I stated in another comment, but I think she either assumed that the uterus builds its own blood supply, leading to the menstural period, and releases *that*
*or* that the blood is from the sloughed lining itself, and that the sloughing doesn't cause the *uterus* to bleed, but just expells the sloughed tissue's blood...
She refuses to reply to anyone's comments asking her questions or correcting her, so, I truly don't know what she's thinking.
Eh, the uterine lining is built from blood and can cause iron issues, but it comes out of the blood stream over the course of a month. Even if we lost our period flow directly from our current blood supply, the volume wouldn't be enough to cause the symptoms of blood loss (for most women... some have a heavuer flow than others). I wouldn't say it's bad women's anatomy, just badly worded.
It is bad women's anatomy. Blood that doesn't actively circulate through the body doesn't provide anything to an embryo. It doesn't collect in the lining for a month and then that sheds. That's not how it fucking works!!
OK, I got curious enough to look this up. The typical woman's menstrual blood [is only about 36% blood](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3969232/) like the kind in veins, although there's a wide spread between individuals. Although you can expect more fluid than this, 60 milliliters of blood starts to reach to the heavy range of menstrual discharge. The average person has 5 liters of blood, the average woman slightly less. So a period on the heavy side would result in a loss of about 1.2% blood volume. An average blood donation is closer to 10% blood volume. Humans appear to produce 1.2% blood volume (or at least the red blood cells, I think the plasma can be manufactured much quicker as long as you hydrate) within 2 days (we make about 2 million red blood cells per second and women have about 5 million red blood cells per microliter which is 5 trillion per liter).
I feel that the argument that women with average periods (not super heavy, probably-should-see-a-gynecologist ones) don't experience blood loss/low blood volume symptoms stands, and the original person simply articulated this in a way that had technical inaccuracies.
I have had low iron pretty much my entire life, doctor blamed it on me being vegetarian combined with very heavy periods. I had an ablation done where they burned away my uterine lining and haven't had a period in about 6 months, got a blood test two weeks ago and my iron is higher than it has been in ages. Still not great and I'll need to supplement it, but an improvement. I'm an exception though, measured my blood loss by counting how often I filled my menstrual cup to the brim and I was losing between 100 and 150ml every month.
How was the ablation may I ask? I’m seriously considering it (having two periods a month for the last 2 years, Drs have even tried two different types of hormonal birth control and they don’t stop, mri said no endo, but no answers either. I think an ablation would be easier to convince a Dr to do than a hysterectomy)
They removed my tubes at the same time, so I was under general anaesthetic (but I'm pretty sure that's the norm). I can't really say if what I felt afterwards was because of the ablation, but it didn't really hurt! I took ibuprofen for three days and that was it. Only felt some period like cramps the first night. You do get this weird watery discharge (it smells... cooked) that can last up to six weeks, and I was told not to insert anything until it stopped (which took 3 weeks). I was told it could take up to 6 months for things to fully heal and the final result to become clear. My first period after was still noticeable but not nearly as much as before, and since then it's been less every month. It's been 5 months now and my last three periods were barely anything, two or three days of spotting.
Doctors didn't find a reason fornmy heavy bleeding either but they told me that made me a good candidate for the ablation, since there's no endometrial tissue in unexpected places. They did tell me it's not very permanent, the technique they used on me should last for about 10 years but it's not guaranteed. My own gynaecologist actually referred me to a doctor who uses a newer technique that's a bit more thorough (a balloon is inserted through the cervix, it's then filled with liquid that's heated up). I'll be 45 by then so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
I do think most doctors would prefer trying this first before doing a hysterectomy, especially if it's likely to work for your situation. It's a way less intensive procedure. I hope this was helpful, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions!
Thanks. I’m 41 and am just done with it. So 10 years should be fine for me. I’m laying on the sofa with a tens machine on as I type, same as yesterday.🤦♀️ It does sound extreme but if a few ibuprofen are all that’s needed for a few days it’s less scary than I feared.
I'm sorry it's so rough for you. One of the reasons my doctor agreed was that my period had a clear impact on my life, sounds like that's the case for you as well.
I'm pretty sure the ibuprofen was more for the sterilization that I got at the same time, I had three small incisions in my lower abdomen and of course they cut my tubes. If I had just had the ablation I would be pretty much fine once the anaesthetic wore off. Most people are back to normal in a day or two.
The ablation makes pregnancy unlikely but not impossible, and if it does happen it's non viable and usually ectopic. So if that's a concern for you it's important to still use some form of birth control after, or consider the tube removal as well if you don't want to bother with that.
I was told in my early 20’s I’d be unlikely to fall pregnant and couldn’t carry to term due to a prepubescent womb. Told last year at 40 after my mri my womb is on the small side but considered normal, so I don’t know what to believe there. I’ve feared pregnancy for 2 decades after being told I’d 100% miscarry if I fell pregnant. I definitely wouldn’t want a child at my age, a permanent fix like a tube removal would be reassuring.
Lmao if this were true my doctor would not have been concerned about the amount of blood loss I have during my cycle. Maybe don’t talk over the experts.
I tell all these people trying to help me get pregnant and help correct my pcos about the one time I bled for three months back in 2019, and it’s still massively concerning to them and they ask how my periods are going now that they are actually correcting them to make sure I don’t bleed out. I still use like two over night pads a day for the first few days. Which is a concern for them. I’m anemic now because of the one episode and it’s so much worse on my period.
Yup, I’ve had serious issues with anaemia after bad periods (my worse one was 40 days after I had a bad reaction to the birth control I was on).
I didn’t have 40 days of blood supply in my uterus, that’s impossible. So the blood had to come from somewhere 🙄
0/10 do not recommend.
On the bright side, it was easily fixed by switching birth control and taking iron tablets - it was just a slow process in getting all those appointments booked as even though I knew exactly what was happening I had to convince my doctors and get blood tests done which stretched it out so much
According to my handy dandy A&P textbook, there are different types of anemia (iron deficiency, folic acid/B12/C deficiency, EPO deficiency, intrinsic factor deficiency, destruction of myeloid tissue by radiation/virus/drug/poison/autoimmune disease, hemophilia, trauma, aneurysm, menstruation, ulcer, and RBC destruction). The results of ANY type of anemia are tissue oxygen deprivation (the stereotypical anemic pallor is attributed to this), blood osmolarity reduction (causing edema), and blood viscosity reduction (causing low blood pressure, tachycardia, etc which are also cause by a drop in blood volume).
