About my period

Brand-new? This is the place for your questions and discussions on any and all topics, with fellow users or staff, while you get your feet wet.
Valor125
newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:27 pm
Age: 28
Primary language: English
Pronouns: She/her
Sexual identity: Straight
Location: Southern US

About my period

Unread post by Valor125 »

I've had my period for quite sometime now and only just became aware that "clotting" can be dangerous or bad for you. I've never paid attention to my period blood in depth because it was always the same month after month and no one really ever told me that I should be checking for color and consistency. My period often comes out as a slimy, almost syrup texture that stays in tact as it touches the water, as in doesn't immediately disperse like liquid blood would, and it's usually a darker red but nothing near black. Is that the same thing as a clot? If so, I have them pretty often and they're pretty decently sized so I'm sort of wondering if I could be in danger from this?
thewrit3r
not a newbie
Posts: 181
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 10:07 am
Age: 27
Awesomeness Quotient: I’m pretty smart
Primary language: English
Pronouns: She/her
Sexual identity: Bisexual
Location: North Carolina

Re: About my period

Unread post by thewrit3r »

Clotting during your period is actually normal. I've had it happen before. The only problem seems to be if the blood clots are really heavy because it might mean you're losing too much blood, but it's hard to tell because some people's periods are just heavier than others. I would try to pay attention to how you feel - there are a lot of normal pains that come with menstruation of course but if anything seems out of the ordinary that's when I would go see someone.
"The writer is by nature a dreamer - a conscious dreamer."
-Carson McCullers
Mo
previous staff/volunteer
Posts: 2287
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:57 pm
Awesomeness Quotient: I'm always wearing seriously fancy nail polish.
Primary language: English
Pronouns: he/him, they/them
Sexual identity: queer/bisexual

Re: About my period

Unread post by Mo »

I do want to clarify something - what you might notice as large, dark clumps in your menstrual flow aren't the same thing as blood clots that cause health problems - those are blood clots within your veins that can stop the proper flow of blood through your circulatory system. There are various health factors that can increase your chances of those kinds of clotting happening, and if you're at risk of that (or worry you might be), you can talk to your doctor about this.

However, what you're noticing in terms of your period texture isn't the same thing. Menstrual flow isn't made up of just blood, although people often talk about it like it is, since visually it can look so much like blood. Blood is part of it, for sure, but mixed in with that blood is the lining of your uterus that build up over the previous cycle that's also being shed. What look like blood "clots" are larger bits of that tissue, mixed with blood; they are totally normal and not something you need to worry about.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic