Natural Remedies for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

I'm 46 and I've had problems with heavy, long periods for the past four years. Mine weren't as heavy as some on here have described (thank goodness) but got bad enough at times that it definitely made me apprehensive about leaving the house, particularly if the place I was going didn't have a bathroom. I've always been very regular, even since having my son 8 years ago. 4 years ago I was over a week late for my period which freaked me out. I took several pregnancy tests which were all negative, but I knew that the tremendous stress I was under at the time (mother had medical issues) could cause me to be late. That period finally started but was a bit longer than normal. On what should've been one of the final days, I was watching fireworks - it was July 4th - and felt that I was suddenly bleeding...a lot. I ran for the house and barely made it into the bathroom. I was pouring blood. Totally freaked me out...have NEVER had that happen before. My bleeding was always "normal". My husband grabbed a towel and drove me home. On the way I called a family friend who is a naturopathic doctor. She assured me that I was most likely perimenopausal and that yes, it can just suddenly happen that way.

Fortunately, the bleeding did slow that night thanks to taking some herbs I had on hand plus Advil. That began 4 years of this aggravating bleeding. I've had episodes of very heavy bleeding like that from time to time but have gotten the worst of it under control by taking various things: apple cider vinegar, arnica pills, yarrow, shepherd's purse, white oak bark, blackstrap molasses, etc. While most of it seemed to get the worst bleeding under control, none of it stopped my periods completely that lasted for WEEKS. What a frustrating thing to have it slow to the point where you think it will FINALLY stop but then it just starts back up again. Bleeding sometimes heavy but mostly moderate. The longer it affected my life the more stressful it became. I couldn't take my son to the pool - his favorite thing in the summer - because I never knew how much I'd bleed.

I tried all sorts of store bought herbal blends to balance out my hormones but some seemed to make it worse or gave me headaches. None felt quite right to me. I finally came to the conclusion that my hormones were really out of whack or I had fibroids and decided to make an appointment to get those checked. Yes, I avoid doctors like the plague and didn't want to go. 20 plus years of knowledge of natural medicine can make you that way. While waiting for my appointment, I had the idea one morning to up my Vitamin D. I'd taken it for some time but was forgetful sometimes about it. At the time I was taking 5000 iu, that morning I took another 5,000 and upped it to 10,000 iu total. My period stopped that afternoon. Huh. I also had started taking more blackstrap molasses to up my iron, in case I had become anemic with all that bleeding. My research had shown me that anemia can actually lead to MORE bleeding. So those two things were the only things I had changed. A week later (still no bleeding) I had my doctor's appointment and mentioned those things to her. She had my vitamin D level checked, along with hormones, and was going to check for anemia. Told me to keep taking the D because it would take a while for levels to rise. Sonogram showed no fibroids. Results came back in a few days: D levels WERE low (still) and I was anemic. Hormones were just fine.

Since then I went a whole month with no bleeding, and have had a normal period with fairly light bleeding. It's like a darned miracle. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine told me she was having a longer than normal period with heavier bleeding and she was worried about it because that wasn't normal for her. I told her about the vitamin D. She told me a few days later that she had taken an extra dose the next morning and her bleeding had stopped by the next day. I know that Vitamin D acts as a hormone in your body, and most people are deficient in it...some severely. I know I tried just about every other remedy I could find on this site plus others and nothing worked until I boosted my Vitamin D. I'm not sure if I'm still anemic, I know it can take a while to fix that and plan to go in for another blood to to check that out. I finally feel like I can get back to normal living now, and have taken my son swimming twice already. :)

Good luck to all you ladies out there!