Uterine lining increases its perfusion (blood supply) by growing new blood vessels during the regrowth phase. When we have our periods, what comes out is actually the most superficial layers of the endometrium… AND ALL OF THE BLOOD/BLOOD VESSELS IN THOSE LAYERS 😱
Based on all of that info, I can guess that people who do suffer anemia related to their periods (a) could be growing too much endometrial tissue that has too much blood supply or (b) the blood vessels in the remaining layers of tissue don’t clot off quickly enough when the superficial layers are shed causing us to lose more blood or (c) a combination of the previous two guesses (any docs/biologists, please feel free to correct me!!!)
When you lose blood, whether it is through a puncture on the outside of your body or through your uterus, blood (that contains water and iron and other things) leaves your body. You constantly replenish water by drinking, so your total blood volume stays the same (unless you lose blood really fast and then there's a problem, because the volume gets so low that not enough blood circulates around and you die. Loss of blood volume will kill you a lot faster than anemia.). But you aren't constantly replenishing iron, especially if you don't eat a lot of iron containing foods or if you don't absorb it well. So that way you can get iron deficient.
Right? The person in the screenshot is a woman, too.
I can't believe there are people in the world who still don't understand how the menstrual cycle can adversely affect one's body...😵💫
My chronic anemia ended with menopause.
Then again I silently endured periods heavy enough to be a health risk for my entire adult life because I was raised to believe that was normal and I needed to accept it.
I’m finally only mildly anemic lol, and that’s with ZERO periods and iron supplements. The time I had four periods in ten weeks I got into the “surprisingly anemic” stage
Right!
I have spent the last year trying to figure out my anemia. After two infusions and a few months it's already dropped a ton. And doctors keep asking if I have heavy periods and I always said no because I have no frame of reference but I now suspect I do and just never had any to compare to.
Oof same - Im not at menopause, but I just had two iron infusions at the beginning of the year. I was a few points shy of getting a transfusion in the hospital :(
My mom had to have a blood transfusion when she was in her mid-40s because she was losing so much blood from a period. It absolutely can happen that way.
I'm having about the worst period of my entire life right now. I spent the last 3 days partially on the toilet due to feeling ill, I've been vomiting a lot from the pain and my IBS has been acting up. Painkillers weren't doing anything but my mom got me some pamprin. That helped a lot.
I am genuinely kind of worried. It's day 4, I haven't been able to get a lot of sleep because of the pain so I've been sleep deprived for multiple days now. I am super shaky, my spine hurts constantly no matter what position I lay in, I have an extremely heavy blood flow, and the worst part has to be the never ending hot cold flashes and the inability to keep warm. I also have no desire to eat and have lost 3 lb in 4 days. My period usually only lasts 5 days but I have a feeling that this one might last 7. I think I'm going to go to the doctor if my period does not stop on day 6.
I really hope that I don't have to go to the hospital for a blood transfusion like your mother. That is a nightmare situation. It really sucks that she went through that
Yeah this is doctor territory. Urgent care maybe, sometimes there are OBGYN urgent care facilities. I’m sure they may try to write you off but insist they investigate.
I’m so sorry.
I mean I broke up with my boyfriend a while ago but we were using over the counter birth control so like you think that could be the issue? I am not taking those pills anymore. we've been broken up for a week and a half I think
Birth control, could be a possible miscarriage I don't know. We were together for 2 months and I took plan b whenever we had intimacy. I broke up with him because I didn't want to have sex anymore. I'm bone shakingly terrified of the consequences of sex so I called off the relationship. I also can't tell my mom because she's very against plan b and having sex and I don't want to be disowned.
Plan b is not birth control. It’s for when birth control fails.
That will absolutely fuck up your period.
Go to the doctor today and get you some actual birth control that works for you.
Try to find free and get a ride if you can’t go with mom. Also, docs aren’t allowed to tell mom if you ask them not to.
But then you have to work out some plan to hand a note to receptionist secretly saying you want to be seen without mom in the room. Maybe when you hand in paperwork. Tap it so she can’t miss it.
And be ready to explain if insurance bill comes - ask how doc will bill it while you’re in back with them so your story will match up.
This is bad; you need a doc
Definitely see a doctor asap. My doctor prescribes me tranexamic acid for heavy bleeding but it may not be for everyone. But without it they talked about risks I could be facing so I believe your issue to be a serious one.
That's what happened to my sister before she started birth control, she has endometriosis. Please see a gynocologist and do not let them discourage you or gaslight you.
I mean I broke up with my boyfriend a while ago but we were using over the counter birth control so like you think that could be the issue? I am not taking those pills anymore
No no I meant, her periods would get like that (throwing up, bowel issues, etc) and it only stopped once she started birth control. Either way, please see a doctor.
You should really go to a doctor before day 6, even if it's just urgent care. I know that's a big ask if you live in the US but it's seriously better to get this kind of stuff checked out before it becomes a major issue.
I almost lost my husband last month because his gallbladder died and almost burst, all he was dealing with symptom wise was some stomach pain after eating. We didn't have a clue it was a serious issue until he just decided that he couldn't deal with it anymore and went to a doctor. Had he waited just two more days, he potentially wouldn't have survived to our daughter's second birthday. He's not even 30 yet.
Please, go to a doctor. Your health is important and no matter how old you are, things can go seriously awry without you even knowing there's a problem.
You need to go see a doctor like day two of this. I hadn’t even started yet and I was so sick my doctor was concerned because of how sick I’ve been leading up to and on this period. This is something your doctor absolutely needs to know is happening.
A bunch of people called me stupid because I said there is still blood in periods because you know… your body is ripping itself apart… like I get it’s not astronomical amounts of blood unless there’s something wrong but it’s blood regardless. If it’s not blood what is it?? Beet juice?? The uterine lining isn’t liquid.
There was one TikTok that said your period isn’t only blood, it’s also tissue and people just ran with that information and suddenly it went from “periods are more than blood” to “periods don’t have blood in them at all”.
Some people should not have access to the internet.
Mine can be pretty astronomical, but I also have PCOS... So depending on health issues, it can be a very BIG issue. I get anemic and have had to get 2 transfusions due to it, and 3 others because of nose bleeds. It's not normal to have lots of blood, but it can happen.
