5 Records to Take to a Visit About Heavy Periods

“Heavy” needs a few details beside it. Start with the nights you get up to change protection.

Five records to take

1. Dates and duration. Note when each period starts and ends, with the heaviest days marked. Bleeding beyond seven days is one of the CDC’s¹ signs of heavy menstrual bleeding.¹

2. Protection changes. Record how frequently you change a pad or tampon, night changes and leaks. Describe what you saw without guessing a blood volume. Product counts help communicate the pattern.¹

3. Symptoms and missed activities. Include tiredness, weakness, shortness of breath and what bleeding kept you from doing. Heavy bleeding can cause anemia. Ask whether you need blood tests.¹

4. Medicines and family history. List aspirin or blood thinners and relatives with heavy periods. The CDC¹ includes medicines among possible causes and family history among the questions used during assessment.¹

5. Your treatment priorities. Write whether reducing pain, reducing bleeding, predictable periods or future pregnancy matters to you. The CDC¹ includes these preferences in choosing treatment. Bring the priority you most want discussed.¹

When to get checked

See a clinician for heavy bleeding, including soaking protection hourly for several consecutive hours. Don’t wait for a complete calendar. The CDC¹ describes testing for causes, including bleeding disorders, when appropriate.¹

A place for the next cycle

Period, Handled includes a Period Scorecard, Pack It planner, cramp kit checklist and visit script. Those pages add records and planning tools to the period coverage. See the book.

And keep the night changes on the calendar. They count.