I had been bleeding moderately since Christmas (approximately 15 days) with a foul smell, which I never have during my period. I went to my gynecologist last Wednesday for an exam. Results pending (vaginal swab to test for infection). In the meantime, I found this site. I immediately drove to the supermarket for blackstrap molasses. I already had ACV on hand. When I got home, I immediately took 3 TBS ACV in a cup of water. 20 minutes later I took 3 TBS of the molasses in a cup of warm coconut milk ( added cinnamon, cayenne and turmeric to taste) then went to bed. The next morning, my flow was reduced considerably. Prior to this, the toilet water would be completely red like jello. I could now see just a small amount of blood wafting through the water. I have repeated the AVC/water and BSM/coconut milk drink every 8 hours. I am gratefully reporting that my flooding has been reduced to some light red spotting on tissue paper after urination. So, basically, after about 36 hours the bleeding has slowed SIGNIFICANTLY! I cannot express how thankful I am to have found this site. I have been devouring its content. I now realize the importance of keeping caffeine and sugar out of my diet as much as possible, keeping my liver toned and being aware of how I may be thawing my hormones out of balance. So, much of what ails us is directly related to what we consume and what we DON'T. I will be including ACV, BSM and coconut oil to my daily supplements. Good luck to every one searching for remedies. May you find your solutions! Have a wonderful new year, new you!

I have been drinking ACV and Black Strap Molasses for a month now, twice a day and it is an acquired taste but it has worked wonders for me so. Every month my period has been so heavy leaving me exhaused and depressed but this month has been so amazing. My period would normally be a 1week but it has been 4days and the heavy bleeding has been cut in half. I didnt know what to except but I decided to try these two products by faith and I have to say thank you Jesus and every one that have shared their testimony about using them. Even adding 1/2 a tsp of cayenne pepper to my grape juice made a difference for me. The taste is not great but I believe that it helped enormously. I thank God for finding this website and all the information it has to share.

Grateful, Nadia

Had the same horrifying problem as another poster from 2010-- One week off period; 3 weeks on. Bled so much I soaked a cloth chair at a pizza joint. I've since hit menopause and don't have this worry at all BUT HERE WAS THE REMEDY FOR ME BACK THEN:.

1. NO CARBS: - no rice-potatoes-sugar--wheat/bread. Ate Meat/eggs/fish, salad or cooked veggies, 1 low carb snack daily of berries, cheese, or nuts. Secret: low carb and keto recipes on youtube

2. Took ACV (2 tsp wake-up / 2tsp bedtime w//pinch baking soda in 6oz water)

3. Upped water consumption to 2 liters per day

4. Exercise: I chose to do 5 Tibetan Rites for THAT year - excellent toning!

5. Desiccated Liver Capsule (grass-fed cattle) twice weekly.

The bleeding stopped in 4 days. The pain in my ovaries/uterus ended completely within 10 days. In 6 months, I lost 20 pounds with no loose skin and excellent toning.

I now believe it is a high carb, high sugar diet that is causing these horrifying symptoms in women and if your doctor can't help, try eliminating those high carb foods and sugar. Try it for 30 days. That at least costs you NOTHING!

Hello, this is my first post. Thank you for your site and all the genuine advice, I love it xx I found this site when I was desperate to find a natural solution to my extremely heavy periods, ie. Flooding etc. This has gone on for 10 years. In my ignorance and embarrassment I accepted this as part of growing older I am now 45. It came to a head this summer when I felt ill and after a blood test I was told I was severely anemic 7.8, so doc prescribed iron sulphate for 2 months and then iron level back up to 10.8. Doctor prescribed transemic acid which my sister told me she and lots of her friends have been taking for years but I didn't want to take this as I am already on asthma medication and medication for allergen rhinitis.

Doctor sent me for a scan this showed extremely thick uterine wall and small fibroids and poss small cyst then they started to heavily push the mirena coil a type of hormone release internal mechanism which is implanted. I refused and was disappointed that my hormone imbalance was not being treated. I did notice that when I was taking the iron sulphate and not drinking coffee or having a glass of wine in the evenings then menstruation improved! But after I resumed old habits heavy menstruation became the norm.

