# Female dopers - The world's longest period? (TMI) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695 "2003-09-19T22:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/1 "2003-09-19T22:05:34Z")
Okay, so it’s been 16 days and my period is STILL going. And I’m finding it SLIGHTLY annoying. Have any female dopers had periods this long, or longer? Oh, and sympathy is much appreciated! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Alto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alto)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/2 "2003-09-19T22:33:17Z")
I had a period once that lasted almost 60 days (sometimes very light, of course). It turned out I had polycystic ovaries. Apparently these can cause all kinds of periodic weirdnesses. I’d get it checked out. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/3 "2003-09-19T22:36:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alto \* > \*\* I’d get it checked out. \*\* I have an appointment at the doctors on Tuesday. On the first day of my period I went on the pill for the first time, so it probably relates to that. ---
**Author:** ![Deadly\_Nightlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Deadly\_Nightlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deadly_Nightlight)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/4 "2003-09-20T01:43:28Z")
PCOS’er checking in, I have also had a 60 day period, its not cool, get thee to a doctor! ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/5 "2003-09-20T01:53:03Z")
Aaah the wonders of the pill! I had a lot of trouble with bleeding with the last pill set I tried. Glad to see you’re going to the doctor though… my mother and my aunt just each had fibroids removed after having periods that wouldn’t end. I’m used to odd cycles since I only get maybe 6 periods a year… unfortunately they are not very evenly spaced and range inbetween from 2 weeks to 4 months. They last anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/6 "2003-09-20T03:09:51Z")
I had one that lasted an entire month last October. Actully, it was just light spotting, but shapes of things to come. I have a lot of breakthrough bleeding, usually very light, but the last couple of months I seem to be having bi-weekly periods. Very not cool, but my medical coverage currently comes from county social services, so I’m extremely limited in what doctors I can see, and appointments in the clinic the county covers are very difficult to come by… ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/7 "2003-09-20T03:27:14Z")
Hey, I’ve been spotting for the last month. I (not so smartly, I guess) have been taking my birth control pills constantly and skipping my period for something like six months (I never want my period!) so I think it is related to that. Two months ago when I was supposed start my period I spotted for a couple days and then stopped, and last month I started spotting and just didn’t stop. I just got checked out a couple months ago for my yearly exam, and everything was okay. If something drastic were wrong, they probably would have noticed, right? Of course this month I’m doing the normal thing with my pills. I’ve just started my “real” period, and it’s started up on the normal day with the normal intensity, so I’m hoping everything returns to it’s equilibrium. If not, I’ll have to see a doctor which sucks because I don’t have health insurance and I’m literally flat broke (as in I can’t even afford food on a regular basis). Now time for some real TMI. Oddly, I seem to have found the muscles that control my flow. I can usually stay pretty dry, and then drop a load of blood when I got to the bathroom. I’m not really consciously controling it, but the effect is certainly there. Can anyone else do this? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/8 "2003-09-20T04:47:10Z")
When I started my birth control pills, my period came on a Sunday and the pills kinda, you know, dragged it out for three weeks. After my body got all in sync with itself, it wasn’t a problem at all. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/9 "2003-09-20T05:09:56Z")
When I was about 15, I had a period that lasted (if memory serves) 5 weeks. And it was regular (not spotting). Not _really_ heavy, but a steady, steady flow. Never could go anywhere without having a few extra tampons with me. I was 15, and stupid. Didn’t want to say anything; I thought I’d wait it out. Finally I’d had enough, and spoke up We called the doctor. Turns out that the pills I got from my dermatologist were birth control pills, and they never told me. They did tell me to “take these for so many days, skip so many days, and then start taking them again,” but I sometimes forgot to follow the schedule. I didn’t know what the importance of the schedule was. The doctor gave me some pills to stop the bleeding. Also, surprisingly enough, I was anemic. (Ya think?) Had to take horsey iron pills for months and months. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/10 "2003-09-20T05:31:25Z")
