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Managing Menorrhagia
Help for Heavy Periods By Teri Brown
"If a woman or teen is experiencing bleeding that lasts for greater than seven days or if she soaks through a super pad or super tampon in less than one hour and does this for more than one day, she has excessive bleeding," says Dehn. "Because most women are used to their periods, many do not think that they have excessive bleeding even when they have significant blood loss each month or when they feel that they can't get off the toilet because they are bleeding so much."
According to Dehn, anytime that the amount of bleeding interferes with a woman's life or lifestyle, it is considered excessive bleeding.
"I have a patient who had ruined so many bedsheets that during her period she would put a plastic sheet on the floor and sleep there for the week," says Dehn. "She didn't want to bother her husband with the rustling. She didn't think that it was excessive bleeding until I talked to her about it. I have another patient who didn't dare go to her son's soccer games if she had her period. She didn't know if there would be a bathroom and couldn't risk leaking through her clothes."
Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, agrees that hormones are the No. 1 cause of heavy periods because they may interfere with the ovulation process.
