Period/ birth control

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

There has to be something wrong with me.  I've had my period for going on four weeks now.  It's terrible, it's coming out quickly and in clots and everything.  Just when I think it's done it starts back up again, and it's terribly painful.  No, I haven't had sex just in case anyone asks.  What are some possibilities?

Also, I have my first gyno appt on Jan 15th to get on birth control, but I'm also having a full exam.  I don't know what to expect.  I'd also like to know what kind of birth control you guys recommend and I should ask for?

I'm so naive. :/

EDIT: I'm fifteen if that helps.  And I've had my period for about two years so I don't think it's just regulating.

Comments

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

Ever.

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

TY<3

[melodic-lyrics.livejournal.com]

Bring this up with your gynocologist - and if it's painful and heavy you may want to go to your general practitioner before the 15th.

The general rule of thumb is more than 2 weeks bleeding, see a doctor. Clots larger than a plum/golfball or bleeding heavy enough that you're going through a super-pad in less than an hour warrant a visit to the ER.

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

It's more like two hours.
And the clots range from raisin sized to a little smaller than a golf ball.

[melodic-lyrics.livejournal.com]

You may want to call and see if your gyno can see you before the 15th, if only because this has been going on for quite some time.

Like a previous poster said, it could be endometriosis, but of course only a doctor can diagnose you.

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

Yeah I read through all the symptoms and I have all of them. Eh, I guess I'll have to wait and see. :/

[archangelbeth]

Golf ball sized clots are certainly worrisome enough that, while it's not necessarily ER-worthy, I'd say it's "call the doctor and say 'I'm having some clots that are around the size of a golf ball, and I've been bleeding 2 weeks now.'" time.

Good luck!

(Hm. I was... 14?ish? And had about a 10 day period -- not so heavy or painful -- and after that, I had heavier periods and they were all awfulcrampy. Nothing worked till someone shared her Advil with me. Now I take my "Vitamin I"(buprofen) when I get the least twinge the first day of my period, and it helps me a lot. So if you haven't tried ibuprofen yet, and don't have any aspirin allergies, I'd go for it.)

(As to what to expect from the gyno the first time... A good gyno will tell you everything that's about to happen. It may tickle if they put hands on your thighs. Remember to let your knees fall "open," and to breathe. Gripping the side of the bench is perfectly acceptable! In my experience, the speculum is uncomfortable, but not painful, if you see the difference; try to reassure yourself that even if it's a little "ow," it's not likely to get worse and you can breathe through it. Having a pap-smear thing poking my cervix is... "oogy." I can feel it, it's not pleasant, but it's not really pain. Bring at least a pantiliner, no matter what, 'cause the goop used during a pelvic is, well, goopy. And it may help to think of it as sort-of like going to the dentist for a tooth-cleaning -- sometimes uncomfortable, you're probably going to be worried that you didn't brush enough, and you've got a relative stranger poking around sensitive bits. But just as the dentist has seen a zillion mouths and doesn't fret, so have gynos seen a zillion nethers. O:> )

Good luck!

[betterbebalboa.livejournal.com]

The gyno should definitely be able to help you out. It's good that you have an appointment so soon. Just tell them everything. Birth control can help regulate and lighten your period--everyone responds differently to different brands, though, so it's hard to say which one will work best for you. The doctor can suggest something likely to help with your period. One thing to think about is whether you can remember to take a pill at the same time every day, with the aid of a cell phone alarm or whatever. If you don't think you can, you may want to ask about the nuvaring or the patch, both of which require action every cycle instead of every day.

[dearalexa.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty good at remembering things like that, without the aid of a cell phone alarm and such.

[ahimsa422.livejournal.com]

It sounds like endometriosis to me. Endometriosis technically cannot be diagnosed 100% unless surgery is done, but your GYN should be able to get a fairly accurate diagnosis anyway. If treated, it shouldn't be too much of a problem in the future (if you even have endo in the first place).

[valiumaphrodite.livejournal.com]

I don't want to scare you, but hear me out. :)

I had a similar situation back in April. At week four I saw my gyno over my heavy, long period and I had some incredible mood swings (yelling and VERY irritable), slight nausea, and tenderness in my lower abdomen for the first time.

Anyway, she had me go through ultrasounds and they found that the lining in my uterus was thicker than normal. After a biopsy, she told me that the cells were pre-cancerous. Now, I'm 20 years old so this was a bit shocking that it was possible that I could develop uterine cancer. I had to go through a surgery (forgot the name) where my doctor removed some of the lining with the questionable cells. Afterwards, I was put on BC to regulate my periods.

In short: go see a gynecologist. I'm sure your situation won't turn out as serious as mine, but to me it sounds like you have endometriosis (like retrotelephone said).