Period question

[FTVS]

I seem to have two periods lately. The first one lasts for about three days and is quite heavy, then I have a 12 - 24 hour pause before getting four days of a light period but the bood is very dark brown and old looking. Does anyone else have this? I have always had long periods but I have only recently appreciated that there is actually a hiatus and what I thought was one continual period seems to have two different elements. BTW I am 36.

[irisred]

Hey - Mine have always been like that although they are starting to get lighter and shorter now. I'm 26.

Never even given it a thought!

Interested to see what other people say!!

[blueeyedlass]

yeah id have to say i am also like that starts heavy then gets a lot lighter towards the end.

[FTVS]

Thanks for the answers so far. what I am really worried about though is the pause and then the re-start. Thnx

[Buddy]

The dark blood is just the dregs for want of a better word!!!Perfectly normal but obviously not to you.Go to your GP if you are concerned and he/she will likely do a blood test to see if you are peri-menopausal - determined by your hormone level.Still nothing to concern yourself with.

[Morrisonker]

You might find that using tampons makes your flow longer, or can be the cause of pauses, because it isn't just flowing through you all the once, it's being stopped up inside you, then leaving. But it sounds perfectly normal, as long as you haven't noticed any other changes recently then I'm sure you're fine :)

[roomby]

I definitely have a 'day off' in the middle of my period. It just stops and then continues with much lighter flow. I'm 40 and it's been like this for several years, although it used to be continuous when I was younger. Sign of getting older, I guess?

[Gnisy]

Do you take cold drinks during your periods or prior to them? If I were to drink a cold beverage it kinda stops my period and it'll come out later as brownish instead of the red. I look forward to the red type since it kinda indicates that it is fresh blood instead of the brown which looks like it's been in there for sometime, but that's jst me.

So, why not try taking less cold beverages during the first few days of your period. Oh and less coffee too.