What is causing my prolonged menstrual periods?

i'm 18 years old and have had a period since i was 16.

it had never been regular though, i'd have it for a week straight then not again for two months. things like that. lately though, this past year especially, i have had dark blackish blood and been bleeding ALOT. i've been bleeding for 3 months straight now and it varies from thick and heavy to thin and sparse day to day. the odor is not pleasant either, but it wasn't always this way.

i don't eat very much, maybe one big meal a day. i don't sleep very much. i am under a huge amount of stress. i have sex regularly ALWAYS with protection. i am active. i take iron pills semi regularly due to my assumption that i am anemic. i am light headed alot, i have nausea often in the mornings, and i have back pains alot.

any assumptions or ideas on what's wrong?

I am in some ways relieved to come across this forum as I have been experiencing a day or two of very heavy bleeding, then light spotting or bleeding and then out of the blue, its very heavy again. I also have PCOS so I dont know if this is a causing factor..or one of the factors.

I also feel nauseous and have pain and cramps.

I was on my way to an interview,, when all of a sudden I felt it. It was the worst experience because I wasnt prepared and jes felt a gush...had to cancel my interview and went home and began crying because I got so scared but was also frustrated cause I felt like I had no control over my body.

I am gonig to my doctor tomorrow and I hope everything is ok - they will probably do an ultrasound...

Something similar happened to me years ago where I had a heavy period for about 15-17 days and it was very painful...however I was very stressed out during that time and as soon as the stress left, my period stopped just like that..from very heavy bleeding to nothing!

I think my current situation may be somewhat due to stress as I am facing a lot of it at work.

Unfortunately there seems to be more questions than answers, for that i am slightly relieved to knw that i am not the only one being toally frustated by this situation.

Im 19 and got my period when i was about 14. From day one it was never regular, i was lucky to get it once every two months but at the time it didnt bother me too much because its common to not start menstrating on a regular basis. However, 5 years on I've started taking the pill in hope of regulating my irregular period but instead have opened a whole "new can of worms". Last month (august) i had my period for almost 4 weeks (the most frustrating 4 weeks of my life!) and two weeks later I've got it again, 9 days and counting!

I'm of perfect weight, i eat a healthy diet, i dont really exercise as much as I should and I'm under normal amounts of stress. I've been to my doctor, who has changed my pill dosage but that currently isnt showing any signs of improvement. I'm also a premed student and nothing i knw seems to be the answer my or your symptoms.


If i can make a suggestion for this site as it is a health forum. It may be useful for you and the users of this site to maybe ask a few health professionals to volunteer some time, just monitoring posts and offering advice where needed.

When I was around 17, I was on a lot of medication for depression. Because of this reason, I got my period around 3 times a year!
Around the age of 20, I was no longer taking any medication regularly and my periods normalized to once a month.

At 27, I am running into my first prolonged period. It's very annoying due to the fact it's been about two weeks. I have been eating differently, I'm on Nutrisystem, and chalk it up to that. It was a dark color (almost black) when it started but now it is the normal red.

For all you ladies that have been bleeding for two or more weeks, PLEASE contact your obgyn.

I'm 20, and i've been on the pill for over two years with no problems untill last month, I began spotting two days before my expected period and it has continued for the most part until this period, only stopping for about a day before my preiod. I'm not over weight, I'm physically active, and sexually active, I don't eat much junk food, and since the beggining of October have put my workout routine into overdrive. What the heck is this?!? and how can I make it stop?! Its driving me nuts, a week is long enough but a month is just insane! If anyone knows anything, please reply!

hello there, I'm 14 years old and this is the only time this has happened to me, my period started about 2 weeks ago and I still have my period! (actually going on for about 16 days, I'm scared to go to the doctor) Its actually very lght(only light bleeding.) and I'm worried about it, any suggestions or help are welcomed. you can email me at cool_yodianne@yahoo.com.ph

Hello. I am 21 years old and i have been having my period going on 2 1/2 months. I have never had a regular period because i have always been active in sports (so the doctors have said). My normal periods would be about every 4-5 months. Since i have never been regular, should i worry about this ongoing period? Should i wait it out? thanks.