How do you know if you have heavy periods? Read this to find out.

Are you filling your menstrual cup more than 3 times in a cycle? Or soaking through more than 7-8 heavy pads or tampons? If so, you likely have heavy menstrual bleeding.

Every menstrual cup is different, but most cups hold about 30 mL, and a heavy pad or tampon about 10mL. The volume of a normal menstrual cycle should be about 20-50mL total, and anything above 80mL would be considered heavy menstrual bleeding.  

If your cycle is more than 7 days, or you are losing large clots (> than the size of a quarter) you likely also have heavy menstrual bleeding.  

Why does that matter? 

Iron Deficiency:

It puts you at a much higher risk of iron deficiency if the flow is heavy. This becomes a vicious cycle because when you are iron deficient it makes it harder for you to clot, which then actually causes you to lose more blood - making the iron deficiency even worse.

Other Health Issues:

It’s also important to assess as there are a number of conditions that can cause heavy menstrual bleeding, and this may be one of your only symptoms. Some of these conditions need to be monitored and/or treated to support your long-term health. These may include:

- Thyroid dysfunction

- PCOS

- Uterine fibroids

- Adenomyosis

- Polyps

-Clotting disorders and more.

It’s common during adolescence and in perimenopause to experience heavy menstrual bleeding, as during these times there will be cycles where ovulation does not occur so the uterine lining doesn’t have its normal maturation. 

While this is common and MAY be normal, we need to make sure there is nothing else going on, and that anemia is being properly assessed for and treated.  

If this is you, and you’d like support with navigating heavy menstrual bleeding, I would love to support you with this! 

Book a follow-up here