Periods gone mad

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Monny

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Type 2
Hi,
I am only recently diagnosed,(Oct '23) type 2, with bloods showing up at 52 from the last test. I am only working with diet to correct it.
Since I was diagnosed I have been having full 5 day periods with only 1 week between them. I spoke to a doctor this morning and he said it could be the diabetes but I have done a lot of research and have found nothing about it.
The other option was I was getting close to the peripause, I also have a hormone implant which prevents me having periods as I am disabled with a damaged pelvis, hips and spine. Having a period causes so much pain in the pelvis my doc put me on the implants 15 years ago and it has been great. I am now suffering even more than usual and I am feeling so down as I don't know what it going on. Does anyone here have any ideas or been through anything like it?

I thought this was going to be easy but instead I have gained weight, I am barely eating any carbs or sugar and getting sick of vegetables.
Sorry for the moan, feeling like everything is going wrong and I have no idea how I am going to get through xmas with kids and their chocs and goodies everywhere.

Any help or support would be very gratefully received.
 
Oh goodness, I am really sorry to hear you are struggling with hormones and periods particularly when you have other health complications.
No I have not heard of diabetes causing issues like this, but unfortunately some doctors will try to blame everything on diabetes and it is laziness really. Do you have eConsult or AskMyGP at your surgery? Just wondering if you can request an appointment with a female doctor who may perhaps be more sympathetic to your situation. Aside from anything else, losing blood that frequently may be making you anaemic which will not help your diabetes or your general health and if your diet is restricted, you may not be getting the nutrients to replace that blood. Then of course there is the pain and discomfort which will take a toll on you physically and mentally, so you do need some more support than just blaming your diabetes.

As regards your diet, what are you eating? Can you give us an idea of a typical day's menu? I find it really important to have enjoyable things everyday, I have just changed my high carb treats for low carb ones. So for instance, I have real double cream in my coffee every morning instead of the 2 sugars I used to have and I take time to really enjoy the luxury of it. I have a chunk of nice cheese or a pot of olives with feta or Manchego, or some roasted peanuts or mixed nuts, or half a square of very dark 70% chocolate with a spoon of crunchy peanut butter. I particularly like crunchy foods as it seems to be really satisfying to me to chew crunchy things.
If you can give us an idea of what you are currently eating we can perhaps suggest other things which might feel less restrictive.
 
Perimenopause can cause heavy and/or prolonged bleeding @Monny Perhaps it’s a combination of things?

Welcome to the forum 🙂
 
Oh @Monny I am so sorry to read about your problems.
My non-stop heavy periods and extreme abdominal pain was never blamed on diabetes. It was never considered to be a problem. I had a number of scans (ultra sound, CAT and MRI) and they decided it was caused by fibroids. I had a coil but that was only effective for a few years and the replacement was not positioned correctly.
Unfortunately, diagnosis took a few years, lots of blood soaked clothes and persistence, especially when I was told the second ambulance trip due to so much pain that I fainted was "just a one off".

My advice is DO NOT accept diabetes as an excuse and insist on a consultation with a gynaecologist.
My treatment was finally a hysterectomy which seemed extreme in my 40s but well worth it for me. I am not suggesting this is the solution for you.

Good luck.
 
Plus I'm sorry to say it could be that you either have fibroids or summat much more serious, or indeed have had endometriosis for years unbeknown to yourself the latter was not discovered for me until I needed a hysterectomy because of the fibroids - and the lady gynaecologist surgeon berated me for not telling her beforehand about the pain between periods. Sorry luv - I've been moaning about the pain since I was 11 so it's just same old same old for me - but at least we both now have a clinical explanation and it's all been incinerated so jolly good riddance to it. I opted to get rid of the ovaries too, since my mum had ovarian cancer in her 70s and her only symptom was vaginal bleeding and seeing as my vagina would become a complete dead end I realised I'd no longer be able to get that symptom and just as well I had really, as the fibroids had already rendered one completely useless. Still probably need HRT though cos otherwise everything like hair and skin dries up horribly.

