Lara Briden's Forum

Hey girlies. So, where to begin. Will try to keep it short. I have always had ridiculously heavy periods since the day they first started- I was probably around 11/12 years old. Im now 26 this year. Have tried various hormonal contraceptives over the years to manage bleeding and pain, but none having helped at all. Have now been completely contraceptive free for the past 3 years- just dealing with them naturally from now on.

The pain has always been so horrendous that I feel almost as though (what I would imagine) it would be like to have contractions. I have always become anemic around my periods due to blood loss too and taken/ prescribed iron supplements, which of course means exhaustion comes along with the pain and inconvenience of bleeding though a tampon/pad/incontinence nappy every hour.

Now- hopefully this forum is the place to five TMI because warning, graphic descriptions ahead. The past year or so perhaps I have not only been passing the usual large blood clots, but also chunks of tissue - or what I assume to be large pieces of uterine lining.

I have been to the doctors many times- most of which visits result in them suggesting I take hormonal contraceptives to manage the symptoms. I have had blood tests, internal and external ultrasounds of my womb, ovaries and uterus to check for signs of endometriosis- endometrial thickness, fibroids or poly cystic ovaries etc etc etc. none of which have ever shown up on any of the tests or scans I have had done.

I just cannot believe that having such horrendously crippling painful periods every month and passing large chunks of what look like internal organ tissue can be normal, and I refuse to believe going back on the pill or implant etc is the solution. Neither option worked before, and i dont wish to throw my bodies hormones out of whack all over again just for the same end result.

Does anybody have any recommendations or suggestions as feeling a little lost now and hopeless when it comes to help from healthcare providers as it seems the only thing they want to suggest is hormonal birth control - and scans or blood tests to check for the same things I have had checked many times before- only to be told I am anemic and need to eat more iron rich vegetables and take ferrous sulphate etc.

Have also been prescribed mefenamic and tranexamic acid since I can remember.


From a girl whos sick of being physically and mentally drained every month and having her organs fall out of her vagina! Thanks in advance!


Could share a picture of the kind of ‘tissue’ passed if anyone has no adversities to a graphic period pic or two. Just not quite sure how to use this site just yet!

Hi there,

Have you had your hormones tested? I know you had other tests, but if you have high estrogen it can cause extremely heavy periods and pain because the more estrogen you have the thicker the uterine lining. So you'd first need a full overview of what your hormones look like right now.

Also, with anemia and iron it's more than just taking Iron. Usually if you have issues with Iron that means you are also deficient in B12 and Vitamin C. Both of these are essential to iron absorption to just taking Iron is not enough. You also need to be taking a good quality High B Complex (in the active form) along with Vitamin C for absorption. Heavy periods usually are due to low iron, but it's not just iron you have to look at it's also your other vitamins that help with the absorption of iron.

The other thing is Magnesium, are you taking any? This can help a ton with the pain and fatigue. A lot of women experience super painful periods because they are low in magnesium.

Your nutrition is also a huge factor as well. If you are under-eating or even over exercising and not getting enough carbohydrates and protein this can throw off your hormone balance as well.

There are A LOT of factors that go into this that I would first take a look at your overall hormone panel, then if you have it in your budget get a Micronutrient test done because if you are anemic I would bet you're very deficient in B Vitamins and Vitamin C and maybe even some other nutrients as well. Then I'd take a look at your nutrition. I talk about a lot of this stuff on my website as well over at AshleyDrummonds.com I hope this helps! Good luck!