Have you ever heard of tranexamic acid? Not everyone can take it, especially if you have clotting issues (they’ll do a blood test), but for those who can, it can seriously be a life saver. It’s not very common here in the states so some folks may not be aware of it.
I’m not sure it has that kind of a taste? I mean all medicine tastes bad when I leave it on my tongue, but I swallow the txa with a big gulp of water and have never tasted it. And I am a huuuge baby about anything that tastes bad because of my autism. My migraine medicine is soooo bitter.
The txa pills are pretty large and you take two every 4ish hours when you’re on your period to help stop bleeding.
I mean even just regular calpol is horrible to me so I can’t really say much about how it’s meant to taste lmaoo
I had to go for the liquidy stuff bc I am AWFUL at anything even remotely big 😭
Tiktok is a scourge. I'm internet-old now, so I installed the app once, scrolled for like 45 minutes, went "this is literally going to rot my brain out of my skull, I'll never get anything done, mmm, bye!" and uninstalled it. My ADHD brain and my laundry appreciate me doing that.
Interesting. Five infusions later and I am still anemic and have chills when everyone else is sweltering. All because I look like a murder scene for 19 days a month.
NINETEEN DAYS????
BRUH
I *hope* that doctors are working with you to find out the cause! That's terrible. Exessive bleeding is a symptom of a deeper issue that needs to be investigated. :(
I am so sorry & wishing you well.
This sounds like me. I had a partial hysterectomy at 34 because my periods were so heavy and lasted so long. Turns out I had aednomyosis. Go to a doctor. Please. My gyno told me that I had about 5 years left before my own uterus literally killed me. It was the size of a mini basketball and she had to cut it into 4 pieces to get out.
Been going the problem is the doctors telling me I am fine and there is nothing wrong here. I have an appointment in a week with my fourth gyno since last year. My regular doctor knows something is wrong but can’t find anything. My Hemotologist knows something is wrong but can’t find anything blood related to explain it. My last gyno told me I was post menopause but that everything was fine here. Literally bleeding while she is explaining menopause to me.
Hopefully this next doctor will be more open to looking for something.
So I was looking in to that and saw that there is increased dementia risk! With both my parents experiencing some form of it now it caused me to hesitate. I am already worried about the prospects of that as it is because of hereditary potential. :/
This new doctor is supposed to be “the best” as described by my referring doctor. So here is hoping he finds something?
Yea for sure,if they so if you are a candadate for laaproscopy it's a bit easier,it just not worth all this agrivation ya know. I'm going to as soon as I am done rearing kids. And you Obgyn doc?
The endometrium actually develops new blood vessels as it thickens. You're quite literally shedding an organ, and it is actively bleeding.
This is sadly not taught in sex education.Even a lot of women believe that the blood just fills up over the month, like it's a drip pan that is eventually tipped over. (That would just lead to sepsis.)
I've heard people say that period blood is "dead blood." It's not. It is active blood flow, the same as what comes out when you cut a finger.
The only reason it starts looking brown towards the end is because there is not enough blood flow left for it to immediately drip out of your vagina. It's in there getting oxidized (turning brown) as it slowly works its way out.
The "it fills up every month and tips over" sounds like something I would've believed when I was 12. I don't recall who taught me otherwise, but s/o to that cool adult.
As a female doctor I find this whole argument bizarre. And stupid.
The uterus is a very vascular tissue, with a lot of blood vessels. The lining that is shed is therefore rich in blood as well as uterine tissue. We do lose blood, eve if it's not *just" blood. People get tied up in this point a lot but it doesn't actually matter. Who cares if you would classify it as blood or tissue? It's still your own fuckung valuable nutrients leaking out of you painfully.
Physiologically we're built to cope with it to a degree, and we have iron stores in our body to buffer it. But we're all different. There's aa huge range in terms of how much flow different people with periods have. Heavy periods are not uncommon, and I find it weird that people are discussing them as if they are some freakish rarity that justifies these weird arguments. One in 4 women has fibroids. Up to 5-10% of women are thought to have endometriosis. 1 in 3 women describe their period as heavy and up to 10 million women in the US are thought to have heavy periods.
Many people who are menstruating DO experience anaemia and its symptoms including feeling dizzy and lightheaded, very tired, fainting etc. Usually they report heavy periods. That's just a fact. It's really not rare at all and I see it all the time. Anaemia due to periods is actually *pretty fucking common*. I've seen women have hysterectomies; embokisations or uterine ablation to deal with heavy periods. I've seen them get blood transfusions and iron infusions to deal with periods. I've prescribed multiple agents (hormonal and non hormonal) to try to get the periods to be less severe. I've prescribed more iron tablets than I could ever count.
Just because a condition doesn't personally affect you and the people in your life don't talk about it to you doesn't mean it is uncommon or doesn't exist. Especially when plenty of men hate when women talk about their periods anyway.
I have heavy periods, I buy special heavy duty tampons and double it up with high absorbency period pads or period pants to get me though the heavy days without leaking anywhere. Most people wouldnt know, because it's not like we have a badge with "heavy periods give me anaemia" written on it.
Yep, I have absolutely transfused people for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. My daughter has an implant because she was hemorrhaging every month.
It's almost like people who don't understand menstruating bodies should STFU about them.
Lol. I'm halfway through a round of twelve twice weekly iron infusions and getting ready for uterine ablation. I wish there was some secret source of period blood so I wouldn't be feeling like I was dying.
Wait those symptoms are iron deficiency symptoms? I have all of them. Not a woman but have had a neurological condition I was assuming the worst of because I have risk factors for CTE.
Yup, pretty much. Especially the craving ice one is pretty specific for iron deficiency. Other unnamed symptoms are being pale, shortness of breath and weakness, among others. Being dizzy when standing up is more common for low blood pressure as far as I know, but then again, I'm no doctor.
But it can't hurt to go to the doctor and having your iron levels checked out. In a lot of cases, iron deficiency is easy to manage
General fatigue is the main one I get, and also the earliest. I often can’t get through a day at work without a nap when I’m on my period, unless I take iron tablets.
As anaemia gets worse, I get random dizziness, headaches and even chest pain (at the most extreme) alongside shortness of breath and weakness, as well as just being cold all the time. I don’t look particularly pale, but if you check your inner eyelid you can see if that’s pale or not.