So - get that lady GP appointment as soon as poss, please!
 
I suspect it is completely unrelated to your diabetes diagnosis. But I agree any unusual bleeding need immediate investigation. Hopefully it will be nothing serious but certainly needs checking out.
It is easy to think these things are nothing but getting prompt treatment could save your life.
 
I have had awful periods since I hit my early 40s (everything from continuous bleeding, heavy periods, short cycles, no period for months) and after lots of investigation it was just put down to peri menopause but they did do lots of checks to make sure it wasn’t anything sinister. I presume when you talk about the implant it’s the one in your arm. Have you ever had a mirena? It usually works more effectively than hormones alone (although I bled mine out after 6 months). They’re not the nicest things to have implanted and there’s often a wait but if it works for you you don’t have to think about it again for 7 years. If you do want one talk about anaesthetic options as pain relief isn’t offered as standard.

Big changes in your periods should be checked out and your personal comfort should always be the guide for treatment. I’ve ended up with severe anaemia twice and needed blood transfusions and iron infusions and have tried all sorts of different hormones with some success at giving me a more normal cycle but they all stop working after a while. I’m now 50 and currently in the process of looking at surgical options.
 
As others have said, it’s unlikely to be related to the diabetes. The first thought that came to my mind was the same as @trophywench and wondered about endometriosis or fibroids.

Second thought was Covid! Have you recently had Covid or had the Covid vaccine? It is now well noted that both the vaccine and the virus itself can, in some women, play absolute havoc with their menstrual cycle.

Definitely push your GP for answers. Don’t be fobbed off by ‘oh it’s just the menopause’. It might well be but still warrants investigation. Try and get a female GP, they tend to be much more sympathetic and less likely to be dismissive.

Take care xx
 
Deb_l said:
As others have said, it’s unlikely to be related to the diabetes. The first thought that came to my mind was the same as @trophywench and wondered about endometriosis or fibroids.

Second thought was Covid! Have you recently had Covid or had the Covid vaccine? It is now well noted that both the vaccine and the virus itself can, in some women, play absolute havoc with their menstrual cycle.

Definitely push your GP for answers. Don’t be fobbed off by ‘oh it’s just the menopause’. It might well be but still warrants investigation. Try and get a female GP, they tend to be much more sympathetic and less likely to be dismissive.

Take care xx
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Don't sound good not a women putting throu enough with charcot foot hope u get it all sorted keep chin up ... I'm proper down at mo ....
 
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Thank you all for your help,
I have decided that as I have stopped bleeding this time I will wait, if it starts again I am going to see a female doctor at the surgery, unfortunately our surgery is so slow at getting people in I am going to have to go in and demand to be seen as soon as possible, it is the only way anyone gets seen. I had to wait three weeks for the telephone appointment to tell me to wait until January for something. I am going to keep on top of this as you have all stated. I have been suffering with other pain for 20 years and I do not need more problems on top of it.

As for food my typical daily meals are as follows:-
B - 2 rashers of bacon dry fried and 2 fried eggs.
L - either carrot and cucumber sticks and hummus or natural yogurt and blackberries/other berries.
D- I have been using recipes found on here for chicken and mushrooms or chow mien or my own roasted veg and chicken with herb and spices, mainly it is just a meat and veg with gravy as it is easy to feed the kids.

I say kids they are 19 and 22 but one is a very fussy eater, I tend to make extra veg for the fridge so if I am not doing so well someone can heat me up leftover veg and cook a piece of meat for me without too much trouble. They are not great with the time it takes to prepare meals so tend to look for things in the freezer to just put in the oven for themselves.

