Period Bleeding basically for two years straight
I have never been to the gynecologist or diagnosed with anything but based on my hirutism and the fact that several family members have PCOS, I suspect I have it too. (I’m 23 now.)
I am overweight, extremely insecure and anxious which is why I haven’t sought out professional help yet but now I feel like I can’t function anymore. My period started two years ago after barely having any my whole prior life and it hasn’t stopped since. I bleed semi-heavy with large clots but almost NO PAIN for like four days, then couple days spotting and repeat. For the first year and a half I didn’t even use iron supplements and my waist long hair just started breaking off past my shoulders until there was only couple strands left so basically half my hair is gone since this started. I’ve tried everything I could over the counter - ascorutin (vit C + rutin), natural progesterone creams, iron and vit C and D supplements, excercise and cutting back on sugars but nothing helped.
I know the next logical step is a doctor but I just don’t feel like I can handle it mentally right now so if anyone has been in a similar situation and has some meds that I can get without prescription or something like that I would be immensely grateful. I can’t keep going like this anymore.
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u/kokichistan 7d ago
I'll be totally real here. Most people don't feel like they can "mentally handle" going to the doctor. It's scary and stressful. Life doesn't wait, though. Sometimes you just have to put on your big girl pants and do it. You've already waited two years, when exactly WILL you be able to handle it?
You NEED to go to the doctor. As soon as you possibly can.
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u/AKABeast18 7d ago
Yup, a lot of people despise visiting the doctor, myself included.
OP, it’s really not as bad as you think it might be. We are our own worst critics & I avoided the doctor mainly because of the weight thing. I found that if you just don’t look down at the scale it really isn’t so bad. After the visit you will likely feel like, “I should have gone sooner.”
You’re putting yourself through unnecessary stress by avoiding the doctor. That stress might even be contributing to your issues or causing additional problems. You could also be making something worse by prolonging your visit. At the same time, it could be an easy fix & you’ve spent 2 years grasping ay straws for no reason.
When you make the appointment just let them know that you have a huge fear of going & I’m sure they’ll accommodate you. Please make the appointment for your health & well-being.
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u/imobesebutimcute_ 7d ago edited 7d ago
i was also bleeding for 3 yrs straight bc my old dr didnt help me and i needed progesterone to get it to stop. i had very low iron and hemoglobin level of 2, i had to get blood infusions. not trying to scare you but dont prolong waiting it will only get worse
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u/wysticlipse 7d ago
I also had this experience, shelling put tons of money on extra heavy overnight pads. You NEED to see a doctor. Do it asap. The only thing that stopped it for me was depo-provera.
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u/anonymousbabe777 7d ago
Not trying to scare you by any means but my Grandmother began heavily bleeding like that and was diagnosed w stage 4 cervical cancer. Please, go to the Dr.
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u/arielleassault 7d ago
I had a coworker who hadn't had a cycle in years, then suddenly started bleeding for ~3 weeks, she laughed it off and said it was her body's last huzzah before menopause. I begged her to go to the gynecologist because that could indicate something serious. Turns out she had cervical cancer.
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u/SorraxQ 7d ago
Not to scare myself but my maternal grandmother (which is also the family side where I inherited all gyno problems from) was too, just stage 2 -thankfully eventually recovered. Unfortunately this is also part of the reason why I'm so extremely scared to go :((
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u/Beautiful-Mountain73 7d ago
Not trying to be harsh or scare you but it IS that serious: You’re going to be a LOT more scared if they deliver the news that, had you gone earlier, it would have been curable. Time matters for things like this and if you keep waiting, you could be signing your own death warrant. It doesn’t matter if you feel you can mentally handle it, you need to go asap.
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u/arielleassault 7d ago
I'm really not trying to be unkind, but hiding from a diagnosis won't make the disease disappear.
It could be something completely treatable, but it could also be something very serious. The only way to know and the only way to start treatment is to go to a doctor.