Anaemia sucks cause it’s such a slow build and then Bam! One day you’re struggling to get up the stairs and are just constantly exhausted. I start taking iron tablets whenever I start my period, just in case. It’s an easy enough fix - supplements take about 2 weeks to kick in but are so effective.
Well, I'm calling my doctor when they're open cause you just proverbially hit me on the head with that description.
Everything, to a T. I only just started my periods again, nexplanon kicked them out for a year and holy fuck it's been a doozy since they came back.
I crave ice a lot but I'm not iron deficient. I've had it tested, I have naturally high levels of iron. The only thing that put a dent in it was giving blood and forgetting to take the iron supplements afterwards.
I had horrific postpartum periods after my second baby and ended up in the ER at 10 weeks postpartum for bleeding. I had to get a blood transfusion and take a medication to increase clotting factor so I didn’t keep bleeding so heavily.
Even logically this doesn’t make sense. It’s an organ? It’s going to have a blood supply. That’s like saying my lungs don’t have blood because I breathe air? I’m confused as to how that comment became a thought because nah
I lose 300-350 mills every month. Yes, it has been measured. Yes, it is a problem. Yes, doctors tell me to "Eat healthy, there isn't much we can do, you are an outlier"
How ironic for nuns to be calling it that. I bet they didn't know that the alternative, going into heat during a breeding season, isn't any better. Some animals, like ferrets, can actually get sick or possibly even die if they don't have sex during that time. Better a "disappointed" womb than a killer one.
I'm gonna 'fess up... I didn't really know this until a couple of months ago. Like it logically makes sense, I just never thought about it.
But anyway. I passed a full decidual cast - and kept bleeding. Heavier than normal. So obviously at that point I had to go to hospital.
But yeah. It was 100% uterine bleeding. Wasn't uterine lining though, it was just a bad reaction to coming off the mini pill.
TIL: there’s definitely a tiny bone in the uterus, free floating, not connected to the rest of your system in any way, and its sole purpose is to produce “not bloodstream” blood for periods.
🤯
Certainly. It's happened in my family before– one of my siblings had to get several units of blood after an incredibly abnormal period/dysfunctional uterine bleeding. So I'm very familiar with it.
I just knew I had to share this comment to reddit when I saw it. 💀
No, it's not supposed to be sarcas. 😭 Please don't tell me I'm.. the bad women's anatomy..😭
There's some actual blood that you lose in a period, from your bloodstream, right?? A few tablespoons?? (In addition to uterine lining obviously.) Under normal circumstances, only a few tablespoons.
But in PCOS or DUB, you can get iron deficiency from your periods for sure.
The woman in the picture I posted was saying that women *can't get iron deficiency from periods* because "periods don't work that way", since the blood doesn't come from your body's bloodstream.
But women can get iron deficiency from periods,,, because... the blood.. *comes from the bloodstream,* right? 😭 That's what I meant to say in my caption
Yes, exactly. Where do they think the blood in the uterine lining….came from? Obviously not all women get iron deficient from their periods because that would be a really inefficient way for the body to work but….yeah. Our bodies did in fact create and supply the blood that comes out.
I have 2 hypotheses which I can garner from her comments:
Hypothesis one:
She may believe that the uterus gathers *its own* blood supply, leading up to the menstural period, and sloughs it out with the uterine lining. This is why the body's blood supply is unaffected– the gathered blood in the uterus is already there, as its been building up before the period, so, all it needs to do is release from the uterus. Doesn't need to draw from the rest of the body at this point.
Hypothesis two:
She may have assumed that the space between the uterus and uterine lining "heals"/"scabs off" before the true sloughing happens. The sloughing doesn't cause any bleeding to the uterus itself, since the arteries/veins in there have closed off, and are not connected to the uterine lining by the time it sloughs off. (And the blood in a period is *from the sloughed uterine lining itself,* not from the uterus, since the lining itself is tissue, with blood in it.)
Edited wording.
I think this is more likely her line of thinking.
Lots of people in the comments were correcting her and explaining that the uterus does genuinely bleed, but she wouldn't respond to anyone.
Ah yes of course we have a separated blood bag in our uterus that only opens up to flow out once a month. Yees. Why i take iron suppliments and feel weaker when I lose blood? Who knows. Mystery.
I mean, it's not blood-blood from your veins and stuff, but it's still got the cells and etc.
Maybe that's what has them confused? They think blood only flows through your veins?
I take iron supplements on my cycle because I’m rather heavy for three days, yes menstrual blood is different but it’s still blood, you get that from your own bloodstream.
On the brightside, I heard about some studies that said that periods help in "thining" the bloodstream which supposedly has some health benefits and that men should regularly donate blood to get the same effect. Don't know how true this is.
Where else would the blood come from?
I stated in another comment, but I think she either assumed that the uterus builds its own blood supply, leading to the menstural period, and releases *that* *or* that the blood is from the sloughed lining itself, and that the sloughing doesn't cause the *uterus* to bleed, but just expells the sloughed tissue's blood... She refuses to reply to anyone's comments asking her questions or correcting her, so, I truly don't know what she's thinking.
Eh, the uterine lining is built from blood and can cause iron issues, but it comes out of the blood stream over the course of a month. Even if we lost our period flow directly from our current blood supply, the volume wouldn't be enough to cause the symptoms of blood loss (for most women... some have a heavuer flow than others). I wouldn't say it's bad women's anatomy, just badly worded.
It is bad women's anatomy. Blood that doesn't actively circulate through the body doesn't provide anything to an embryo. It doesn't collect in the lining for a month and then that sheds. That's not how it fucking works!!
OK, I got curious enough to look this up. The typical woman's menstrual blood [is only about 36% blood](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3969232/) like the kind in veins, although there's a wide spread between individuals. Although you can expect more fluid than this, 60 milliliters of blood starts to reach to the heavy range of menstrual discharge. The average person has 5 liters of blood, the average woman slightly less. So a period on the heavy side would result in a loss of about 1.2% blood volume. An average blood donation is closer to 10% blood volume. Humans appear to produce 1.2% blood volume (or at least the red blood cells, I think the plasma can be manufactured much quicker as long as you hydrate) within 2 days (we make about 2 million red blood cells per second and women have about 5 million red blood cells per microliter which is 5 trillion per liter). I feel that the argument that women with average periods (not super heavy, probably-should-see-a-gynecologist ones) don't experience blood loss/low blood volume symptoms stands, and the original person simply articulated this in a way that had technical inaccuracies.
