Is My Period Heavy?

How do I know if I have a heavy flow? Or a light flow? Is it “medium???”

Okay folks, we need to talk about menstrual blood loss. I can’t be the only one who was way too old when she found out what a normal amount of blood loss is during a period.

So, I’ll make this quick and easy for you!

Normal Blood Loss

A normal period’s average blood loss is 60 mL (milliliters) or less.

Across all people, there is a huge range, though the average range is typically considered to be 35–50 mL lost during the course of a period.

You may be thinking… But I’m American — what’s a mL? or How the **** do you expect me to envision such a specific amount, Angie?

I hear you. And I have a proposition for you: Go to the kitchen. Take out the measuring cups. Put water in them to see what those volumes look like. Easy peasy!

Tracking Blood Loss

Menstrual products have a capacity:

• The typical menstrual cup holds 30 mL (check yours to see if it’s different).
• One regular tampon or pad holds about 5 mL when fully soaked.
• One super tampon holds about 10 mL when fully soaked.

But Angie, you say, I change my cup every 4 hours! And how would I know whether a tampon is fully soaked before taking it out?

It’s not going to be 100% accurate. That’s okay! We just want a good estimate of blood loss. So, if you change your cup/tampon/pad and it appears only half soaked, do the math!

If you want an idea of your flow, I encourage you to try this for a couple cycles:

• Every time you empty your cup or change tampons/pads, make note of how full it appears and therefore an estimate of mL lost.
• Put this number in your period tracking app/chart or on an old-school sticky note or something. Do this every time throughout your period!
• After your period ends, compare your mL lost to the averages. You probably have a heavier than normal flow if you changed a half-full cup over six times during a period, fully soaked sixteen or more regular tampons, or fully soaked period underwear four or more times a day for several days.

When Your Flow is Definitely Too Heavy

Menorrhagia is an excessively heavy flow. A few signs of menorrhagia are:

• Blood loss of 80 mL or more during a cycle
• Periods lasting 8 or more days
• Clots bigger than a quarter
• Bleeding full through pads or tampons within an hour

Heavy periods could be a sign of hormone imbalances, fibroids, polyps, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or even cancer. It can also be a side effect of copper intrauterine devices (IUDs) or medications. Stay aware of any sudden or big changes so you can get to a doctor.

Talk to your doctor if you experience ANY of the symptoms or menorrhagia. There is hope for you!

When Your Flow is Probably Too Light

Your periods might be too light if:

• Blood loss is less than 25 mL
• Periods lasting 1–2 days total
• Only needing 5 or fewer pads/tampons during the period
• They were never this light before. Listen to your gut!

Talk to your doctor if you think your period is too light. It may be a sign of low estrogen levels, meaning your uterine lining (endometrium) isn’t getting thick enough.

Friends, I hope you can now confidently say, “YES, I have a light/heavy/normal flow, and I have the power to do something about it (or not)!”

This was originally published on The Hormone Hacker blog. This information is not to be interpreted as medical advice. Ask your healthcare provider before making any changes or decisions regarding your health.