Anyone Else Have Bleeding Problems?

[Philippa]

Does anyone else have extremely heavy periods that are a result of celiac disease? I have read that vitamin K deficiency can cause bleeding problems. I've been having ridiculously heavy bleeding with my periods since January, to the point where for a few days after my period I am extremely dizzy, tired, and have fainted a few times. Basically I am soaking through full size pads every 30-60 minutes, for 6 hours or more. I was diagnozed with celiac in March and have been eating gluten-free since then. It seems like the bleeding has inmproved slightly but not that much.

My family doctor thought it was a gynecological problem, and told me to see my gyn. I have endometriosis as well. My gyn is doing some tests (including a sonohysterogram, which I'm having today) but she doesn't know much about celiac. When I told her I was diagnosed with celiac disease recently she said, "that's weird, you can't get that as an adult, you must have had it since childhood."

If the results of the tests she's doing find something, then that's ok. I am just worried that this is some weird side effect of celiac disease (like the vitamin K thing, or some other thing I don't know about) and that she won't even consider that.

I just feel like I can't keep going like this. I had anemia even before this heavy bleeding started in January and I have no idea what my hemoglobin is like now...I'm sure it's even worse, judging by how I feel. I am short of breath, tired, and dizzy all the time, especially for a week or 2 after my period. I'm sick of feeling this way...

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Philippa

[Fey]

I've had heavy bleeding problems since my first period when I was 10. Unlike you, I was never diagnosed with endometriosis, and every single sonogram/pap came back normal (until I went in for an emergency appendectomy and they found a ruptured ovarian cyst that all the ultrasounds missed for who knows how long).

I'll literally go through a super sized tampon AND an overnight pad in a matter of an hour to a couple or hours at its worst. When I was younger, my parents gave up and just bought me adult diapers during my periods.

My mother had similar issues on and off throughout her life, though hers got better after she went on birth control, and then even better after she had kids.

[txplowgirl]

Same here, Since I was 10. I also have endo. The first 2 days after I start are the worse for me. Dizzy, headaches and very weak. I have to use 2 super absorbent overnites at a time every 2 hours or less. Before I went gluten free. I would stay home from school and sleep for a good three days straight, only got up to use the bathroom, and I hardly had any appetite whatsoever. I felt like I was dying.

Now after gluten free. The first 2 days are bad but now I don't sleep like the dead and I eat. The pain and cramps are not near as bad as they were also.

Hang in there.

[tarnalberry]

Definitely keep following up until they get to the root of this. That level of bleeding is considered abnormal even immediately after giving birth!

[Coolclimates]

Oh, sorry to hear that. My periods are heavy, but not nearly as heavy as yours. However, I get really bad cramps. I've had 2 laporoscophies (sp?) to check for endo, none found either time.

[Mari]

Hello Philippa - I had endrmetriosis when I was young and sometimes very heavy periods. In my 40's I had my second d&c and shortly after that I did a herbal program to kill parasites. My next pap was negative and no more problems. It also got rid of the white plaque in my mouth. However I have read that endometriosis clears up at menopause and I started that around 50 so that may have been part of the disappearance.

If you are low on Vit K you would probably have some bruising showing up, especially on your arms/legs and not remember having any injury.

For a few years before I was diag. with celiac disease I had bruising and was passing blood in my stools (it looks like coffee grounds). This cleared up after I went gluten-free and did some herbal programs to improve my digestive health.

[AnnGriffin]

I was at the end of my 12 month period free to be considered post menopausal, and then I had a several weeks of heavy bleeding resulting in three trips to the ER to get it under control, (before being diagnosed with celiac disease).

What they think is that my thyroid was low (again) so they upped my thyroid meds, a lot. but then we tried a low carb diet and so in a couple of weeks started to absorb the meds which were now too much and my thyroid went sky high, which they said can cause bleeding even in post menopausal women.. and my vitamin K was still low also among others vitamins.

So.... they lowered the thyroid again, but by then we had gone off the low carb diet and so (see a pattern here?) and got sicker again, stopped absorbing the meds

had 3 more ER trips for hydration (we all know why) and pain they thought was gall bladder.. the new blood test showed my thyroid level drop to the bottom of the chart again...

FINALLY my general Dr. put it all together, rather then working on each problem like we had been for years..

[dilettantesteph]

I think that it could be a symptom of celiac disease. My periods got heavier as my symptoms became worse in the years leading up to diagnosis. I could go through a super tampon in 15 minutes. After 3 years gluten free, I don't need those super tampons anymore. Then again, I'm 50 and probably on my way out as far as periods go.