So is this imbalance due to a liver problem? The liver coping with caffeine and alcohol breakdown and not processing hormones correctly? Anyway when I found your site I decided to take I the ACV morn and night in water (2 table spoons) and 1 teaspoon of organic black strap molasses morning and night and during the day possible around lunchtime and 1 other occasion if bleeding heavy. So I am happy to report that this worked amazingly well for me. Thankyou so much this is a life transformer and I am responding in the hope that in turn I can help someone else. If anyone else has any comments or tips on hormone imbalance then I would appreciate them. My sister who also had this imbalance is recovering from breast cancer and has had her ovaries removed.

My pacific island friend complained of debilitating pain, heavy menses, here I use blackstrap molasses a tablespoon a day at the first inkling I am near, I knew it would be very difficult for her to find such a product. I looked into what she has around her and suggested she make a tea of fresh curry leaves. They're high in vitamins and minerals particularly iron. She made the tea and reported hours later that it helped so much with her pains she would take it every day of her period.

You don't need fancy herbs off the internet, look into what's around you. Eg all thistles, and that gardener's bane, couchgrass (root) all excellent for uti, yet usually overlooked.

Best to you.

I had the same issue as many of the women with sudden heavy flooding, clots and a period that's won't seem to stop. No period at all in March(first time that ever happened ) April spotted, May had a period for a month. The heavy flooding and clotting started which scared me. I'm 47 and feel this is perimenopause. 1 T. ACV and teaspoon of (bsm) black strap molasses 3x day worked so fast and the clots and flooding stopped. I'm still spotting but can handle that.

This other site I was on said that I would have to keep doing this indefinitely in order to regulate my estrogen, hormones and thin the lining of the uterus. I'm afraid If I would stop doing this will it go back to heavy flooding and clots. Has anyone ever used Apple cider vinegar and BSM to help with this problem and then stopped? Have any of the people that have used these two remedies for any length of time, have you had any problems?

Love to hear from the people who posted in here years ago as to their outcomes. I would be grateful to hear your story. Thank you.

UPDATE: Since my original post, I've had two completely normal cycles. My period came in about 28 days, lasted 4 or 5, and was gone again. It was quite light, as well (yay! ). The timing of my ovulation is normal now, too, which I find interesting. Before, when my period would finally cease, I would ovulate within just a few days. Now it's on a more normal schedule. I haven't taken the blackstrap molasses since my original post so the only thing that changed was the vitamin D. This has been a life changing thing for me and I hope it helps someone else too.

Juice Fresh Pineapple with core, Lemons with Pith

Hi, I had been heavily bleeding for 9 days.I had many other heavy bleeds before this and had already tried the following remedies with no success:

• Low fat diet
• homeopathic remedies (tried two different remedies)
• cayenne pepper
• flax oil
• Shepard's purse tincture
• flax oil
• vitamin D
• red raspberry tea
• vitamin C with bioflavonoids
• yarrow

I read a comment on another blog (not earth clinic), that a women juiced a whole pineapple including the core, but not the skin and with it juiced 4 lemons, carefully cutting the skin off but not removing the white pith, as you will juice the white pitch of the lemon and the lemon seeds. I drove to the store (10 min. away) and did not think I would make it through the store, without spotting, I was gushing so bad. When I got home I made the juice and drank the whole amount. It tastes bitter with the ratio of 4 lemons to one pineapple. In 4 HOURS the bleeding flow reduced by half. After 6 hours I took another juice of 1 pineapple 4 lemons, and in 3 Hours the bleeding completely stopped. Next period, flow began a little heavy, I did one juice of pineapple and lemons (Must be Fresh, must include pineapple core and lemon pith in the juice), went to normal flow never had a another heavy flow which really was a hemorrhage).

I told my sister about this, because she was having very heavy flows. One of her flows was 21 days. Her doctor had given progesterone, but it was not greatly helping. She decided to do pineapple, lemon and it stopped her flow after 21 days.

After reading a post here in EC about Vitex helping with PCOS I decided to give it a try. and I am so glad I did after 4 months of heavy bleeding my GYN wanted to do another D&C. Chasteberry (Vitex) completely stop the bleeding in just 3 days.

