I'm bleeding to death and no one cares.

Updates moved to end of post.

Warning: body horror ahead

I started having longer periods mid-summer last year, steadily getting heavier and longer... and longer. When they reached 12 to 14 days long, I finally got in to see an endocrinologist and was also waitlisted for a gynecologist.

The endo gave me some birth control to try, as that's the standard treatment for any hormonal imbalance for women, no further investigation, nothing. He told me I have PCOS as well.

I started the new birth control on October 15, 2024. Two days later, I started another period, but this time it never ended.

I have been bleeding for 102 days. My periods got so heavy that I went to Emergency, terrified of so much blood loss. More than a tampon an hour, bleeding through to a pad and often my clothes, every hour. I quit the birth control, but it made no change.

At the ER, the doctor examined me internally and said I had a few clots, but not much. I'd just gone to the bathroom to change my pad and clean up first (big mistake) so he didn't believe I was bleeding as much as I said. He wasn't concerned. Nothing visible in the exam.

They gave me an IV of Tranexamic Acid (TXA), which is a blood clotting agent. It slowed the period a little, so they sent me home with a few more days of TXA in pill form. I took them as directed, but I never stopped bleeding.

The hospital booked an ultrasound for me, but they found nothing. I started taking pictures of how much blood and clots were happening, just in case I wasn't believed again.

Cut to two months later, early December, I'd been bleeding all the while. I finally got in to see the gynecologist. He said I may have a fibroid that's causing the bleeding. A fibroid is a benign tumor, a hard knot of muscle grown where it shouldn't be. He suggested a biopsy to test for uterine cancer, a check for fibroids, a D&C (a procedure that involves scraping the uterus walls to remove the lining that usually sloughs off during a period), as well as putting in an IUD. The IUD is a form of birth control, because birth control is the standard treatment for any hormonal imbalance for women... He would be performing the procedures in the hospital himself.

A couple weeks later, I'm waking up from the surgery and I'm in excruciating pain. The nurses told me my vital signs were fine, I couldn't be feeling pain. The doctor said he'll come back to tell me how it went when I've calmed down.

Later, the gyno told me he found a large fibroid in my uterus, a very obvious and upfront one, despite the ultrasound saying I had nothing. He removed it, did the D&C and the biopsy, and inserted the IUD. I was told to follow up in 4 weeks, but his office booked me the appointment 7 weeks later. Whatever, they're a busy clinic.

When I asked what I should do for the pain, I was told the pain will be minor. Take Tylenol. I insisted, since I've been in pain and abnormally bleeding for three months at that point, and I'm sick of toughing it out. I was given a prescription for Tramacet, a painkiller, and sent home to recover.

At home, the bleeding continued. It got heavier, way way heavier. I was in pain every day, sharp stabbing pains and cramps. The bleeding was so heavy, I was filling tampons and pads every hour. I called the gyno and left a voicemail, but I didn't hear anything back.

The bleeding continued for 4 weeks, the recovery time for the surgery, and so did the pain. At some points I felt ready to die. Some days I could feel the strings of my IUD almost poking out of me, but I couldn't tell if that was abnormal. I couldn't get through to the gyno, despite leaving a detailed message. The ER hadn't helped or believed me, and I didn't know if I should go back just to get sent home again. The TXA clotting meds weren't working, even though I tried a full week of it, two more times.

Then, a couple weeks ago, I was in the bathroom for yet another pad change and as I'm wiping, I feel something come out of me into my hand... It's a massive blood clot along with my IUD. I bled it out. I'd been bleeding it out painfully for the last 4 weeks. I remembered the pain I felt after the surgery and the sharp pains that followed all during recovery. It may have been placed incorrectly all along!

I knew I had to go to the ER, but I called the gyno first to inform them, thinking maybe I could get into their clinic instead. The doctor couldn't take the call, so his receptionist insisted I go to the hospital. No problem!

At the hospital, I eventually got into a room and I'm told they've called the on-call gynecologist to see me. It's my own gyno who shows up. I thought this was good luck! He told me it's normal for some women's bodies to reject the IUD. I'll be fine.

He also said he got my previous message but he'd decided it was normal and so he never called me back. He could've removed the IUD if it was partway out or even readjusted it apparently, but instead he let me painfully bleed it out for weeks because he didn't care about my clearly distressed voicemail detailing legitimate abnormal circumstances.