[Coolclimates]

these last few months have been strange for me. My periods are almost always very regular but a couple of months ago, I got one and kept bleeding for well over 2 weeks. I wasn't bleeding very hard but it went on and on. My gyn seemed to think that it was due to not ovulating. Then my last period came early but other than that, there was no problem. This period came very late and I had a good 2 weeks of PMS and cramps before it even started. Well it finally started last week but it's been 7 days and I'm still going very heavy. Usually my periods are over in 5-6 days. The cramps have died down but I'm concerned about the heavy bleeding. I've been under a lot of stress lately, but not more than I am usually under. I've been on the gluten-free diet for over a year now. I have diagnosed Celiac Disease and it's been really slow to improve.

[cougie23]

Glad you brought this up...I was hoping someone would! I bleed so heavey now that I litteraly "HEMORAGE" for one to two days!!!go through 1 super ob tampon every 15 min. to an hour....and sometimes its so bad and gloppy it looks like a miscarrage!!!

(I can't gat pregnent...had my tubes tyed)...other crazy stuff too...like in March I went 2 months without my period..and was suffering from severe hot flashes...and severe itchy skin all over my body...it was driving me insane(we were on vacation)...right before i discovered that I was celiac...and boy was I glutened to the sateration point!!! put me in the hospital twice!!!! all for differant symptoms!!!!

Nice to hear its not just me!!!

[cougie23]

I'm 47!!!!

[pricklypear1971]

I know I posted this on another similar thread...but here it is again.

Get a Dr. John Lee book. Get some progesterone cream. Try it.

Works for me. Mine went zonko around dx time. 4 months of cream around days 14-28 fixed it right up. Helps with pms too!

[mommida]

My sister-in-law is a spokesperson for a newer drug for heavy menstrual bleeding. Can be viewed on-line at drug's website.

I am in now way linked to the drug other than that, but I don't think the rules of the board would want me promoting the medication.

[lucia]

I had this issue. And, like someone said above, my periods got worse as my symptoms from gluten-intolerance worsened. For me, along with heavy periods, went distressingly painful cramps. Scary.

Acupuncture changed this. Yes, I've been gluten-free for awhile, but I still think it was acupuncture that helped. My periods were back to normal until recently (I did an ivf cycle which effected them negatively). Chinese medicine is really good at woman's hormonal issues, much better (I think) than Western medicine.

[Izz]

I have found my periods have changed since going gluten-free. Always been clockwork, heavy, dark, painful and long. BCP have never controlled them. Since going gluten-free they became bright red and fluid, heavy to the point of questioning hemorrhage. I've also had to go dairy free due to allergy which threw timing out for around 6 months, back on clockwork now - much less gut cramping since dairy free but still heavy and long. Recently I started vitamin K 1 & 2 supplements  (along with existing high quality gluten-free multi & iron occasionally). Since the vitamin K my period length has HALVED from 10-12 days to 5. Instead of 3 days of heavy (read sometimes can't leave the house) I've had 12 hours of heavy and 4 days of light. My gums have stopped bleeding when I brush my teeth. The abdominal pain at period time is pretty much gone, just regular uterus cramping now. I'm crossing my fingers this keeps getting better and maybe my post helps someone else.

[Izz]

On 20/10/2016 at 9:34 AM, Izz said:

I have found my periods have changed since going gluten-free. Always been clockwork, heavy, dark, painful and long. BCP have never controlled them. Since going gluten-free they became bright red and fluid, heavy to the point of questioning hemorrhage. I've also had to go dairy free due to allergy which threw timing out for around 6 months, back on clockwork now - much less gut cramping since dairy free but still heavy and long. Recently I started vitamin K 1 & 2 supplements  (along with existing high quality gluten-free multi & iron occasionally). Since the vitamin K my period length has HALVED from 10-12 days to 5. Instead of 3 days of heavy (read sometimes can't leave the house) I've had 12 hours of heavy and 4 days of light. My gums have stopped bleeding when I brush my teeth. The abdominal pain at period time is pretty much gone, just regular uterus cramping now. I'm crossing my fingers this keeps getting better and maybe my post helps someone else.

I just wanted to add how important it has been to keep on top of calcium levels as well. Healthy bleeding/clotting cannot happen without calcium, and gluten is like the anti-calcium.