Video
Dr Dawn: The problem is most women have no idea how much they bleed during a period or that heavy menstrual bleeding can be a symptom of problems like endometriosis, polycystic ovaries or fibroids in the womb.
Voiceover: So, in a unique television experiment, Dr Dawn’s recruited 3 brave volunteers to record intimate video diaries at home about their menstrual experiences. And because individual women don’t realise how much blood they lose or the wider health implications of very heavy periods, they’ll be using one of these, a menstrual cup. This is inserted into the vagina in much the same way as a tampon. It collects every drop of blood so the girls can scientifically measure their total menstrual blood loss.
Caroline: I have been experiencing the symptoms of PMS for probably 4 or 5 days now. It starts off with a feeling of being bloated, water retention, clothes tend to fell a little bit tighter than normal, things that would normally go straight over my head and not bother me at all irritate me for hours.
Lexi: I’ve been feeling a little bit tetchy for a few days and I get really dizzy before I’m due on. My head will spin; I will be trying to eat and everything’s just spinning. It’s like being very drunk without it being any fun at all.
Loretta: Usually I get a little bit of discharge, which is my general warning. It’s minimal as a rule and a very faint colour.
Lexi: I do have discharge working up to my period. So in the three of four days before my period I will get discharge.
Caroline: I can’t watch anything on the telly, I can even cry at Eastenders. The slightest thing can start me off. Whereas normally that’s not an issue, I’m not a particularly emotional person.
Loretta: Other than that I just kind of get this feeling, I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s just kind of like a feeling. I guess it would be about here (indicates to lower abdomen) and it just kind of tells me. I don’t know if there’s something going on and there’s actually like, sort of, a warning trigger.
Lexi: There we go; I had my visit from Aunt Flo at 3 in the morning. It’s just immense. I’ve got a marvellous run of shame, without any of the fun, going to the bathroom going ‘please don’t make a mess’. Caught it, did it and it’s been misbehaving since. There’s been quite bad cramps. It’s actually so bad I’ve got it all the way down here (indicates to lower abdomen). The whole area feels like it’s trying to do exactly what it’s doing, basically. It got so bad yesterday that it went right down the front of both my thighs. I thought I was going to fall over, honestly.
Loretta: I felt bloated as well since my last video so I’ll just show where. I guess around here (indicates to abdomen) mostly the centre and the surrounding area. Just up to my waist. I feel a little bit bloated.
Lexi: Hello, you are in my bathroom. Be excited.
Loretta: This afternoon we’ve got 2mls. So that’s not very much at all.
Lexi: And basically, looking at that, I would say that is probably about 4 or 5ml which really isn’t much, but that’s over the course of about 5 or 6 hours.
Loretta: And it’s a mixture of blood and discharge, so we’ve got 2 colours there. I’ve heard that out of all the discharge and the lining of the womb that comes out only about 10% of it is blood. I don’t know how accurate that is.
Caroline: Having started my period, my PMS seems to have gone. I feel much better in myself. A much, much more positive day today. I can feel instantly that my bloatedness seems to be decreasing; my clothes aren’t as tight around the middle. And I’m not as tempted to eat rubbish; I’m back onto my healthy diet.
Lexi: The other thing that I was finding I was really, really struggling with today is cravings.
Caroline: I just want to eat everything I see. I have this constant feeling of hunger that lasts all day.
Loretta: I’ve got some rice and baked beans, a really big bowl as you can see. I’m going to get through all of this because I feel so hungry. I hate food cravings so much.
Lexi: I think day 3 is the heaviest day of my period. I was quite heavy all day, and it was very bright red and fresh. I had cramping actually in my vagina as opposed to around my cervix which is a little bit unusual. I also found that between day 2 and day 3 my cervix was sitting really low down.
Loretta: I’m going to show you, I’m trying to hold it straight. I’ve got 12ml, so that’s a full cup today, which, I wasn’t sure what to expect really, but I guess that’s about normal because usually I’d say that’s quite heavy. So that’s a full cup, and it’s just red. There’s nothing more to say. It seems to be just a blood colour.
Lexi: At the moment I’ve found that I’ve been medium flow and dark and clotted and lumpy and gross.
Caroline: I do notice that when I am on my period I tend to be quite a lot hotter.
Lexi: I’m absolutely sweating. This does not happen to me at any other time of the month. No matter what I am doing I will not break a sweat, but whenever I’m on, that’s it, I’m like, dripping. I’ve lost my appetite. I’m feeling really sick. I’m getting cramps in my lower abdomen, let me show you, about here (indicates to front lower abdomen) and they’re just sort of squeezing like a sponge.
Loretta: My appetites really dropped and I’m not sure why. I’m getting a headachy feel just around here (indicates to temples). I feel quite light, I don’t know how else to describe it, light headed. Almost as if I’m only half here and half made out of air.
Lexi: I am so, so dizzy. I’d really love to know if anybody else gets dizzy like this because I wish I knew how to deal with it. Every time I stand up everything goes black, I just get this veil of black covering everything. And I spin and have to sit down again, and try and stand up and it happens again. Do you know what woke me up this morning? Boob ache. I’m not even joking. Searing pain, like someone driving a spear through both my nipples. Not sideways, but inwards. Not nice, really unpleasant. So I went to the bathroom to empty my cup to find that I had bled a good 14ml in the night. So, I’m starting to wonder if it’s some kind of correlation between how much you bleed and how tired you are.
