Heavy or Prolonged Periods: When Bleeding Is Not Normal and Needs a Doctor

If you are changing your pad or tampon far more often than your friends seem to, or you have quietly planned your work shifts and auto rides around your period, you are not being dramatic. Many women in Pune carry on through bleeding that is genuinely too heavy, because periods feel like a private thing you are simply supposed to manage. You are not supposed to just manage it.

I am Dr. Samta B Singhania, a gynaecologist and obstetrician, and in twenty two years I have met many women who waited months or years before asking. Almost always they say the same thing afterwards: I did not know this was fixable. Heavy or prolonged bleeding is common, and once we find the reason behind it, it is usually very treatable. Let me help you tell what is normal from what needs a look.

What counts as heavy or abnormal bleeding

Every woman's period is a little different, so there is no single normal. What matters is a clear change from your own usual pattern, or bleeding that soaks through your day. These are the signs worth taking seriously.

• Soaking through a pad or tampon every hour for several hours in a row.
• Needing to double up (a pad plus a tampon) to get through, or getting up at night to change protection.
• Passing blood clots larger than about the size of a rupee coin.
• Periods that regularly last more than about seven days.
• Bleeding or spotting between periods, or bleeding after sex.
• Any bleeding after menopause, even a little.
• Feeling breathless, dizzy or very tired around your period, which can point to low iron.

Common reasons behind heavy periods

Heavy bleeding is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and there are several common causes. The point of seeing a doctor is simply to find out which one is yours, because the right care depends entirely on that.

• Hormonal imbalance, where ovulation is irregular and the lining builds up unevenly. This is common in the teenage years and again as periods start winding down.
• Fibroids, which are non cancerous growths in the wall of the uterus that can make periods heavier and longer.
• Polyps, small soft growths in the lining that often cause spotting between periods.
• Thyroid problems, since an underactive or overactive thyroid can quietly change your cycle.
• Conditions like adenomyosis, or issues with how the blood clots.
• Less commonly, changes in the lining of the uterus that we always want to rule out, especially after menopause.

Notice that most of these are ordinary and manageable. But two women with the same heavy bleeding can need very different care, so guessing at home rarely helps.

Why you should not just push through it

The most common price of ignored heavy bleeding is anaemia, meaning low iron. It builds slowly, so you adjust to it without realising: the afternoon slump, the breathlessness on the stairs at Phoenix, the pale look people comment on, the constant tiredness you blame on work. Treating the bleeding and the iron together often makes women feel like themselves again in a way they had forgotten was possible. Beyond the tiredness, persistent abnormal bleeding deserves a diagnosis simply so that anything that needs early attention is caught early.

What happens when you come in

There is nothing frightening about the visit. We talk through your cycle, your history and how the bleeding is affecting your daily life, and I examine you. From there I may suggest some simple investigations, commonly a blood test to check your haemoglobin and thyroid, and an ultrasound to look at the uterus and ovaries. These tests are done to find the cause, and they usually point us clearly towards the right treatment.

Treatment is matched to what we find and to your stage of life and your plans, so I will not promise a single quick fix here. Options range from correcting iron and treating a thyroid issue, to medical treatment that lightens periods, to procedures for fibroids or polyps where those are the cause. To be honest with you about how we work, our Viman Nagar clinic is an outpatient (OPD) clinic. If your treatment ever needs a procedure or surgery that must be done in an operating theatre, your evaluation and all your follow up happen with us here, and the operation itself is arranged with our accredited partner hospitals. You are guided through the whole path either way.

When heavy bleeding is urgent

Most heavy bleeding can wait for a normal clinic appointment. But some situations need care straight away. Treat it as an emergency and call 108 or go to the nearest emergency hospital now if you have any of these.

• Bleeding so heavy that you soak through a pad every hour for two hours or more and it is not slowing.
• Feeling faint, actually fainting, a racing heartbeat or breathlessness along with the bleeding.
• Severe sudden lower abdominal pain.
• Heavy bleeding during a known or possible pregnancy.

Living with heavy periods for a long time can also wear you down emotionally, and that is real too. If you ever feel hopeless or have thoughts of harming yourself, please know you are not alone and help is available right now. In India you can call the national Tele-MANAS helpline on 14416 (or 1800-891-4416) at any hour, and in an emergency call 108 or go to the nearest hospital.

You do not have to keep guessing

If your periods are heavy, dragging on, or bleeding when they should not, come and let us find out why. I am Dr. Samta B Singhania, gynaecologist and obstetrician at Prudent International Health Clinic in Viman Nagar, Pune, on New Airport Road near Sakore Nagar. We are open all seven days, 9 AM to 9 PM, with no lunch hour break and walk-ins welcome, so you can come after a shift or between errands. To book or ask a question, call or WhatsApp us on +91 70287 22200. For current pricing, please call the clinic on +91 70287 22200.