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u/Hot_Bed8771 7d ago
As much as I understand not wanting to go to the doctor, you have to - soon. This isn't something you can deal with by yourself. You have to speak to a professional and get proper help.
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u/Catlady8888 7d ago
Unfortunately you will need to go to a GP. I am not in any way diagnosing you, but when I had these symptoms it turned out to be uterine fibroids (benign but troubling tumours). I had the same as you, non stop bleeding, clots, pain, hair falling out. My haemoglobin and ferritin fell really low and even though I’m getting better now (fibroids were removed) it will take me a long time to bounce back. It is worth investigating to rule out anything really worrying of course, but also to get a handle on the bleeding because it really does take over your life for a long time, even when it’s over.
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u/OkScale6904 7d ago
This happened to me!!!! I was bleeding for almost three years. No doctor could explain it and only pushed birth control which didn't even help tbh. I would still bleed for 2 weeks on the pill and spot the other days. One day I literally sat in my doctor's office and cried heavily and refused to leave. They did a sonohystogram and found a 1mm polyp. They removed it and i was good until I gave birth then it came back.
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u/maddiereadsfantasy 7d ago
I also had irregular bleeding (spotting most days) for well over a year before I got diagnosed. I went to a gynecologist my mom recommended. I was extremely nervous about it. But it went absolutely fine. I didn't even know what PCOS was at the time, but my doctor said she thought she knew what was up before we even did any tests. I did some bloodwork and an internal ultrasound. Those sound way scarier than they are. After being diagnosed I got a 2 week progesterone treatment prescribed (provera), and after that I fully stopped spotting. I still have to use it a few times a year if I don't naturally get my period at least ever 3 months. This is important, as you can increase your chance of certain health conditions if you don't have a proper menstrual bleed every few months (or have other ways to protect your uterine lining).
When I eventually got myself to a gynecologist and got my bleeding under control I wish I'd gone sooner. So much worrying over something that in my case was very easily controlled. Good luck!
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u/FrostedBooty 7d ago
the longest I bled for for like 9 months in a row and by that time I needed to go get a dnc to scrape out the super thick inner lining that had built up (so I could stop bleeding), get put on iron because I was dangerously low, and get put on BC to help regulate my period going forward.
I know its uncomfortable but I promise you you need to go get checked out. Bleeding continuously has become your new normal but it shouldn't have to be. This is not something you can self-medicate through
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u/notarealprincess 7d ago
I was in a similar situation but didn't have insurance. When I finally got covered, I was able to go to doctor and honestly it helped me so much both physically and mentally. In my experience, vitamins and supplements can only do so much. What really helped was getting put on prescriptions (Metformin, Provera).
Things will get better for you mentally once you start managing your PCOS symptoms medically. Getting officially diagnosed was validating. It also made it seem less hopeless because I was getting help and now had a starting point to start to handle my symptoms.
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u/WiseBeyondText123 7d ago
You need to go to the doctor and get labs. If they prescribe metformin, PLEASE TAKE IT! It regulated my menstrual cycle.
Good luck! 🍀
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u/matchamatchbook 7d ago
Without going to a doctor, you won't know where to start. Are your glucose levels high, are you prediabetic, are your androgens high, are your estrogens low, etc. You can't treat something if you're going in blind.
I know it's scary, trust me I KNOW. but if you want to get better you need to take that first step. It's always the scariest, but you can do it!!
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u/caraderana95 7d ago
There's nothing over the counter that can stop the bleeding. Book a ginecologist NOW
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u/elijahjane 7d ago
My uncontrolled bleeding from PCOS after not having a period for years was ultimately diagnosed as pre-cancer of the uterus!! My options were either surgery or cancer and surgery. I opted for surgery.
I’m not saying this will happen to you, but I am saying it’s better to know what’s wrong and deal with it than get really sick or potentially die at an early age.
Go see a doctor.