At the hospital, he told me I had two options: the 3-month birth control shot (depo shot) or a stronger birth control pill, because birth control is the standard treatment for any hormonal imbalance in women... Four months of this, and we're still trying the basic treatment. I got the shot.

However, the doctor doesn't seem the least bit concerned that he performed a surgery on me (fibroid removal) that hasn't healed, is increasingly painful, and is causing heavier uncontrollable bleeding. The ER isn't interested either.

I'm at home, struggling to work and live my life while also slowly bleeding to death. Since getting the depo shot, my bleeding has gotten heavier, something I didn't believe was possible. I'm filling my menstrual cup to the brim (20ml) every half hour, bleeding through to a pad each time, more blood clots falling out of me when I remove the cup. This is all normal, apparently. I need to give it 3 months to see if the shot helps at all. Three months of bleeding to death, and then we'll move on to trying... yet another form of birth control.

There is no other gynecologist accessible to me. There are no private options. There's nothing more I can think of to do. I just need to get this out, scream into the void, get instantly deleted by mods, whatever. I hate this so much. I can't deal with a bloodbath coming out of my body every single hour for months on end! There's no hope for any treatment, nothing in the future except more of this. Today I dropped a full menstrual cup on the bathroom floor and it splattered across the whole bathroom like a murder scene. I wanted to die. I still feel it. It's been 102 days of this, and I still have no answers.

Warning: more horror ahead

Link: a series of photos of my atrocities. (Edited to remove link because mods asked me to.)

Jan 28 Update 1: I just had a whole bunch of blood and clots come out in a rush. The most I've had at one time. I put it in a baggy and I'm going to the ER. Fuck this. It's like 20% of a sandwich bag full and it came out of my body oh god. Husband is with me and prepared. 💜

Jan 28 Update 2: I'm checked in and waiting to see the doctor. The triage nurse was SO RUDE so I held up my bag of blood for a very long time while she folded and started entering my details like she should. She had to say, "Okay, you can put that down now," because I wouldn't stop holding it in the air at her. I'm outraged lol. Thank you for the fuel, guys. Passing more big clots in the hospital bathroom. Ugh.

Jan 28 Update 3: The triage nurse is being nicer suddenly. Fine with me! I'm second in line for a room now. Thank goodness. The bleeding is just as heavy still, so I feel more justified for being here. I don't know how I can have impostor syndrome about this! The photos, the blood, the IUD... But a big part of me thinks I'm just being a baby. Gosh, my head is killing me!

Jan 29 (after midnight) Update 4: Four more people went ahead of me, and they called me when I was the last person in the waiting room. I'm in the stirrups now, waiting for a doctor.

Jan 29, 3am update 5: The doctor refused to call the on-call gynecologist and said there was no justification for it. I showed him my bag of blood, the blood pooling on the hospital bed and running down my legs. He said he's not going to get a doctor out of bed for nothing. Out of bed. God forbid Dr. Lea in Medicine Hat Hospital call the gyno and disturb his precious sleep for a woman bleeding to death. He's ON CALL, isn't it his job to come in?

Eventually I had to give up after the doctor refused to get me anyone else, any other doctor, any patient advocate, anything. I just had to go home and I'm bleeding at home now. What do I do? He wouldn't even give it to me in writing that he is refusing to help me. I recorded the whole thing at least. I wish someone would just intervene for once and stick up for me. Dr. Lea, if I die, I hope you get fired.

Medicine Hat is a joke, and so is the hospital here. They claimed there was only one doctor available in the whole building and then had security escort me out. Don't come here. If you've ever been here, feel free to file a complaint. If there are no more updates, I'm sorry!

Jan 29, Update 6: Turns out I have to take my cat to the emergency vet today, immediately. Not the ER I thought I'd be visiting. I hate that this illness may have robbed me of my final days with my kitten. I'd rather bleed out than lose him. Kissing my savings goodbye, and nothing else.

Jan 30, Update 7: My cat is staying in Calgary overnight at the emergency vet, and so are my husband and me. I'm dealing with the situation as best as I can. I'll be contacting The Alex tomorrow while we wait for news on my kitty. Hopefully they can advocate for me and get me into the hospital while I'm in the city already.