Ladys if you have any reproductives issues, (heavy menstrual bleeding, Hormone imbalance etc PCOS ) Please try Chasteberry, is a God sent remedy for heavy bleeding and hormone imbalance. I started taking it 04/25/14 and by 04/28/14 there was not bleeding whatsoever. I am taking Chasteberry (vitex) 3 pills a day with my meals for 12 weeks and after that I will only have to take 1 pill a day. I am following the bottle instructions.

I hope this can help someone with the same problem. I continue taking my ACV, BSM and also added SAGE tea to my daily protocol.

Best of luck

Luz

My fiance has been struggling with this issue and as a former health food store owner I like to dabble at natural remedies. We'd tried arnica and protein enzymes with limited success and even tried being intimate which helps mildly. But what have we found helped the most was taking turmeric as a supplement in pill form.

I had also read that Blackstrap Molasses works well as well as black tea so I mixed the Blackstrap Molasses in with some chai tea (tasted like a ginger cookie :0) and had her drink down the turmeric pill with the tea. In less than half and hour she was dressed and ready for the day when previously she had been bedridden. IMHO it was the turmeric that did most of the trick. I'd never seen such a turnaround in all our relationship. I so glad as she relied on over the counter pain relievers before which are not all that good for you. Thank God/Goddess for a healthy alternative which actually works.

Daily garden teas have shortened menstrual bleeding:

I am the type who starts something then gets improvement and stops. Then dig out again when I get sick. But the latest thing I have been doing for three or four weeks and can actually see doing every day. I take some herbs and greens from my garden, wash in a mix of baking soda and vinegar, and steep in just boiled water for 20 minutes. I enjoy being in my garden, while the tea steeps. I take a sprig or few leaves from different plants, but always add lemon verbena and comfrey, for the taste and goodness, respectively. Sage, rosemary, celery leaves, beetroot leaves, dandelion, magnolia leaf, (like Bay), kale, lambs quarters, mallow, dock, sorrel, purslane, leaves from the native anti cancer pittosporum Gumby Gumby, parsley, Madeira Vine, turkey rhubarb, clover, lemongrass, thyme, lemon leaves, moringa leaves, clove basil, oregano are my options,

I pick an assortment each day and drink 750 mls a day, minimum, it's just the time of day that varies, as my work roster is early mornings one week then late evenings the next. But I have been consistent with drinking it every day. The taste is not delicious. But I enjoy it.

My constipation has further improved, and unexpectedly my last period, usually heavy for 7 days, lasted 2 1/2 days. Very unexpected and very welcome. And previous cycles had 24 -26 days between, this time I got 32! (I started to monitor with an app 3 months ago).

I have to note also, I would make salads from my garden greens, take to work every day, and never got these benefits. It's unsurprisingly an absorbency issue for me. I'm not saying you need to grow what I do, but I do suggest researching the benefits of the plants, herbs and 'weeds' that are growing around you, although I do recommend comfrey, made into a salve it relieves any skin irritation, and I used the leaves to repair a young tree that our dog had eaten the stem.

As usual, I don't believe it is any one plant that is benefiting me, but rather a synergy of many parts of many plants.

PS Shepherd's purse is specifically used to stop bleeding, wound and menstrual, the birds will gift me this in winter.

Best to you.

I use this remedy (Fresh Pineapple and Lemon Juice) and it has worked well for me but I do it the easy way. Using this ratio of 3/4 cup of pineapple juice (store bought is fine, you don't need fresh) and 1/4 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice, you save time and money and still get results. I take it every two hours if I have a super heavy flow. Sometimes I double the quantities and take it two or three times a day. It always reduces the flow to a manageable level and it works fast.

I have tried virtually every other remedy on this site and the lemon/pineapple combination is the only thing that worked.

I am 45 and have had a couple of very heavy periods due to perimenopause. Two years ago I had my first bad one due to stress with a family member. Period was really long but not that bad with heaviness until one night when it started gushing to the point that I got scared really bad. Called a family friend who is a Naturopath and she recommended I take Cayenne until it settled down which I did. That period finally ended after about 6 weeks and things were fairly normal until this period came.