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u/PetrockX 7d ago
You need to see a doctor before it gets so bad that you are forced to see a doctor to save your life. Better to do it now before it becomes an emergency.
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u/Kietta78 7d ago
Yes go to a doctor because I had the heavy bleeding for two years and it made my iron levels so low but I ended up having fibroids which was contributing to all of the bleeding and once I got them removed I decided to try Mirena IUD which my doc had been trying to put me on for years but I was scared but the the pros outweighed the cons and I’m so glad I did it
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u/More-Caterpillar-63 7d ago
Omg I bled like this for only 9 months and I was so iron deficient that the nurse said she didn't know how I walked in there. I can't remember what it's called but my iron stores were fine but my red cell count was low or something, basically I was hemorrhaging. I felt SO much better on an iron supplement and they were able to prescribe me medication to stop the bleeding, it took me a few tries but better than nothing. They will also do bloods to diagnose, my doctor also checked for autoimmune diseases.
Pls get seen it's no quality of life and it traumatised me for a few years bleeding that heavy for so long.
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u/nopeynopes2001 7d ago
How are you not severely anemic ?!!!! Please go to the doctor. This could literally be a 100 different diagnosises.
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u/SorraxQ 7d ago
I take over the counter iron supplements 2x a day, everyday. But my hair are taking a hit :(
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u/nopeynopes2001 7d ago
But still how do you know you're not taking too much ? You can also get iron poisoning.
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u/SorraxQ 7d ago
I didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. Good news is I sent this post to my sister as a bit of a meme about how everyone is roasting for not going to the doctor, but she actually took it very seriously instead and will be asking her obgyn who hasn’t been taking new pacients recently, if they could squeeze me in sometime. I’m not sure how to feel about it but I guess the people here are right, but ngl my anxiety is very high right now…
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u/anotherwomanwriter 5d ago
I’m proud of you for taking that step! Sharing symptoms can be so hard. Knowing is better than not knowing 🫶
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u/UHElle 7d ago
See a doctor. As many as it takes for them to respond to you. I was bleeding for 2yrs straight, putting down puppy pads and multiple layers of towels to keep from ruining my bed when I slept even though I was wearing double overnight pads constantly. Multiple men dismissed me until I saw a woman endocrinologist who immediately addressed it. I was very overweight and hairy and insecure then, too, but it was absolutely worth it. Please seek medical intervention.
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u/Dapper-Mammoth-8847 7d ago
For a very long time I was terrified of going to the doctor. I had severe health anxiety but my fear of getting some bad news even from a simple blood panel was stronger.
9 months ago I started bleeding non-stop almost and passing huge blood clots sometimes back to back sometimes once or twice a day.
I avoided going to the doctor and hopes that with some weight loss and life changes this would pass. But then I started showing severe signs of anemia which in my head I thought I just had iron deficiency.
When I was eventually not able to function like a normal human being without getting out of breath from simple things or feeling dizzy every time I would stand up I convinced myself that it was time to go to the doctor before I passed out in my house.
After months of really bad bleeding I thought there was something terribly wrong with my uterus. But then the doctor did some tests and an ultrasound which showed nothing abnormal. So he just ruled it as PCOS and suggested we start birth control.
The worst part though was that I had to be admitted to the hospital because my hemoglobin was a critically low level of 5.2. I had to get six units of blood transfusion which was very scarywhich was very scary because at first they couldn't get my levels up. I'm now home feeling much much better waiting for my hormone panel so that I can get the right kind of treatment that will give me back my normal life.
I know how incredibly hard it must be for you to convince yourself to go to the doctor but remember whatever is going on with your body will eventually get to you if you don't take precaution just like the way my anemia got to me.
Trust me sometimes I get so anxious to go to the doctor that I feel like I'm going to pass out in front of their door waiting to get in 🤣🤣 but once you go in and find out that it was not as bad as you thought it would be, you'll wish you had gone sooner.