I have got you all beat. My period came on July 9th. A ten day hormone treatment didn’t work. My GYN will not give me a D&C because of my blood pressure. He made me start the pill again. It slowed down the torrent, but didn’t stop it completely. A hysteroscopy is in my near future. Yes I have been bleeding since July Ninth. P.S. If you bleed more than 4 or 5 days more than you usually do _go to a doctor._ ---
**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/11 "2003-09-20T09:50:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AngelicGemma \* > I have an appointment at the doctors on Tuesday. On the first day of my period I went on the pill for the first time, so it probably relates to that. When I was put on the pill years ago in hopes to deal with my PCOS it really made my body go wonky. I bled for nearly 9 weeks!! Not just a trickle, but Niagara like… Needless to say, the doctor finally took me off of them and the mess went away. I’m afraid to try the pill again for fear of the same crap happening. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/12 "2003-09-20T10:04:33Z")
I’m glad to see I’m not the only woman this has happened to! It’s Very reasurring. ---
**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/13 "2003-09-20T10:08:27Z")
Forgot the sypathy in my last post as requested… :: poor you!!! :: :O) Hope you feel better soon. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/14 "2003-09-20T10:21:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Washte \* > \*\*Forgot the sypathy in my last post as requested… > > :: poor you!!! :: > > :O) > > Hope you feel better soon. \*\* Thanks! 😃 Well as I’ve mentioned, I’m at the doctors on Wednesday, so hopefully it’ll be sorted soon. I probably wouldn’t have gone except my mother and boyfriend have been going on at me to go! ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/15 "2003-09-20T10:23:28Z")
Errr, Tuesday ---
**Author:** ![BobbySuezQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@BobbySuezQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobbySuezQ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/16 "2003-09-20T14:41:41Z")
ugh, the memories. At one point my period was so heavy and nearly nonstop I landed in the hospital having almost bled to death. (hemoglobin was a 4). I had been seeing a GP who kept telling me it was stress since I had just moved cross country. Found a gyn who litterally saved my life, and removed those icky fibroids. a year or so later it got to where my period was just about nonstop for 2 or so months (I try to block all that out) I was under doctor’s supervision, taking double doses of BC pills straight … till my vision blurred. I was being treated for fibroids (again), they were trying to get my blood count up … didn’t quite work. \*\* even sven\*\* what you describe sounds pretty close to clotting. Which is not quite a good thing. From my own experience, yes bad things can crop up even only a month after an exam. BTDT. **AngelicGemma** glad your heading to the doctor … hope all goes well. You sooooo have my sympathies. Hope you aren’t carrying a backpack yet to hold all the ummm “supplies” you need for an afternoon. 😉 and **BigGirl** hope you find relief soon! ---
**Author:** ![pencilpusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d6d6ee/32.png) [@pencilpusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pencilpusher)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/17 "2003-09-20T16:04:17Z")
A few years ago I had a period that was TOTALLY wacky. 78 days straight bleeding, stopped for 5 days, bled for 47 days, stopped for 8 days and then bled for 94 days. NOTHING the drs did helped untill I had surgery to remove fibroids and scar tissue. While they were in there they removed my cancerous right ovary. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/18 "2003-09-25T12:43:05Z")
Update - Well I went to the doctors. He basicly said “You’ll be fine. Keep taking them. If it hasn’t stopped in a month come back.” I was in there about 30 seconds. What a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/19 "2003-09-25T13:47:43Z")
I’d try another doctor. A MONTH??? ---
**Author:** ![Kithara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8491ac/32.png) [@Kithara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kithara)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695/20 "2003-09-25T14:16:02Z")
Wow. I’d want a second opinion too. I have fortunately never bled as long as you. The worst experience I had was when I got my period, full force, for the second time in 3 weeks. The cramping was so bad that they thought I had appendicitus and sent me to the emergency room. I ended up being fine, but the cramps! oh, they hurt. I’m on depo-provera now, so no more periods for me…no more cramps either. Good luck finding someone to help you. I hope your period ends soon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-dopers-the-worlds-longest-period-tmi/202695.md?page=2)