It was about a week and a half late (not normal) and has been going for about 7 weeks now. Most days not too heavy but have had some really bad days too, with gushing and clots. I've tried ACV, blackstrap molasses, and some herbal blends which I'm not sure if I can mention on here. The ACV slowed it a bit, as did the blackstrap molasses but the latter gives me a bad headache. Cayenne makes me feel weird and I can't take that either.

What worked for me so far to slow the gushing is Arnica homeopathic pills. I've a huge fan of the cream for bruising and bumps and had the idea to try the pills for this bleeding. It worked and slowed it dramatically within an hour or so (I took a couple of doses). Flow stayed light as long as I took a couple more doses that day. So far, so good and I've only needed one thin pad all day today. Hoping it stops for good after all this time.

Hope this information helps someone else who may have tried all the other remedies listed - as I have - with minimal results.

In my original post, I meant to say throwing my hormones out of balance not thawing them. What a funny typo.

Hello,

I wanted to share my story in hopes that it will help someone.

For almost a year, I struggled with long periods, about 4 to 5 weeks at a time. I had about 2 weeks in between these long periods. I experienced flooding and went through bags of pads. I'm 50, But the doctor didn't want to diagnose me as perimenopausal, even though tests showed my Progesterone was very low.

I tried many remedies but one here at Earth Clinic caught my attention: juicing lemons and pineapples. I used my Vitamix to juice fresh lemons, grapefruits, oranges, carrots, and apples. Not only that, I added some of the Rinds and piths of the grapefruits and lemons in my juice. I drank about 1/2 to 1 cup a day. The juice is a
Little bitter but tolerable. Sometimes, I added a small beet. I also took a daily iron ferrochel biglyscinate plus Ancestral Supplements beef liver. The result is a night and day difference. This month my period was about 6 days, with flooding on just 1 to 2 days.

I quit my B complex 50 because it caused my heart to race. I had difficulty sleeping but I don't experience that anymore since I quit the B complex. Please share my experience...maybe it will help someone. Thank you.

I have had bouts of dangerously heavy and prolonged bleeding due to fibroids. I use ACV and molasses plus iron tablets and also cod liver oil.. but I have found that Vitamin K ( I eat lots of Kale and parsley) is the only thing that stops the bleeding. Please do try this as I have found it works almost immediately :)

Sookiec, I had a similar experience except mine remained so heavy for well over two weeks I couldn't leave the house. I, too, was searching for help and discovered this remedy. It didn't help continuously right away, but out of desperation I persisted. I think it takes various amounts of time depending on the iron and mineral deficiency of the individual. I had to take continually every day twice a day for about two weeks. It made the excessive flow lighter then made it stop completely. It's been over a year since I had a cycle. This week it started again and it's excessive again. Went right away to get some molasses...came in here to verify I remembered the recipe correctly. Felt compelled to respond to your post. Hope it helps to encourage you or others not to give up too quickly. Best wishes. =)

I had a friend with multiple fibroids. I told her about iodoral and she took it for a month. When she went to the doctor after a month he said they had shrunken down to almost nothing.

Dear Nicole,

I am sorry for your trials with your cycles! Red Raspberry Leaf tea is something you can try. It would take daily use over some time (I would give it at least three months before deciding it does not work.) A one pound bag of the loose tea would last a long time.

Put 3 Tablespoons in a quart mason jar. Pour boiling water over the leaves. Steep for 15 minutes. Strain. Drink throughout the day. You can add some peppermint if you like.

If you have a heavy cycle, you could try cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon in some juice, drink with a straw). I have taken this and then repeated the dose in an hour and found it to be very helpful.

Liquid Chlorophyll, a Tablespoon every hour during heavy bleeding is also helpful.

Taking kelp daily may be helpful, too.

I have used all of the above remedies for various female issues with success.

You are already making positive steps for your health; good job.

For the bloating, the tea may help, and plenty of water, and light meals.

There are many stories on the Earth Clinic page about cycle problems. When you have time, read through them. Something may resonate with you and give you some more clues to what would help you the most.

~Mama to Many~