I feel like I’m bleeding to death but doctors dismiss me – I’m so out of it I stagger into walls
MARGARET Young suffers from periods so heavy she literally can’t walk or see straight.
The yoga instructor battles brain fog, dizziness and debilitating pain – making her long for the menopause.
The 47-year-old has menorrhagia, or excessive menstrual blood loss which interferes with a woman’s physical, social, emotional and material quality of life.
Heavy bleeding is defined as losing 80ml or more in each period, having periods that last longer than seven days, or both, which is what Margaret has experienced all her life.
After her first period aged 14, she was put on the contraceptive pill, which she says made her feel “very grown up”.
But ever since then she has struggled to get the help she feels she deserves.
Margaret strongly feels more assistance should be out there for women suffering in the same way, and she thinks women just aren’t being listened to.
“It’s awful. And to make matters worse for me personally, I am a yoga teacher,” she tells Sun Health.
“Can you imagine teaching a yoga class in skintight leggings wearing two super plus tampons and a pad and still having to check that you haven’t leaked every few poses?
“Not to mention the pain, the dizziness and the brain fog from losing that much blood.
“In an ideal world I would take a week off every month as I really can’t work.
“I am always having to subtly check that I haven’t leaked all over my leggings.”
Margaret’s period pain has been so debilitating that at times, she has walked into walls rather than doors as she has been so blinded with dizziness.
She has also been unable to get a full night’s sleep. Instead of a peaceful slumber, she’s had to get up repeatedly in the night to clean up and change her method of protection.
Her mental health has deteriorated considerably as a result, she says.
“The pain is a lot, and it’s constant,” she adds.
After years of suffering, Margaret, who lives in Northern Ireland, visited a consultant gynaecologist public clinic.
After declining the coil they offered, she says she was put on a combination of a haemophilia medication, to reduce the bleeding, and a prescription painkiller.
Margaret says: “I was also offered a procedure called an ablation, where the lining of my uterus would basically be burned off.
“The medication helped. But the prescription was short-term and kept running out.”
It was horrendous. A clot the size of my palm came out all over my clothes
Margaret Young
As it was during lockdown, appointments became virtual and less frequent.
She resigned herself to waiting for her procedure but somehow she fell off the radar.
It was only after badgering the hospital post-pandemic and describing how she felt she was being left to “bleed to death” that she was finally offered the surgery she was so desperate for.
However, while Margaret, who is married and does not have children, believed the procedure would be her saving grace, she says the day she had looked forward to with so much hope did not go as planned.
When heavy periods could be something sinister
WHEN it comes to periods, there is a textbook definition of normal – but then there is also what a normal period looks like for you.
For some (lucky) people, these definitions overlap; for others, they don’t.
The NHS recognises a ‘normal period’ as losing between 30 and 60ml, or six to eight teaspoonfuls, each month. A ‘heavy’ period’ is anything more than 80ml.
Another, arguably simpler, way of working out whether your period is heavy is to count the number of pads or tampons you use.
Having to change a pad or tampon every one to two hours, or emptying a menstrual cup more often than is recommended, is a sign your period is heavy.
An NHS test can also help reveal whether your periods are heavy and if it’s worth seeing your GP.
Dr Fran Yarlett, GP and medical director at The Lowdown, said: “Heavy periods can be normal for some people.
“But if your periods have changed and become heavier, this can signify medical problems.” This could be:
- Early-stage cervical cancer
- Fibroids (non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb)
- Perimenopause (the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause)
- Hypothyroidism (when the thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormones
- Endometriosis (tissue similar to that in the womb grows in other areas of the body)
“I was put under general anaesthetic that day, and had a minor procedure called dilation and curettage, better known as a D&C,” she says.
“Then the surgeon decided not to give me the ablation.”
Margaret, who says she was “crushed” not to have the operation, puts the decision down to a patriarchal, misogynistic society which doesn’t believe or listen to women.
“There is this fear that as a woman, you will change your mind about not being able to have children,” she says.
Despite having the D&C, Margaret still has excruciating, heavy periods – particularly her first following the procedure.
“It was horrendous,” she says. “A clot the size of my palm came out all over my clothes.”
But the impact hasn’t just been physical. Menorrhagia has come at a significant financial cost too.
When she went to the Maldives for her husband’s 50th birthday, Margaret paid 50 euros for medication to delay her period and 80 euros for a private consultation.
She has finally had enough, now longing for the menopause when her periods will finally stop.
“More than 25 per cent of my life has been wasted because I can’t cope,” she says.
“I can’t live a normal life when I am menstruating.
“I am left waiting for the freedom of the menopause, but I shouldn’t be wishing my life away.”
‘We’re not being listened to’
Not wishing to go through her pain alone, Margaret has shared her harrowing experience on social media and in the press.
She wants to raise awareness of women’s health issues and help other women.
“I was a guest on local radio and my DMs were blown up,” Margaret, known as @wildsoulmags on Instagram, says.
“I got a tonne of messages from women saying, ‘Oh My God, I have that – I didn’t even know it had a name’.
“There were heartbreaking stories – one woman messaged me to say she had been in hospital and had been in agony and looked at her chart and the nurse had written she wasn’t in any pain.”
She adds: “I am very happy to speak to women who want to get it off their chest and chat.
“There are so many tales of not being listened to by the medical community.”
How to combat agonising period pain
By Isabel Shaw, health reporter
LIKE many women, I experience severe discomfort during my periods (to put it mildly).
From dull and achy cramps right up to intense pain that feels unmanageable.
Since the tender age of 12 when my periods began, I’ve relied heavily on painkillers and my trusty hot water bottle to get me through the worst days of the month.
But more often than not, medicines and medieval heating devices do little to ease my symptoms, forcing me to miss social events and even work.
In fact, a 2017 YouGov survey found 57 per cent of women who suffer from cramps say period pains have impacted their ability to work.
This is hardly surprising, given research from University College London (UCL) has shown that period cramps can be as painful as having a heart attack.
So in my quest to live a pain-free life, I’m forever on the hunt for cramp-relieving hacks.
I tested four products which claim to relieve menstrual cramps. I took into account my pain level, value for money and how easy and convenient it was to use.
- Daye CBD tampons (pain reduction score 4/10, value for money 6/10, convenience 9/10)
- Myoovi (pain reduction 8/10, value for money 8/10, convenience 7/10)
- Beurer TENS & warmth menstrual pain relief (pain reduction 9/10, value for money 9/10, convenience 6/10)
- Recovery Therm (pain reduction 8/10, value for money 5/10, convenience 5/10)