Ivy Cooper
MemberI read more than I post. 42, Cardiff. Here because my friends are lovely but bored of my symptom chat.
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Activity (8)
Jun 20 · Replied
Community post
Just popping back to say thank you, especially Janet. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Jun 20 · Posted
Right so I finally started actually writing it down instead of just thinking I'd remember. Every day I'm noting how heavy, whether I needed to change plans, how tired I felt by 3pm. Nothing fancy, just a notes app. Two weeks in and I can already see a pattern I couldn't have described out loud before. The fatigue isn't random, it tracks pretty closely with the worst days. Obvious in hindsight but I genuinely hadn't clocked it. GP appointment next month. At least now I'll have something to show her instead of just saying "it's a lot" and hoping she believes me x
Jun 19 · Posted
Okay so this is a small thing but it felt massive to me so I'm sharing it. For the last two months I've been writing down what's happening each week. Not an app, just the notes app on my phone because I kept forgetting to open the app. Dates, how heavy, how many days, whether I had to change plans because of it, whether I was exhausted to the point of not being able to function or just normal tired. The difference matters and I didn't used to track that bit. And then I had my GP appointment last week. And for the first time in maybe three years of going in and saying "my periods are really heavy" and being told that's normal, I had actual specifics. I said: this cycle was 9 days, the first four were very heavy, I soaked through twice at work, I had to leave early on day three, I've been so tired I fell asleep on the sofa at 7pm twice this week. She actually listened differently. I don't know if it was the detail or just luck or a different day but she referred me for bloodwork and said she wanted to look at iron levels and hormones. That has never happened before. I nearly cried in the waiting room afterwards. I'm not saying write it all down because it'll definitely fix everything. I'm just saying it helped me feel less like I was being dramatic, and apparently it helped her take me seriously too. Still exhausted. Still carrying a spare pair of knickers in my bag like I'm twelve. But. Small win. Saving it. x
Jun 18 · Posted
Started a notes doc. Dates, how heavy, how long. Feels grim but I'm not leaving that appointment empty-handed again x
Jun 13 · Replied
Community post
Thank you Denise, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.
Jun 13 · Posted
Wore dark trousers all week. Didn't have to think about it once. Tiny victory but I'll take it 😂
Jun 9 · Posted
Right. I actually tracked my cycle properly for a whole month. Wrote down the heavy days, the clots (grim but useful), the days I couldn't get off the sofa. Didn't do anything with it yet but it's there, in a notes app, not just rattling round my head. Felt oddly satisfying. Like finally having receipts.
Jun 9 · Posted
Right so I've been putting off writing any of this down because writing it down makes it real, but I've got an appointment in two weeks and I am NOT going in there and forgetting half of it again like last time. Last time I came out having mentioned the tiredness but somehow not the bit where I bled so heavily on a Tuesday that I had to leave work early and sit in the car. Didn't mention that. Just said I'd been a bit tired. Brilliant. So this time I'm doing a notes page. Here's what I've got so far, partly to hold myself accountable and partly in case it helps anyone else think about what to track. Bleeding: I've been writing down start date, how heavy (I'm using light/medium/soaking through in under two hours as my rough scale, glamorous), how many days, and whether there's any pattern or if it's just completely random. Spoiler: it's completely random. Cycle length has been anywhere between 19 and 47 days in the last six months. I didn't realise how all over the place it was until I wrote it out. Fatigue: I'm noting the days where I genuinely cannot function versus just a bit tired. There's a difference and I want my GP to understand that difference. The can't-function days are usually the heavy days or the day after. School run on those mornings is an achievement. Sleep: broken, always, but worse on certain days. Trying to connect that to the cycle but it's hard to tell. I'm also writing down questions I want to ask about bloodwork because I've read (on here and elsewhere) that iron can be a thing with heavy periods and I want to ask about that without sounding like I've self-diagnosed from the internet, which I have, but still. Anxiety too. That one's embarrassing to say out loud but it's real and it's going on the list. If anyone has other things they tracked that felt useful to bring up, I'd genuinely love to know x