Again thank you for the support, I had no idea this site was so responsive to queries, it does make me feel like there is someone to listen to me moan.
Katie
 
Monny said:
Thank you all for your help,
I have decided that as I have stopped bleeding this time I will wait, if it starts again I am going to see a female doctor at the surgery, unfortunately our surgery is so slow at getting people in I am going to have to go in and demand to be seen as soon as possible, it is the only way anyone gets seen. I had to wait three weeks for the telephone appointment to tell me to wait until January for something. I am going to keep on top of this as you have all stated. I have been suffering with other pain for 20 years and I do not need more problems on top of it.

As for food my typical daily meals are as follows:-
B - 2 rashers of bacon dry fried and 2 fried eggs.
L - either carrot and cucumber sticks and hummus or natural yogurt and blackberries/other berries.
D- I have been using recipes found on here for chicken and mushrooms or chow mien or my own roasted veg and chicken with herb and spices, mainly it is just a meat and veg with gravy as it is easy to feed the kids.

I say kids they are 19 and 22 but one is a very fussy eater, I tend to make extra veg for the fridge so if I am not doing so well someone can heat me up leftover veg and cook a piece of meat for me without too much trouble. They are not great with the time it takes to prepare meals so tend to look for things in the freezer to just put in the oven for themselves.

Again thank you for the support, I had no idea this site was so responsive to queries, it does make me feel like there is someone to listen to me moan.
Katie
Click to expand...
Sounds like u getting u issues under control sounds good .... sounds like my docs .. hospital not do good either took them few months 2 diagnosis my charcot foot and been in cast since mid May and now got a DVT .....
 
Deb_l said:
Second thought was Covid! Have you recently had Covid or had the Covid vaccine? It is now well noted that both the vaccine and the virus itself can, in some women, play absolute havoc with their menstrual cycle.
Click to expand...
I am pleased to say I have never had covid or the jab. I did a lot of research into it when it was first around and then into the jab itself and when I read that in the first month of giving it to women of childbearing age or pregnant that miscarriage rates went up by 500% I realised it wasn't a risk I wanted messing me around even more.
 
Jezza42 said:
Sounds like u getting u issues under control sounds good .... sounds like my docs .. hospital not do good either took them few months 2 diagnosis my charcot foot and been in cast since mid May and now got a DVT .....
Click to expand...
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that you are going through so much as well, I have been just looking up charcot foot as I had never heard of it, unfortunately some of the pics look like one of my feet that is swollen and painful and gets very hot. I think I am going to call the diabetes clinic to move my foot appointment closer as it is in January.
I hope this all starts to look up for you.
Take care xx
 
Deb_l said:
Try and get a female GP, they tend to be much more sympathetic and less likely to be dismissive.
Click to expand...
In my experience it is down the getting the right GP regardless of gender.
I was fobbed off by a female GP but then got a very persistent male GP who put me forward for test after test and scan after scan until we found the problem.

Monny said:
if it starts again I am going to see a female doctor at the surgery,
Click to expand...
No harm in trying to get an appointment with a different doctor and, yes, some female doctors are more understanding of "women's problems". Sadly not all are as sympathetic.
 
Monny said:
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that you are going through so much as well, I have been just looking up charcot foot as I had never heard of it, unfortunately some of the pics look like one of my feet that is swollen and painful and gets very hot. I think I am going to call the diabetes clinic to move my foot appointment closer as it is in January.
I hope this all starts to look up for you.
Take care xx
Click to expand...
Yes I would my bones have collapsed in middle of foot got 2 wait for it 2 settle down and hopefully operate not looking forward 2 that .....
 
Jezza42 said:
Sounds like u getting u issues under control sounds good .... sounds like my docs .. hospital not do good either took them few months 2 diagnosis my charcot foot and been in cast since mid May and now got a DVT .....
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear you’ve been having difficulty getting prompt treatment @Jezza42

I confess I’ve deliberately been steering well clear of this thread as I feel completely unqualified to comment! I’ll answer in your other thread here:
 
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