I am 40 years old and my periods have always been pretty regular. I've been on various forms of hormonal birth control over the years, but discontinued taking any of them about 2 1/2 years ago because I didn't like how they made me feel. About mid 2013, I took a pregnancy test because my period ended up being about a week late, when it normally is like clockwork. After that, it went back to normal, until about two months ago, when my periods, while still right on time, became heavier than usual. I'm talking spotting one day, straight to bleeding so heavy the next day that I'm afraid to leave the house. I can actually feel blood gushing out of my vagina onto my pad while I'm walking around at work. And tampons get soaked so quickly they're basically worthless, sliding right out of me after just an hour.
So this month, my period comes a week early. I decided to try the instead Softcup this evening, since I was safely at home. After about threes hours, it started to leak, which, according to the directions, means it's ready to be changed. So I pull it out, and discover two things:
1. I look like I've committed murder in my bathroom, which rules out the possibility of using this on a day I have to leave the house, unless I have access to a private bathroom.
2. The cup is filled with a small amount of liquid blood, but tons of blood clots.
I can't help but feel like something is wrong, but I also know that I'm at the age when things can start to change as my hormone levels fluctuate. Can anyone shed some light on the situation for me?