Posts (6)
Right so I finally started actually writing it down instead of just thinking I'd remember. Every day I'm noting how heavy, whether I needed to change plans, how tired I felt by 3pm. Nothing fancy, just a notes app. Two weeks in and I can already see a pattern I couldn't have described out loud before. The fatigue isn't random, it tracks pretty closely with the worst days. Obvious in hindsight but I genuinely hadn't clocked it. GP appointment next month. At least now I'll have something to show her instead of just saying "it's a lot" and hoping she believes me x
Okay so this is a small thing but it felt massive to me so I'm sharing it. For the last two months I've been writing down what's happening each week. Not an app, just the notes app on my phone because I kept forgetting to open the app. Dates, how heavy, how many days, whether I had to change plans because of it, whether I was exhausted to the point of not being able to function or just normal tired. The difference matters and I didn't used to track that bit. And then I had my GP appointment last week. And for the first time in maybe three years of going in and saying "my periods are really heavy" and being told that's normal, I had actual specifics. I said: this cycle was 9 days, the first four were very heavy, I soaked through twice at work, I had to leave early on day three, I've been so tired I fell asleep on the sofa at 7pm twice this week. She actually listened differently. I don't know if it was the detail or just luck or a different day but she referred me for bloodwork and said she wanted to look at iron levels and hormones. That has never happened before. I nearly cried in the waiting room afterwards. I'm not saying write it all down because it'll definitely fix everything. I'm just saying it helped me feel less like I was being dramatic, and apparently it helped her take me seriously too. Still exhausted. Still carrying a spare pair of knickers in my bag like I'm twelve. But. Small win. Saving it. x
Started a notes doc. Dates, how heavy, how long. Feels grim but I'm not leaving that appointment empty-handed again x
Wore dark trousers all week. Didn't have to think about it once. Tiny victory but I'll take it 😂
Right. I actually tracked my cycle properly for a whole month. Wrote down the heavy days, the clots (grim but useful), the days I couldn't get off the sofa. Didn't do anything with it yet but it's there, in a notes app, not just rattling round my head. Felt oddly satisfying. Like finally having receipts.
Right so I've been putting off writing any of this down because writing it down makes it real, but I've got an appointment in two weeks and I am NOT going in there and forgetting half of it again like last time. Last time I came out having mentioned the tiredness but somehow not the bit where I bled so heavily on a Tuesday that I had to leave work early and sit in the car. Didn't mention that. Just said I'd been a bit tired. Brilliant. So this time I'm doing a notes page. Here's what I've got so far, partly to hold myself accountable and partly in case it helps anyone else think about what to track. Bleeding: I've been writing down start date, how heavy (I'm using light/medium/soaking through in under two hours as my rough scale, glamorous), how many days, and whether there's any pattern or if it's just completely random. Spoiler: it's completely random. Cycle length has been anywhere between 19 and 47 days in the last six months. I didn't realise how all over the place it was until I wrote it out. Fatigue: I'm noting the days where I genuinely cannot function versus just a bit tired. There's a difference and I want my GP to understand that difference. The can't-function days are usually the heavy days or the day after. School run on those mornings is an achievement. Sleep: broken, always, but worse on certain days. Trying to connect that to the cycle but it's hard to tell. I'm also writing down questions I want to ask about bloodwork because I've read (on here and elsewhere) that iron can be a thing with heavy periods and I want to ask about that without sounding like I've self-diagnosed from the internet, which I have, but still. Anxiety too. That one's embarrassing to say out loud but it's real and it's going on the list. If anyone has other things they tracked that felt useful to bring up, I'd genuinely love to know x
Likes & Replies (2)
Jun 20 · Replied to Community post
Just popping back to say thank you, especially Janet. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Jun 13 · Replied to Community post
Thank you Denise, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.
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Just popping back to say thank you, especially Janet. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Thank you Denise, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.