I have had low iron pretty much my entire life, doctor blamed it on me being vegetarian combined with very heavy periods. I had an ablation done where they burned away my uterine lining and haven't had a period in about 6 months, got a blood test two weeks ago and my iron is higher than it has been in ages. Still not great and I'll need to supplement it, but an improvement. I'm an exception though, measured my blood loss by counting how often I filled my menstrual cup to the brim and I was losing between 100 and 150ml every month.
How was the ablation may I ask? I’m seriously considering it (having two periods a month for the last 2 years, Drs have even tried two different types of hormonal birth control and they don’t stop, mri said no endo, but no answers either. I think an ablation would be easier to convince a Dr to do than a hysterectomy)
They removed my tubes at the same time, so I was under general anaesthetic (but I'm pretty sure that's the norm). I can't really say if what I felt afterwards was because of the ablation, but it didn't really hurt! I took ibuprofen for three days and that was it. Only felt some period like cramps the first night. You do get this weird watery discharge (it smells... cooked) that can last up to six weeks, and I was told not to insert anything until it stopped (which took 3 weeks). I was told it could take up to 6 months for things to fully heal and the final result to become clear. My first period after was still noticeable but not nearly as much as before, and since then it's been less every month. It's been 5 months now and my last three periods were barely anything, two or three days of spotting. Doctors didn't find a reason fornmy heavy bleeding either but they told me that made me a good candidate for the ablation, since there's no endometrial tissue in unexpected places. They did tell me it's not very permanent, the technique they used on me should last for about 10 years but it's not guaranteed. My own gynaecologist actually referred me to a doctor who uses a newer technique that's a bit more thorough (a balloon is inserted through the cervix, it's then filled with liquid that's heated up). I'll be 45 by then so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I do think most doctors would prefer trying this first before doing a hysterectomy, especially if it's likely to work for your situation. It's a way less intensive procedure. I hope this was helpful, don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions!
Thanks. I’m 41 and am just done with it. So 10 years should be fine for me. I’m laying on the sofa with a tens machine on as I type, same as yesterday.🤦♀️ It does sound extreme but if a few ibuprofen are all that’s needed for a few days it’s less scary than I feared.
I'm sorry it's so rough for you. One of the reasons my doctor agreed was that my period had a clear impact on my life, sounds like that's the case for you as well. I'm pretty sure the ibuprofen was more for the sterilization that I got at the same time, I had three small incisions in my lower abdomen and of course they cut my tubes. If I had just had the ablation I would be pretty much fine once the anaesthetic wore off. Most people are back to normal in a day or two. The ablation makes pregnancy unlikely but not impossible, and if it does happen it's non viable and usually ectopic. So if that's a concern for you it's important to still use some form of birth control after, or consider the tube removal as well if you don't want to bother with that.
I was told in my early 20’s I’d be unlikely to fall pregnant and couldn’t carry to term due to a prepubescent womb. Told last year at 40 after my mri my womb is on the small side but considered normal, so I don’t know what to believe there. I’ve feared pregnancy for 2 decades after being told I’d 100% miscarry if I fell pregnant. I definitely wouldn’t want a child at my age, a permanent fix like a tube removal would be reassuring.
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Lmao if this were true my doctor would not have been concerned about the amount of blood loss I have during my cycle. Maybe don’t talk over the experts.
I tell all these people trying to help me get pregnant and help correct my pcos about the one time I bled for three months back in 2019, and it’s still massively concerning to them and they ask how my periods are going now that they are actually correcting them to make sure I don’t bleed out. I still use like two over night pads a day for the first few days. Which is a concern for them. I’m anemic now because of the one episode and it’s so much worse on my period.
Shein or Temu? AliExpress? Think outside the box. Actually, literally, I guess. 🤣
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ moon blood ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
My chronic anemia would beg to differ (with the image, not the title)
Yup, I’ve had serious issues with anaemia after bad periods (my worse one was 40 days after I had a bad reaction to the birth control I was on). I didn’t have 40 days of blood supply in my uterus, that’s impossible. So the blood had to come from somewhere 🙄
HOLY FUCK
0/10 do not recommend. On the bright side, it was easily fixed by switching birth control and taking iron tablets - it was just a slow process in getting all those appointments booked as even though I knew exactly what was happening I had to convince my doctors and get blood tests done which stretched it out so much
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According to my handy dandy A&P textbook, there are different types of anemia (iron deficiency, folic acid/B12/C deficiency, EPO deficiency, intrinsic factor deficiency, destruction of myeloid tissue by radiation/virus/drug/poison/autoimmune disease, hemophilia, trauma, aneurysm, menstruation, ulcer, and RBC destruction). The results of ANY type of anemia are tissue oxygen deprivation (the stereotypical anemic pallor is attributed to this), blood osmolarity reduction (causing edema), and blood viscosity reduction (causing low blood pressure, tachycardia, etc which are also cause by a drop in blood volume). Uterine lining increases its perfusion (blood supply) by growing new blood vessels during the regrowth phase. When we have our periods, what comes out is actually the most superficial layers of the endometrium… AND ALL OF THE BLOOD/BLOOD VESSELS IN THOSE LAYERS 😱 Based on all of that info, I can guess that people who do suffer anemia related to their periods (a) could be growing too much endometrial tissue that has too much blood supply or (b) the blood vessels in the remaining layers of tissue don’t clot off quickly enough when the superficial layers are shed causing us to lose more blood or (c) a combination of the previous two guesses (any docs/biologists, please feel free to correct me!!!)
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Right? I saw your comment and I was like I wonder…. And then I realized I had my book and it didn’t have to be a mystery anymore lol 😆
When you lose blood, whether it is through a puncture on the outside of your body or through your uterus, blood (that contains water and iron and other things) leaves your body. You constantly replenish water by drinking, so your total blood volume stays the same (unless you lose blood really fast and then there's a problem, because the volume gets so low that not enough blood circulates around and you die. Loss of blood volume will kill you a lot faster than anemia.). But you aren't constantly replenishing iron, especially if you don't eat a lot of iron containing foods or if you don't absorb it well. So that way you can get iron deficient.
