I use a Diva Cup. I love it. It had lessened my cramps, of which I have an awful history. It is easy. I don't have to worry about running out of supplies. It also has an added bonus of letting one who is curious about all things biological know exactly how much blood loss her period is.
I have always had heavy periods. Sometimes very heavy as in a super plus tampon every 45-60 minutes. I now know I do not fall into the "normal ranges" category of losing 1-3 ounces total during her entire period. I usually lose more like 8-12 ounces. I am used to this and deal with it.
This period, however, is not falling into my usual category either. Last night I was emptying my cup every hour and it was overflowing each time. That is an ounce an hour. I was up at 2:20, 3:30, 4:15, and 5:25 and each time I was an overflowing mess. In the past 24 hours I have lost over 16 ounces, just in 24 hours, not since my period started. I called the doc and he said if I got to the "big gulp" amount that I should call back. He first said a "big mason jar" and then changed to "big gulp". I liked mason jar better, I am not a big gulp kinda gal. The doc on call for my OBGYN was the same doc who did my D&C so that was cool. He also said if I wanted he could "abort my period with starting me on birth control pills". No thank you. I am supposed to start Clomid tonight and do not have any interest in messing with this cycle. I am sure the fact that I am on Aspirin therapy isn't helping matters as my flow is very "flowy" of that makes sense. It isn't thick at all. No clots.
He was very kind and told me when to be concerned and what to look for. I am OK. I am upping my protein and iron intake today. I am tired and a bit loopy but OK. I was thinking though, your period is your lining sloughing off. So how can it be "bleeding" technically. Apparently it can be but I am not sure how. It would seem like I just grew a HUGE lining since the D&C but if the doc said it can be dangerous at that magic "mason jar" quantity, what exactly is the danger? Is it actually bleeding, as in a loss of total blood volume in your body? These are things I wonder at 4 am.
Other thing. My OBGYN gave me new Rx's for the Clomid/estrogen/progesterone trio. When she wrote them the other day we had assumed I was on 150mg of Clomid. I just realized that I had been on 100mg of Clomid before, not 150mg. So do I take the 150 this time or only the 100. I think the only reason the amount is upped is because we recalled incorrectly and didn't check the past Rx. Part of me thinks oh just take what you did before, but part of me says, well you WERE prescribed this amount so you should take it. I start tonight either way.
Enough rambling I have to get back to the bathroom before another flood.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
flooding...
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2 om's.:
The average adult woman has a circulating volume of about 6 litres. I would be concerned at losing anything more than about 400 mls, not so much if it were a "one off" event because that is how much I used to donate every 3 months and it's easy to replenish when you're healthy, but because it sounds like you're losing that much nearly every month. That's a lot of blood girl! Have you had your actual iron levels tested? I wonder whether it's worth starting a proper iron supplement too if you're losing a lot.
This is way more than I ever have had but the doc says it can be normal for first period after a D&C. As for iron levels I have had them checked, and do take a supplement at times but found my levels fine since using cast iron for cooking. I have only been anemic a few times though and never seriously. My last check was fine but I am sure this week I would be anemic because of this period. The strange thing is I didn't bleed at all after the D&C.
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