Menstrual flow stops and starts each month
July 9, 2016 11:23 PM Subscribe
This is both a postpartum and a period question -- since having my child last November my period seems to stop or pause when I try to use tampons (or a diva cup). It's been going on for five cycles so I'm pretty sure it's not just in my head but I don't know what this is called or if it's worth talking to my dr/ob about. Gory details to come.
My period during fertility treatment was a standard starts on day 1 goes until day 6 or 7 and I could use pads or regular sized tampons without issue. Postpartum I got my first cycle in February and tried to use tampons (also regular sized) once the flow was going (after a slow start) but however many hours later after insertion the tampon was dry. Weird. I went to bed with a pad and soaked it through. I repeated this a few times through that cycle with the same result until bleeding stopped.
This has been the case with each cycle since then. I'll try to use a tampon once my period has definitely started and the flow stops until I take the tampon out. After last month I bought a diva cup (size 2) to try something else. It goes in fine, feels like it's in there right but when I've taken it out 6 or so hours later, there's barely any blood in it (at or below the 2nd grip ridge on the cup). I've been testing it the last 2 days since full flow has started. When I take it out and go a few hours without anything blood flows regularly.
I know I can just wear pads or look at period supplies that aren't inserted into my vagina but I feel like these should work (and I really hate wearing pads because it's messier). Is this possibly a medical condition that is worth talking to my GP or OB about? Is there a better way to describe what's going on? Does this have a name?
If it matters I'm on the pill now (started 3 months ago) but this issue didn't start with taking the pill. I didn't birth baby curls vaginally so I don't think there's damage or anything. I didn't have a period for several years through my 20's but tampons always worked fine for me when I did get a period.
My period during fertility treatment was a standard starts on day 1 goes until day 6 or 7 and I could use pads or regular sized tampons without issue. Postpartum I got my first cycle in February and tried to use tampons (also regular sized) once the flow was going (after a slow start) but however many hours later after insertion the tampon was dry. Weird. I went to bed with a pad and soaked it through. I repeated this a few times through that cycle with the same result until bleeding stopped.
This has been the case with each cycle since then. I'll try to use a tampon once my period has definitely started and the flow stops until I take the tampon out. After last month I bought a diva cup (size 2) to try something else. It goes in fine, feels like it's in there right but when I've taken it out 6 or so hours later, there's barely any blood in it (at or below the 2nd grip ridge on the cup). I've been testing it the last 2 days since full flow has started. When I take it out and go a few hours without anything blood flows regularly.
I know I can just wear pads or look at period supplies that aren't inserted into my vagina but I feel like these should work (and I really hate wearing pads because it's messier). Is this possibly a medical condition that is worth talking to my GP or OB about? Is there a better way to describe what's going on? Does this have a name?
If it matters I'm on the pill now (started 3 months ago) but this issue didn't start with taking the pill. I didn't birth baby curls vaginally so I don't think there's damage or anything. I didn't have a period for several years through my 20's but tampons always worked fine for me when I did get a period.
Are you breastfeeding or pumping? I am still lactating at 19 months pp and have not yet had a period. Making milk seriously dries you out and I could see how thatt might affect period management supplies that are inserted in a different way than those that catch the blood.
I had a wonky period to begin with but having children messed up my cycle like WHOA. And I had c-sections, too, so no concerns about damage contributing. I wouldn't say that this is your new normal forever, but it might be your new normal for now. Gestation, pregnancy, birth, recovery, and lactation are some pretty serious changes to your biology and it takes a while for that to settle down. I might mention it to your doctor (since you have some other cycle variability in your past) at a regular checkup but wouldn't make a special appointment for this.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 5:13 AM on July 10, 2016
I had a wonky period to begin with but having children messed up my cycle like WHOA. And I had c-sections, too, so no concerns about damage contributing. I wouldn't say that this is your new normal forever, but it might be your new normal for now. Gestation, pregnancy, birth, recovery, and lactation are some pretty serious changes to your biology and it takes a while for that to settle down. I might mention it to your doctor (since you have some other cycle variability in your past) at a regular checkup but wouldn't make a special appointment for this.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 5:13 AM on July 10, 2016
Not having a vaginal birth means your lower vaginal vault will be roughly the same shape as it was before pregnancy. However everything "north" of that has borne the weight of a growing baby and will have stretched accordingly. You uterine ligaments, which support the uterus, especially will be longer and spongier still ESPECIALLY if you are still breastfeeding.