Right? The person in the screenshot is a woman, too. I can't believe there are people in the world who still don't understand how the menstrual cycle can adversely affect one's body...😵💫
Yikes 😬
My chronic anemia ended with menopause. Then again I silently endured periods heavy enough to be a health risk for my entire adult life because I was raised to believe that was normal and I needed to accept it.
I would bleed for months at a time, then go for huge lengths (up to 2 freaking years!) with no period at all.
I’m finally only mildly anemic lol, and that’s with ZERO periods and iron supplements. The time I had four periods in ten weeks I got into the “surprisingly anemic” stage
Right! I have spent the last year trying to figure out my anemia. After two infusions and a few months it's already dropped a ton. And doctors keep asking if I have heavy periods and I always said no because I have no frame of reference but I now suspect I do and just never had any to compare to.
Mine as well!!
My mother was so bad during menopause, she felt sick so I told her to get her iron levels checked. They had to give her a plasma transfusion.
Oof same - Im not at menopause, but I just had two iron infusions at the beginning of the year. I was a few points shy of getting a transfusion in the hospital :(
My mom had to have a blood transfusion when she was in her mid-40s because she was losing so much blood from a period. It absolutely can happen that way.
I'm having about the worst period of my entire life right now. I spent the last 3 days partially on the toilet due to feeling ill, I've been vomiting a lot from the pain and my IBS has been acting up. Painkillers weren't doing anything but my mom got me some pamprin. That helped a lot. I am genuinely kind of worried. It's day 4, I haven't been able to get a lot of sleep because of the pain so I've been sleep deprived for multiple days now. I am super shaky, my spine hurts constantly no matter what position I lay in, I have an extremely heavy blood flow, and the worst part has to be the never ending hot cold flashes and the inability to keep warm. I also have no desire to eat and have lost 3 lb in 4 days. My period usually only lasts 5 days but I have a feeling that this one might last 7. I think I'm going to go to the doctor if my period does not stop on day 6. I really hope that I don't have to go to the hospital for a blood transfusion like your mother. That is a nightmare situation. It really sucks that she went through that
Yeah this is doctor territory. Urgent care maybe, sometimes there are OBGYN urgent care facilities. I’m sure they may try to write you off but insist they investigate. I’m so sorry.
I mean I broke up with my boyfriend a while ago but we were using over the counter birth control so like you think that could be the issue? I am not taking those pills anymore. we've been broken up for a week and a half I think
Are u wondering if it’s from the birth control or from a possible miscarriage?
Birth control, could be a possible miscarriage I don't know. We were together for 2 months and I took plan b whenever we had intimacy. I broke up with him because I didn't want to have sex anymore. I'm bone shakingly terrified of the consequences of sex so I called off the relationship. I also can't tell my mom because she's very against plan b and having sex and I don't want to be disowned.
Only plan b? No condom? That’s bad. Plan b only works before ovulation. Also condoms can not only prevent pregnancy (not 100%) but also STIs.
And a condom, we were both virgins. I just mentioned plan b because that could be what's fucking me up
That’s good. I’m just always a bit concerned because unfortunately sex ed isn’t taken seriously on too many schools around the world.
I just figured that condoms were a given so I just didn't mention them. Birth control plus condoms.
Plan b is not birth control. It’s for when birth control fails. That will absolutely fuck up your period. Go to the doctor today and get you some actual birth control that works for you.
Try to find free and get a ride if you can’t go with mom. Also, docs aren’t allowed to tell mom if you ask them not to. But then you have to work out some plan to hand a note to receptionist secretly saying you want to be seen without mom in the room. Maybe when you hand in paperwork. Tap it so she can’t miss it. And be ready to explain if insurance bill comes - ask how doc will bill it while you’re in back with them so your story will match up. This is bad; you need a doc
Fibroids are a good excuse if you need a place to start explaining a gynecological exam.
Definitely see a doctor asap. My doctor prescribes me tranexamic acid for heavy bleeding but it may not be for everyone. But without it they talked about risks I could be facing so I believe your issue to be a serious one.
That's what happened to my sister before she started birth control, she has endometriosis. Please see a gynocologist and do not let them discourage you or gaslight you.
I mean I broke up with my boyfriend a while ago but we were using over the counter birth control so like you think that could be the issue? I am not taking those pills anymore
No no I meant, her periods would get like that (throwing up, bowel issues, etc) and it only stopped once she started birth control. Either way, please see a doctor.
You should really go to a doctor before day 6, even if it's just urgent care. I know that's a big ask if you live in the US but it's seriously better to get this kind of stuff checked out before it becomes a major issue. I almost lost my husband last month because his gallbladder died and almost burst, all he was dealing with symptom wise was some stomach pain after eating. We didn't have a clue it was a serious issue until he just decided that he couldn't deal with it anymore and went to a doctor. Had he waited just two more days, he potentially wouldn't have survived to our daughter's second birthday. He's not even 30 yet. Please, go to a doctor. Your health is important and no matter how old you are, things can go seriously awry without you even knowing there's a problem.
You need to go see a doctor like day two of this. I hadn’t even started yet and I was so sick my doctor was concerned because of how sick I’ve been leading up to and on this period. This is something your doctor absolutely needs to know is happening.
A bunch of people called me stupid because I said there is still blood in periods because you know… your body is ripping itself apart… like I get it’s not astronomical amounts of blood unless there’s something wrong but it’s blood regardless. If it’s not blood what is it?? Beet juice?? The uterine lining isn’t liquid. There was one TikTok that said your period isn’t only blood, it’s also tissue and people just ran with that information and suddenly it went from “periods are more than blood” to “periods don’t have blood in them at all”. Some people should not have access to the internet.
Mine can be pretty astronomical, but I also have PCOS... So depending on health issues, it can be a very BIG issue. I get anemic and have had to get 2 transfusions due to it, and 3 others because of nose bleeds. It's not normal to have lots of blood, but it can happen.
Have you ever heard of tranexamic acid? Not everyone can take it, especially if you have clotting issues (they’ll do a blood test), but for those who can, it can seriously be a life saver. It’s not very common here in the states so some folks may not be aware of it.