Loretta: No aches, no pains. Absolutely nothing, just life as normal. Fantastic.
Lexi: So right now I will admit I’m feeling really low, really unhappy, extremely depressed and all I really want to do is curl up in a little ball and cry. Yesterday, I seemed to be quite light in the end. I ended up only bleeding about 10 or 12ml for the whole day which isn’t a lot. I don’t even think it was that much. The day before that I bled a good 30 something, so that’s incredible. I got up this morning and had a check and there was only about 2ml in the cup. And it had started to go, as I like to call it, rusty.
Loretta: The consistency and the colour at the moment is a darker red now, not so fresh in appearance and a little more discharge in the mix as well there.
Lexi: I’m now thinking what I actually get on the last day of my period is old blood mixed with discharge. Like I say, it’s a very, it’s a kind of rusty brown colour but really light, sort of diluted, like it’s been mixed with cream.
Loretta: I got 2ml there and it’s just kind of a creamy brown colour, just discharge. And that’s all, so I’ve hit about 60ml altogether and I think that’s going to be all.
Voice over: Having turned the video cameras off it’s time for the 3 diarists to come to the clinic and show Dr Dawn how much blood they lost in total during their period. Loretta lost a grand total of 60ml. Caroline, who endured quite a painful period, lost 69. And the formerly black haired Lexi who suffered with both pain and dizziness lost 79ml which is enough to give Dr Dawn cause for concern.
Dr Dawn: So, how did that period compare to normal?
Lexi: It was a lot lighter and slightly shorter.
Dr Dawn: 79mls is right at the top end of normal. Your very light period is what a lot of people would say is quite a heavy period, and one of the things I noticed about your period diaries is you were saying you felt quite dizzy, quite light headed. That kind of blood loss could leave you anaemic and it may well be worth popping to see your GP.
Dr Dawn: Women bleed between 10 and 80ml during a period; that’s anything from a small espresso to a cup of tea. If you think you’re bleeding more than that, it’s not necessarily a problem but it is worth getting checked out by your GP.
An extended look at the experience of three women as they go through their monthly period, including personal video diaries of the emotional and physical symptoms that occur.
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hello, some girls have told me that during period, you can't swim or else it will leak! is that true? and if you can go swimming during periods should you wear pads,tampons or nothing? I would like to know about this so badly because it worries me when I have swimming at school and with my friends, and especially with my boyfriend! plz help me ;(
hi,I'm 13.5 and soon I will be having period, said the doctor. But before I have period I would like to ask some questions. Does it hurt? out of ten how much painful would it be? what shall I use for beginners, tampons or pads?
50/50 that it will hurt were all different. pads for beginners
Hi,I haven't have period yet, but I would like to know that how would you know if you have had a heavy period or medium flow?...
Hi, I've had the Implant in for over 2 months now and have been on my period for roughly six weeks, is this normal?
hello I am 19 years old, I have not being on my periods in eight month, I am not pregnant or anything. i am really scared as everytime I know when I come on and how long it lasts, i am just wondering what you think it might be. it also smells down there and also hurts when we have sexual contact. HELPPP !!!!
I been on and off my period for last 2 months I've been on for around 3 days and then I stop for a day and then it comes back again for another 3 days I have to nexplanon implant I've had that since last year and this has Been happening ever since that and it's worrying me why this is happening what do you think this could be?
I have recatly been to the doctor and i got no ware i have had a period for 3 months on and off i have a 3 day brake between them ?
Hi, I had nexplanon in for a year after having my second child, and had the same problem with my period although i did have a bit more of a break in between than you, i was on for 2 weeks off for 1 week then back on again for another 2 weeks and so on and so on. It really got me down and also it was quite expensive haing to buy all the extra tampax. I went back to my gp and asked for it to be removed and have had it out for 1 month now, and am now having the depo injection instead. I had a period the day after i had my injection and 3 days later it stopped and was due on last week and looks like it has stopped my periods all together which is great. I used to read about nexplanon alot after having it in and alot of people suffer the same problem. My gp kept telling me to leave it longer and wait for it to settle down, but honestly if it hasn't settled down after 3/4 months it's probably not going to. I highly recommend the depo injection, i had it before i had my 1st son and only came off it cos the gp said your only allowed to use it for about 2 years in a row. I hope you get this sorted soon. good luck x
hi, i had slight spotting 2 weeks after my period and about a week after i ovulated ( i ovulate early during my cylce) it was only thier when i wiped and was only the once. since then i have had very sore painful breast and on off lower back pain. im due on my period on the 10th july. im just wondering if this could be possibly implnation bleeding as with my second child i had the same thing only a week before my period. would be great ful for some feed back as me and my partner are hoping for a baby.
my period lasts just 2 or 3 days the most...is it normal? And not heavy flow. I am taking birth-control pills, is it possible that this afects my periods? Thanks
For the last 3-4 years I've been sick on my first day of my period. After a couple of years I went to my GP and they gave me some products which I had to take 3 times a day with food and it stopped working after 3 months or so. I was then told why I throw up, it's because I am that heavy (blood) on my first day, I just wondered what natural products can I use to stop me being sick on my first day of my period? I don't tend to get hormonal so want to avoid the pill, for example unless I really need to take it.
I have been bleeding for a month and a week now..... i am sick of it and i dont know why its so long. I am amaemic and this isnt helping at all. i am on the contraceptive injection and have only had two so it might be that. HELP ME :(