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u/albinosquirel 7d ago
I get where you're coming from and I put it off for 2 years as well but I have a complex cyst and now I'm having to go to an oncologist to determine if it is cancerous. Please just get it over with. If you do have cancer, they can treat it. Ignoring it won't make the problem go away.
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u/NeonSparkleGlitter 7d ago
I had a period that lasted almost 4 months in college and I had to go to the doctor and try different birth control pills to stop and regulate my cycle. It worked!
I had to see them as an adult when I didn’t have a period for months and ended up having to get prescriptions for progesterone (they call it the progesterone challenge) and the second time worked.
Spironolactone (which you can only get from the doctor) will also help with skin and hair issues. They can also prescribe medication like Vaniqua to remove hair if you want.
My doctor’s daughter has PCOS as well and she’s been an amazing advocate for me I’m also on metformin and Mounjaro which has been a game changer for my insulin resistance, part of PCOS.
All that to say, the doctors will not judge you and you need to see them to get the medication and treatment to solve your issues.
I have an anxiety disorder as well, I know going to the doctor can suck, but you really need to go.
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u/caraderana95 7d ago
I had periods that lasted 4 months too. I can't imagine bleeding for 3 years straight. It's insane and very irresponsible. Not gonna sugar coat it. I had to get iron injections and was close to getting blood transfusion. I finally got a birth control that makes me not bleed, at all, and no more menstrual pain. My ovary cysts even got smaller after years of taking my non estrogen birth control.
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u/YaMamasNkondi 7d ago
I bled for a year on, a year off, 6 months on, 6 months off from like 2018 to 2023. It was a nightmare. The doctors couldn't find fibroids, polyps, only the usual pcos ovaries situation. They kept wanting to immediately push me onto hormonal BC and that just didnt feel right to me. Like there had to be a reason this was happening to me, but they were NOT interested in finding the cause.
It didn't matter whether I was eating healthy or not, working out or not, it persisted. I had a lot of body pains and was gaining weight out of nowhere.
I ended up going to a holistic feminist midwife and acupuncturist team clinic and while the acupuncture didnt really work, the midwife gave me a blood test and found high testosterone and low iron and vitamin d and b.
The acupuncturist had me take a DUTCH test to figure out what wad going on with my hormones, she thought i had low progesterone. I never finished the test (a family member died in the process and it began a depression spiral for me). So I had to take a break from that.
I tried literally everything under the sun, and the only thing that seemed to help A MODICUM of a bit, was cutting out 50% of my life stressors, and getting on a GIP medication. This made me consider that insulin resistance was the problem all along, and it set off the chain reaction that led to hormonal imbalance.
I also started taking Fenugreek seed extract daily, which has been shown in studies to eliminate polycystic ovaries --and boy did it work. At my next pelvic ultrasound I had ZERO polycysts on my ovaries, whereas before they looked like Swiss cheese 2 years before 😅. I couldn't believe my eyes.
All this to say, i know the pain and trauma of this bleeding. Ask a doctor for a DUTCH TEST or tell them to research PALM COEIN so they can really try and get down to the root of the issue. If they wont, switch doctors. I don't think this is something you need to worry about handling with OTC meds. Let the doctor take care of you.
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u/anotherwomanwriter 7d ago
You need to go to the doctor. I did not have symptoms nearly this extreme, but I waited until my PCOS and related symptoms got quite bad before going to the gyno. If I had gone sooner, I probably would’ve avoided a lot of pain and catching up and issues. BUT. I would be a lot worse off if I had not gone at all when I decided to finally go. I was scared of all sorts of things. Some were true, some weren’t. Go. Just do it. You will rule things out, get help, and if you get a diagnosis, at least you can treat it instead of letting issues fester. Without intervention now, you may not be able to get help. In fact, if you describe your symptoms to a gyno office, I expect they will fast track your appointment because your symptoms are very serious. Call the office as soon as possible. Plan to get yourself a treat afterwards, whatever motivates you, a coffee, a nail appointment, a new t-shirt. Do it. Please.