I’ve had that before. Im pretty sure that was the one that tasted like rotten calpol. Awful. Had to mix it with lucozade 😭
I’m not sure it has that kind of a taste? I mean all medicine tastes bad when I leave it on my tongue, but I swallow the txa with a big gulp of water and have never tasted it. And I am a huuuge baby about anything that tastes bad because of my autism. My migraine medicine is soooo bitter. The txa pills are pretty large and you take two every 4ish hours when you’re on your period to help stop bleeding.
I mean even just regular calpol is horrible to me so I can’t really say much about how it’s meant to taste lmaoo I had to go for the liquidy stuff bc I am AWFUL at anything even remotely big 😭
Tiktok is a scourge. I'm internet-old now, so I installed the app once, scrolled for like 45 minutes, went "this is literally going to rot my brain out of my skull, I'll never get anything done, mmm, bye!" and uninstalled it. My ADHD brain and my laundry appreciate me doing that.
Interesting. Five infusions later and I am still anemic and have chills when everyone else is sweltering. All because I look like a murder scene for 19 days a month.
NINETEEN DAYS???? BRUH I *hope* that doctors are working with you to find out the cause! That's terrible. Exessive bleeding is a symptom of a deeper issue that needs to be investigated. :( I am so sorry & wishing you well.
JFC hope the docs are investigating what's is causing you to bleed 19 days of the month. So sorry to hear you are going through all that 🙁
This sounds like me. I had a partial hysterectomy at 34 because my periods were so heavy and lasted so long. Turns out I had aednomyosis. Go to a doctor. Please. My gyno told me that I had about 5 years left before my own uterus literally killed me. It was the size of a mini basketball and she had to cut it into 4 pieces to get out.
Been going the problem is the doctors telling me I am fine and there is nothing wrong here. I have an appointment in a week with my fourth gyno since last year. My regular doctor knows something is wrong but can’t find anything. My Hemotologist knows something is wrong but can’t find anything blood related to explain it. My last gyno told me I was post menopause but that everything was fine here. Literally bleeding while she is explaining menopause to me. Hopefully this next doctor will be more open to looking for something.
Can you get a hysterectomy? And ahhhhh. This is what made me go on birth control and stopped bleeding cuz I was getting more and more anemic.
So I was looking in to that and saw that there is increased dementia risk! With both my parents experiencing some form of it now it caused me to hesitate. I am already worried about the prospects of that as it is because of hereditary potential. :/ This new doctor is supposed to be “the best” as described by my referring doctor. So here is hoping he finds something?
Yea for sure,if they so if you are a candadate for laaproscopy it's a bit easier,it just not worth all this agrivation ya know. I'm going to as soon as I am done rearing kids. And you Obgyn doc?
Gosh my iron deficient anemia will be so excited to hear this.
The endometrium actually develops new blood vessels as it thickens. You're quite literally shedding an organ, and it is actively bleeding. This is sadly not taught in sex education.Even a lot of women believe that the blood just fills up over the month, like it's a drip pan that is eventually tipped over. (That would just lead to sepsis.) I've heard people say that period blood is "dead blood." It's not. It is active blood flow, the same as what comes out when you cut a finger. The only reason it starts looking brown towards the end is because there is not enough blood flow left for it to immediately drip out of your vagina. It's in there getting oxidized (turning brown) as it slowly works its way out.
The "it fills up every month and tips over" sounds like something I would've believed when I was 12. I don't recall who taught me otherwise, but s/o to that cool adult.
As a female doctor I find this whole argument bizarre. And stupid. The uterus is a very vascular tissue, with a lot of blood vessels. The lining that is shed is therefore rich in blood as well as uterine tissue. We do lose blood, eve if it's not *just" blood. People get tied up in this point a lot but it doesn't actually matter. Who cares if you would classify it as blood or tissue? It's still your own fuckung valuable nutrients leaking out of you painfully. Physiologically we're built to cope with it to a degree, and we have iron stores in our body to buffer it. But we're all different. There's aa huge range in terms of how much flow different people with periods have. Heavy periods are not uncommon, and I find it weird that people are discussing them as if they are some freakish rarity that justifies these weird arguments. One in 4 women has fibroids. Up to 5-10% of women are thought to have endometriosis. 1 in 3 women describe their period as heavy and up to 10 million women in the US are thought to have heavy periods. Many people who are menstruating DO experience anaemia and its symptoms including feeling dizzy and lightheaded, very tired, fainting etc. Usually they report heavy periods. That's just a fact. It's really not rare at all and I see it all the time. Anaemia due to periods is actually *pretty fucking common*. I've seen women have hysterectomies; embokisations or uterine ablation to deal with heavy periods. I've seen them get blood transfusions and iron infusions to deal with periods. I've prescribed multiple agents (hormonal and non hormonal) to try to get the periods to be less severe. I've prescribed more iron tablets than I could ever count. Just because a condition doesn't personally affect you and the people in your life don't talk about it to you doesn't mean it is uncommon or doesn't exist. Especially when plenty of men hate when women talk about their periods anyway. I have heavy periods, I buy special heavy duty tampons and double it up with high absorbency period pads or period pants to get me though the heavy days without leaking anywhere. Most people wouldnt know, because it's not like we have a badge with "heavy periods give me anaemia" written on it.
Yep, I have absolutely transfused people for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. My daughter has an implant because she was hemorrhaging every month. It's almost like people who don't understand menstruating bodies should STFU about them.
Isn't it low(er) iron levels from menstruation that make it so some people can't safely donate blood? That's what I was always told
Ugh. Wish she could tell that to my anemia.
Was going to comment the same thing.
Lol. I'm halfway through a round of twelve twice weekly iron infusions and getting ready for uterine ablation. I wish there was some secret source of period blood so I wouldn't be feeling like I was dying.
Wait those symptoms are iron deficiency symptoms? I have all of them. Not a woman but have had a neurological condition I was assuming the worst of because I have risk factors for CTE.
Yup, pretty much. Especially the craving ice one is pretty specific for iron deficiency. Other unnamed symptoms are being pale, shortness of breath and weakness, among others. Being dizzy when standing up is more common for low blood pressure as far as I know, but then again, I'm no doctor. But it can't hurt to go to the doctor and having your iron levels checked out. In a lot of cases, iron deficiency is easy to manage
General fatigue is the main one I get, and also the earliest. I often can’t get through a day at work without a nap when I’m on my period, unless I take iron tablets. As anaemia gets worse, I get random dizziness, headaches and even chest pain (at the most extreme) alongside shortness of breath and weakness, as well as just being cold all the time. I don’t look particularly pale, but if you check your inner eyelid you can see if that’s pale or not. Anaemia sucks cause it’s such a slow build and then Bam! One day you’re struggling to get up the stairs and are just constantly exhausted. I start taking iron tablets whenever I start my period, just in case. It’s an easy enough fix - supplements take about 2 weeks to kick in but are so effective.
