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Reasons for a Two-Week-Long Period
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Menstrual periods occur in all females from the onset of puberty (average age of onset 11 or 12 years) and last until menopause in middle age. They occur when the lining of the uterus is shed via vaginal bleeding due to the girl or woman not being pregnant.
The length of a menstrual period varies from two days to seven days, on average 28 days apart. However, this cycle can vary too and anything between 24 and 35 days is considered normal.
If you are having a prolonged menstrual cycle this is abnormal, unless you are approaching menopause (usually between the ages of 45-55). Extra-long periods can result from hormonal changes and in women of this age range can be taken as a sign of the impending "change".
Other causes of extra-long periods include:
• Having uterine fibroids
• Having polyps in the uterus
• Having endometriosis (a disease where the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body)
• Having pelvic inflammatory disease
• Having a temporary hormonal imbalance, for instance, when changing hormonal contraception
• The copper IUD can also make you have heavy periods
• If there is a chance you could have been pregnant, the two-week period may have in fact been a miscarriage. Please see your doctor if you think you could be pregnant
• A condition called dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB). Doctors don’t know what causes DUB and may diagnose you with it if they cannot find a cause for your bleeding.
Treatment
If there is no obvious physical cause, particularly if you are middle-aged, the doctor may like to wait and see as some cases are down to menopause or a temporary hormonal imbalance that corrects itself without treatment.
A pelvic examination and ultrasound scan of the uterus will be carried out to see if there are any abnormalities and a biopsy of uterine tissue may be taken.
If there are fibroids, polyps or endometrial lining present where it shouldn’t be -- this can be surgically removed which should help regulate your periods.
Other treatments include hormone replacement therapies, some brands of the pill that make period’s lighter, and anti-inflammatory medications (these reduce blood loss).
If you are using a copper-only IUD you could consider changing it to a hormonal one such as Mirena, as hormonal IUDs can reduce a period, whereas a copper-only one can make it heavier.
Nutritional supplements may also be needed to replace the nutrients lost by excessive bleeding.
If you have finished having children a more drastic measure would be surgery, either to remove the lining of the womb, which will stop the bleeding but render you infertile, or to remove the uterus altogether via hysterectomy.
Sources:
Heavy Periods, Net Doctor. Web. 24 May 2012. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/menstruationheavy.htm
Contraceptive Coils (IUD’s), Net Doctor. Web. 24 May 2012. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sex_relationships/facts/contraceptivecoil.htm
Long Periods, Net Doctor. Web. 24 May 2012. http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ate/womenshealth/207358.html
Joanna is a freelance health writer for The Mother magazine and Suite 101 with a column on infertility, http://infertility.suite101.com/ She is the mother of five children and practices natural childbirth, delayed cord clamping, full term breastfeeding and organic food diet.
Reviewed May 24, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith
Add a Comment35 Comments
Hi could someone please help me. I've had my period for almost two weeks now and I don't know what to do or what is wrong. It's not a heavy flow or anything, its a really small flow but every time I taken my tampon out, its always soaked and there's always blood. I though it was supposed to stop after 8 or 9 days because they said that was normal, but it hasn't.
April 28, 2017 - 1:01amThis Comment
Hello Anonymous,
A period that lasts two weeks is abnormal and puts you at risk for iron deficiency anemia. Please call to speak with your gynecologist about this.
Regards,
August 29, 2017 - 8:11amMaryann
This Comment
I am 13 and I got my wisdom teeth out last month and I had my period for 3 weeks but this month I have had my period for 9 days and still hasn't ended. What can I do ?
September 26, 2016 - 1:43pmThis Comment
I've had a case before where my flow was so heavy that I was clotting every 15 minutes. Symptoms are dizziness, a low, burning pain in your lower stomach, a continuous, HEAVY flow, and fatigue. I went to the doctor, and it turns out my uterus wasn't lined properly. My doctor prescribed birth control pills (16 of them a day- 4 pills every 4 hours) as well as another pill ( I forgot what it was called) every 4 hours. It will make you VERY nauseous and cause you to throw up repeatedly over the next few days. If you're a student, or working, take a week off. After a few days, your period should stop, but your doctor will tell you to continue taking this medicine (gradually just one pill a day) for 40 days. This is not very common in 13 year olds (like I am) and tends to occur in middle-aged women.
April 28, 2016 - 2:31amThis Comment
Was this medication called Norethindrone 5mg and did it work for you?
November 15, 2016 - 2:42amThis Comment
I sm almost 31 i had my peirod for almost two weeks this isn't normal i didn't even get it last month
March 12, 2016 - 10:12pmThis Comment
im 19 years old my period is normal.. Only this month its been 12 days until now its not stopping what can i do?
February 16, 2016 - 1:39amThis Comment
For the last two months I've bee having periods last longer than 10 days. Last moth was 11 days and this month its been 12 days and counting. im only 15
January 12, 2016 - 6:50pmThis Comment
I'm only 14 and I've been on my period for 2 weeks now and I'm scared. Is is normal to have my period this long for someone my age?
November 28, 2015 - 11:30pmThis Comment
I am 33 years old and I came on my period twice in one month which is not normal for me. The second time I came on towards the end of the month I'm on and have been for 9 days now and it is heavy. My period never lasted this long and never came on twice in a month. Is this normal please let know?
November 28, 2015 - 10:43amThis Comment