"Sometimes, my period is so long and so heavy that I worry about how much blood I'm losing." *

As a young girl learning about menstruation, you were taught that a normal menstrual cycle occurs about every 28 days and lasts four to five days. As a woman, the reality of your period may be very different from this pattern. You may even experience frequent hemorrhaging, profuse bleeding over many days, clotting and severe cramping during menstruation.

If you bleed for more than seven days, or if you routinely use more than 10 pads a day during your period, you may be experiencing excessive menstrual bleeding. Aside from these guidelines, the best gauge of whether your menstrual bleeding is excessive is when you perceive that it is, and when it compromises your quality of life.

The clinical name for very heavy menstrual bleeding is menorrhagia. Menorrhagia affects 32 percent of women—28 million of them worldwide.

*These comments are based on the types of experiences relayed in monitored chat rooms where patients have shared their experiences. They are not reflective of individual patients, and may not be typical for all users.