Heavy Period vs. Abnormal Bleeding: Knowing the Difference

Every woman’s menstrual cycle is different. To complicate matters, your cycle might fluctuate from month to month. Still, it’s worth watching the overall trends in your period. Any major deviations from the norm could indicate that you’d benefit from medical care. 

We can help. Because we specialize in abnormal uterine bleeding, board-certified OB/GYNs Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, and Lorenza Simmons, MD, can help you find out what’s going on with your menstrual cycle and whether you need any treatment.

If you’re dealing with a period that feels unusual, don’t hesitate to visit us at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia. 

A lot of the women we see about their periods come to us because of heavy or abnormal bleeding. Those fit into different medical categories, so let’s break them down. 

Heavy bleeding

Also called menorrhagia, heavy bleeding affects roughly 1 in 5 women. Doctors diagnose menorrhagia when you have symptoms like:

• Needing to change your tampon or pad every two hours or less
• Passing blood clots larger than a quarter
• Having periods that last more than seven days

If you double up on pads or wear a tampon and a pad to control your menstrual flow, you probably have heavy bleeding. 

The key thing about heavy bleeding is it occurs during your normal menstrual cycle. That differentiates it from abnormal bleeding. 

Abnormal bleeding

Also called menometrorrhagia, abnormal uterine bleeding is any bleeding that occurs outside your normal menstrual cycle. If you spot or bleed between periods, you probably have this condition. That’s also true if you have an irregular cycle. 

Some signs of menometrorrhagia overlap with heavy bleeding, like periods that last longer than seven days or a heavy flow. 

The main thing that sets it apart, then, is bleeding outside your normal cycle. 

When to see a doctor

You should see our team if your heavy or abnormal bleeding gets in the way of your quality of life. If it keeps you from doing things you enjoy, we can help. 

Dr. Simmons and Dr. Trench-Simmons work with you to identify what’s behind your heavy or abnormal bleeding. Both menorrhagia and menometrorrhagia can be caused, for example, by uterine fibroids. With testing like a pelvic ultrasound, we can look for issues like fibroids.

If we do find an underlying cause for your abnormal or heavy bleeding, we treat it. With fibroids, we can explore everything from medication to myomectomy (fibroid removal surgery). 

We continue working with you to help ease your heavy or abnormal bleeding. Many women have easier periods when they take hormonal birth control and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. 

We might also recommend an iron supplement if excessive bleeding has you feeling fatigued.

In short, we’re here to help you manage the bleeding and minimize its impact on your quality of life. For this kind of care, call our office or book an appointment online today.