, platelet disorders are the most common blood disorder which causes excessive bleeding; the most common platelet disorder is von Willebrand's disease. Women with von Willebrand's disease commonly will experience not only heavy menstrual bleeding, but nosebleeds, easy bruising, and blood in the stool.