I would imagine (this is based on me having had 3 kids, though i did have vaginal births so pinch of salt if it sounds impossible to you) that the uterine ligaments have stretched enough that during your period, when your tissues are as lax as they get (during menstruation everything sinks lower, if you did natural family planning reading you'll remember that the cervix drops down at menstruation and is high at ovulation/during pregnancy) the uterus is resting lower, on the (other side of the front wall of the) vagina. So when you insert a tampon or cup into the vagina it presses up onto the lower portion of the uterus and blocks the flow of blood. Imagine a kinked hose, i hope his is making sense!
What happens if you wear a tampon overnight when lying down? Or if you insert the cup then sit on the loo leaning WAY back for a while?
After my second and third babies i had a similar problem emptying my bladder. I could pee but for several months during my periods especially i had to lean right back to fully empty my bladder. The Dr said it was just my "contents had shifted in transit" and would get better on its own, which it did, both times.
posted by intergalacticvelvet at 5:50 AM on July 10, 2016
I would imagine (this is based on me having had 3 kids, though i did have vaginal births so pinch of salt if it sounds impossible to you) that the uterine ligaments have stretched enough that during your period, when your tissues are as lax as they get (during menstruation everything sinks lower, if you did natural family planning reading you'll remember that the cervix drops down at menstruation and is high at ovulation/during pregnancy) the uterus is resting lower, on the (other side of the front wall of the) vagina. So when you insert a tampon or cup into the vagina it presses up onto the lower portion of the uterus and blocks the flow of blood. Imagine a kinked hose, i hope his is making sense!
What happens if you wear a tampon overnight when lying down? Or if you insert the cup then sit on the loo leaning WAY back for a while?
After my second and third babies i had a similar problem emptying my bladder. I could pee but for several months during my periods especially i had to lean right back to fully empty my bladder. The Dr said it was just my "contents had shifted in transit" and would get better on its own, which it did, both times.
posted by intergalacticvelvet at 5:50 AM on July 10, 2016
What if you use the diva cup for a few days, without alternating with pads? It sounds like you've never tried the cup/ tampons continuously for more than six hours. If you do, do you never get significant amounts of blood, or does it just take a while to get started? (I wouldn't try this with tampons because they can be drying, but the cup shouldn't be. You can still take it out every eight hours or so to check on it.)
Another internal option to try are Softcups. I don't find them as reliable as the Diva cup but they're positioned very differently so you might have a better experience with them.
posted by metasarah at 6:08 AM on July 10, 2016
Another internal option to try are Softcups. I don't find them as reliable as the Diva cup but they're positioned very differently so you might have a better experience with them.
posted by metasarah at 6:08 AM on July 10, 2016
Yes, why are you stopping after six hrs? Check by all means but I can normally tell when my cup is full and tend not to bother until it is full(ish). And I can't recall a time when it was full after six hrs even on heavy days. So personally I'd go about my normal life and empty the cup occasionally. My flow varies in strength both during each cycle and between cycles. There is a general pattern but quite a lot of variation is observable and I've never been pregnant.
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:13 AM on July 10, 2016
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:13 AM on July 10, 2016
Response by poster: With tampons ~6 hours is when they'd seem ready to come out or I'd use the bathroom and change the tampon for cleanliness (not liking a wet string after peeing). With the cup it's just curiosity because I've only been wearing it for a few days so I'm more fiddly with it I'd be during a regular month. I don't like inserting a tampon if I'm too dry so either free bleeding for a bit or using a pad makes it comfortable to insert another one.
I'm not still breastfeeding (going on the pill caused my milk to slow down to the point that it made sense to go with formula) and am not leaking either. I was surprised that I got a period while breastfeeding so soon postpartum and surprised it kept happening.
I usually try to bleed freely at night out of habit and I don't think I've gone overnight with a tampon postpartum. Last night I wasn't using anything but also didn't bleed significantly (weird for day 3). I'm going to guess it's a ligament thing for now.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:17 AM on July 10, 2016
I'm not still breastfeeding (going on the pill caused my milk to slow down to the point that it made sense to go with formula) and am not leaking either. I was surprised that I got a period while breastfeeding so soon postpartum and surprised it kept happening.
I usually try to bleed freely at night out of habit and I don't think I've gone overnight with a tampon postpartum. Last night I wasn't using anything but also didn't bleed significantly (weird for day 3). I'm going to guess it's a ligament thing for now.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:17 AM on July 10, 2016
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Every time I get my period, it starts a little, and then lessons or seems to stop (on the first day).It is much heavier on day 2 and 3, seeming to "start" again after pausing. This happens every single time I get it. So maybe your flow has just changed?
posted by bearette at 11:47 PM on July 9, 2016 [1 favorite]