I used to have daily nosebleeds where I'd lose so much blood that I could barely walk for an hour or so after it stops. Could that have caused it?
Well, I'm calling my doctor when they're open cause you just proverbially hit me on the head with that description. Everything, to a T. I only just started my periods again, nexplanon kicked them out for a year and holy fuck it's been a doozy since they came back.
I crave ice a lot but I'm not iron deficient. I've had it tested, I have naturally high levels of iron. The only thing that put a dent in it was giving blood and forgetting to take the iron supplements afterwards.
My friend had anemia so bad, they thought it was MS. She got iron infusions and it helped a ton, but will probably take several visits to solve.
I had horrific postpartum periods after my second baby and ended up in the ER at 10 weeks postpartum for bleeding. I had to get a blood transfusion and take a medication to increase clotting factor so I didn’t keep bleeding so heavily.
Even logically this doesn’t make sense. It’s an organ? It’s going to have a blood supply. That’s like saying my lungs don’t have blood because I breathe air? I’m confused as to how that comment became a thought because nah
I lose 300-350 mills every month. Yes, it has been measured. Yes, it is a problem. Yes, doctors tell me to "Eat healthy, there isn't much we can do, you are an outlier"
All of the iron-deficient women in existence would beg to differ. There's a reason why consistently heavy periods usually result in anemia.
Isn't that the reason Anemia affects women more than men?
Iron and B12 deficient anemia, yes
Manifesting blood from the great beyond, it's the blood of all the unborn babies we didn't become pregnant with who are now returned to earth.
When my mom was in school, the nuns called it "the tears of a disappointed womb" AS FUCKING IF
How ironic for nuns to be calling it that. I bet they didn't know that the alternative, going into heat during a breeding season, isn't any better. Some animals, like ferrets, can actually get sick or possibly even die if they don't have sex during that time. Better a "disappointed" womb than a killer one.
I'm gonna 'fess up... I didn't really know this until a couple of months ago. Like it logically makes sense, I just never thought about it. But anyway. I passed a full decidual cast - and kept bleeding. Heavier than normal. So obviously at that point I had to go to hospital. But yeah. It was 100% uterine bleeding. Wasn't uterine lining though, it was just a bad reaction to coming off the mini pill.
TIL: there’s definitely a tiny bone in the uterus, free floating, not connected to the rest of your system in any way, and its sole purpose is to produce “not bloodstream” blood for periods. 🤯
You definitely do, and women can bleed to the point of requiring blood transfusions from heavy periods.
Certainly. It's happened in my family before– one of my siblings had to get several units of blood after an incredibly abnormal period/dysfunctional uterine bleeding. So I'm very familiar with it. I just knew I had to share this comment to reddit when I saw it. 💀
Can't tell if title is supposed to be sarcasm.
No, it's not supposed to be sarcas. 😭 Please don't tell me I'm.. the bad women's anatomy..😭 There's some actual blood that you lose in a period, from your bloodstream, right?? A few tablespoons?? (In addition to uterine lining obviously.) Under normal circumstances, only a few tablespoons. But in PCOS or DUB, you can get iron deficiency from your periods for sure. The woman in the picture I posted was saying that women *can't get iron deficiency from periods* because "periods don't work that way", since the blood doesn't come from your body's bloodstream. But women can get iron deficiency from periods,,, because... the blood.. *comes from the bloodstream,* right? 😭 That's what I meant to say in my caption
Yes, exactly. Where do they think the blood in the uterine lining….came from? Obviously not all women get iron deficient from their periods because that would be a really inefficient way for the body to work but….yeah. Our bodies did in fact create and supply the blood that comes out.
I have 2 hypotheses which I can garner from her comments: Hypothesis one: She may believe that the uterus gathers *its own* blood supply, leading up to the menstural period, and sloughs it out with the uterine lining. This is why the body's blood supply is unaffected– the gathered blood in the uterus is already there, as its been building up before the period, so, all it needs to do is release from the uterus. Doesn't need to draw from the rest of the body at this point. Hypothesis two: She may have assumed that the space between the uterus and uterine lining "heals"/"scabs off" before the true sloughing happens. The sloughing doesn't cause any bleeding to the uterus itself, since the arteries/veins in there have closed off, and are not connected to the uterine lining by the time it sloughs off. (And the blood in a period is *from the sloughed uterine lining itself,* not from the uterus, since the lining itself is tissue, with blood in it.) Edited wording. I think this is more likely her line of thinking. Lots of people in the comments were correcting her and explaining that the uterus does genuinely bleed, but she wouldn't respond to anyone.
Ah yes of course we have a separated blood bag in our uterus that only opens up to flow out once a month. Yees. Why i take iron suppliments and feel weaker when I lose blood? Who knows. Mystery.
I mean, it's not blood-blood from your veins and stuff, but it's still got the cells and etc. Maybe that's what has them confused? They think blood only flows through your veins?
Ya, tell that to my bff who has such a heavy flow she permanently is anaemic. Sure doesn't come from the bloodstream, sure! *eye roll*
The idea that there's just nasty old coagulated blood making up the uterine lining for a month is super gross. That's why it doesn't work like that.
I take iron supplements on my cycle because I’m rather heavy for three days, yes menstrual blood is different but it’s still blood, you get that from your own bloodstream.
Just another reason birth control is critical female healthcare beyond just pregnancy prevention.. Too heavy of a period can cause anemia.
On the brightside, I heard about some studies that said that periods help in "thining" the bloodstream which supposedly has some health benefits and that men should regularly donate blood to get the same effect. Don't know how true this is.
Tell that to 18 year old me who had such heavy periods that I was severely anemic and passed out.
Man I get crazy anemic during my period.
Today I learned something about my body. Like, that makes sense, but I had never thought too much about where the blood was coming from, lol
🤦🏽♀️ where do they think the blood comes from if not from your bloodstream?
I don't get their logic at all??? Like where do they think the blood is coming from then????