Many women get heavy menstrual periods and painful cramps. For some women, this means passing large blood clots and changing sanitary pads or tampons often. You may also have periods that last longer than 7 days.
A change in hormones or an irritation in the uterus can cause heavy bleeding. Women who are overweight are more likely to have heavy menstrual periods. But there may not be a specific cause for your heavy menstrual periods.
Your doctor may recommend hormone treatments to slow or stop your periods. If a fibroid (a growth that is not cancer) is causing your heavy bleeding, your doctor may recommend surgery or other treatments to remove the growth. Because blood loss from heavy menstrual periods can make you very tired and weak (anemic), your doctor may recommend that you take extra iron.