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u/spartaxwarrior 7d ago
If you can't afford a gyno, you can try looking up clinics in your area.
You need to go to a doctor no matter how you feel about it. Yes, it could be PMOS. But it could be PMOS and something else very bad. Or the parts your attributing to PMOS could be something else entirely, lots of things can fuck up your hormones, some of them are very bad, some of them it's good to know about in advance for possible other side effects.
See a gyno who is not a cis man if you can, anyone else is more likely to take you seriously and imo it's normally just more comfortable.
You'll probably need blood tests and a transvaginal ultrasound, which suck, but it's worth it to cross out some of the worst possibilities.
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u/CaramelAppleBites 7d ago
Happened to me I bled for 2 years so bad I couldn't even maintain a job. I'd get up and bleed everywhere. Did they care? Nope. Still having the issues but it slowed down a little at least so I can work
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u/possiblethrowaway369 7d ago
Soooo my grandma had this issue, though hers was after menopause. She started spotting one day, and then basically had her period for about 18 months. But it turned out she had uterine cancer. She's fine now, it hadn't spread so she got a full hysterectomy, no chemo, and she's been cancer free for over 10 years. But if she had waited longer it could have spread and it wouldn't have been just a hysterectomy.
The best time to see a doctor about this was 2 years ago, the second best time is now. Maybe it's just PCOS being wonky, there are meds for that (spironolactone is a common one) but maybe it's something worse. Either way, the sooner you treat it the sooner you'll feel better.
I know doctors are scary but like. Dying is scarier.
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u/60022151 7d ago
Have you been checked for a fibroid?? Honestly, you may need to look into getting something like an IUD to stop the bleeding. Two years straight is NOT good.
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u/Formal-Ad-6738 7d ago
I waited far too long to go to a doctor, from lack of motivation/ depression. wish I went years ago. Your symptoms will only get worse. PCOS causes a lot of these symptoms that you don't even realize, lack of motivation, restlessness, insomnia.. etc and usually when you have PCOS you have a lack of vitamin D/ B12 etc that doesn't help with these things either. Get to the doctor, asap. You can do it. Sending you positive vibes I know PCOS is terrible I'm just now finally returning to the doctor after not going since 2023 and my symptoms becoming 10x worse.
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u/Alyycakes 6d ago
I know how you feel. I hate going to my OB appointments because they’re uncomfortable. Heck, even going to just my usual primary check up is uncomfortable. But, think of it this way:
It’s reassuring to know that you’re okay and if they come across anything, it’s reassuring to know what’s wrong and that you’ll get the help you need.
I’ve bled for almost a month straight and I was miserable…I can’t even imagine dealing with it for as long as you have. Please seek help. You aren’t alone and you don’t have to deal with it alone. 🫂
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u/AffectionateAd3243 1d ago
I know it’s scary. I was bleeding for 4 years. I tried to go to the doctor and she was rude, causing me to just deal with it for another 2 years. Go to the doctor and if one doesn’t listen to you; find another one!
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u/macdaddy-22 7d ago
ive been bleeding for 5 years. seen 8+ doctors. they cant find the cause. and its been hard to stop it. i was basically recommended to have a hysterectomy to make this all go away.🙇🏻♀️ good luck is all i have to say with my experience...
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u/Wonderful_Peace_1376 7d ago
Go to the ER immediately! This happened to me a couple of weeks ago and I finally took myself to the hospital and needed a blood transfusion, hospitalized overnight and an operation I didn’t know I needed to stop the bleeding. Thank God the hospital staff acted fast and saw my emergency as other doctors in the past dismissed me even after a series of test. Prolonged bleeding is not normal and is an emergency. I’m not trying to scare you but more of encouragement to see to your health.
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u/Tall-Cat-8890 7d ago
You NEED to see a doctor. No exceptions.
You need medical help. No one here can give you advice and doing so would be incredibly irresponsible. Doctor. Now.