When your menstrual cycle becomes heavier or lighter without explanation, it's good to do a check-in. Are there changes in your health? In your diet? While the length of a period may vary – anywhere from 3 to 5 days, it’s important to note that average blood loss is anywhere between 30-40 milliliters (ml), with 9 out of 10 women losing less than 80ml, the NHS says. Meanwhile, heavy menstrual bleeding, also known as menorrhagia, is 60ml or more during a cycle. While there’s no real way to measure “heaviness,” if you track your period each month you may periodically notice a difference in flow. Here are three reasons why your period may be heavier or lighter than usual.
You have uterine fibroids.
Nearly one-third of all women develop uterine fibroids -- non-cancerous tumors -- at some point in their lives.
To add some perspective, by age 50, 70 percent of whites and 80 percent of Blacks had fibroids, according to a study. In many cases, women were unaware that they had them.
As for what causes the growths, the Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports that no one knows for sure. However, researchers believe there’s a link between estrogen and progesterone levels as well as genetics.
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It’s important to note that not all women with fibroids have symptoms. Those who do often find fibroids hard to live with due to experiencing pain and heavy menstrual bleeding.
Fortunately, treatment for uterine fibroids is available but dependent on your symptoms.
You'd Had Some Life changes
Let's face it, life happens to all of us at different times in our life. We have highs and lows in life and our bodies can sense that. As a matter of fact, our bodies are sensitive to change. Even stress can cause abnormal periods. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that big life changes may affect your cycle. It’s common to experience heavy period flow after pregnancy or childbirth, or during the time your body transitions to menopause (perimenopause).
RELATED: Menstrual Cycle Warning Signs
You have pelvic inflammatory disease.
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a bacterial infection of a woman’s reproductive organs, can also result in an abnormally heavy period. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), untreated sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), having more than one sexual partner, douching, and a previous bout of the infection can cause PID.
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Symptoms of PID include pain during sex and/or urination, body aches (specifically in the lower abdomen), fever, nausea and vaginal discharge — often green in color and a heavy period. PID can also cause serious problems for fertility. In fact, 1 in 8 women with a history of PID reported difficulty getting pregnant, the CDC says.
You've recently changed birth control.
If you've recently swapped out your old birth control for a newer method, you may notice a considerable change in your flow – likely for the heavier. This is normal, as you will need some time to adjust to new hormone levels. Meanwhile, contraceptive implants like Implanon -- used by women to prevent pregnancy for up to 3 years -- are often associated with considerably heavier flows both during and after your monthly visitor. Other than changes in menstrual bleeding patterns, other frequent side effects include: mood swings, sudden weight gain, headache, unsightly acne, or depression.
The good news? Experts say symptoms (specifically a heavy flow) generally settle within the first few months of insertion, generally after three or four cycles. In the meantime, you can manage heavy bleeding with ibuprofen and iron supplements to prevent anemia.
On the other hand, users who have opted for the birth control patch have experienced significantly lighter periods.
When to See Your Doctor
Many women have come to accept heavy bleeding as a normal part of their cycle. This helps explain why over half of women with menorrhagia don’t know they have it, or know that heavy periods are treatable. If left untreated, heavy periods can cause other health concerns like anemia, a red blood cell condition that makes it difficult for your organs to get the oxygen they need.
If your period affects your daily life by causing you to miss work or school, cancel social activities or plan your day around bathroom breaks, you might want to see your doctor to be sure nothing is wrong.
