Every month my period is heavy, but I didn’t realize that that wasn’t how women are supposed to bleed. My Mom bled heavy as I do. I thought that was our lot in life. It had been heavy for a long time, but when my doctor asked me if my periods were abnormally heavy, I said no. I didn’t think they were abnormally heavy, they were “normal” to me.
The periods did increase in the number of days of bleeding over the years, but I thought that was part of the normal aging of a woman. My four or five day period began lasting seven, eight, even ten days or more. On the heavy days, I would need to change the heaviest of pads less than every hour to ensure I didn’t have an accident in blood. At night, I slept in a diaper and on a towel so blood wouldn’t get on my bedsheets.
I saw my doctor and he noticed my iron and hemoglobin were low and he gave me iron pills to take. I don’t like taking medicine, but I took the iron at first. I stopped taking it however because it caused horrible constipation.
I became increasingly tired. I had been an avid runner and walker. The running stopped and even long walks became somewhat of a chore. My work suffered as my fatigue worsened. Exercise ceased altogether. I no longer had an interest or energy for sexual relations with my husband. I developed migraine headaches and was given a medicine called sumatriptan by my doctor. When I went for a walk, the slightest incline would cause my heart to start racing and I would even get a little short of breath. I started to chew and crave ice. I would eat it by the cup full.
My fatigue was not only physical but mental as well. It was so taxing to battle these fibroids month after month. I wondered how I could continue to suffer from these fibroids? I always had to be prepared for the “crime scene” periods, having extra clothes with me at all times, and knowing where every bathroom was. My marriage suffered, my work suffered, and I felt I was letting so many people down in my life.
If you’re tired of being tired due to fibroids, contact the leader in the non-surgical treatment of uterine fibroids Dr. John Lipman of the Atlanta Fibroid Center. To make an appointment, please call 770-953-2600 or online at ATLii.com.
