You may find it hard to judge whether your periods are heavier than normal. Even talking to friends about it may not help. Women often have different ideas about what it means to have heavy periods.

Here's a list of things that may mean your periods are heavy.¹

• You use more than nine pads or tampons (or both pads and tampons) on your heaviest days.
• You have to wear both a tampon and a pad (double protection).
• Your period lasts more than six days.
• You have to get up at night to change your protection.
• You pass clumps of blood (blood clots).
• You stain your bedding or clothes despite wearing tampons and pads.
• You stay home during your period because you are worried you won't get to a bathroom in time to change your tampon or pad if you go out.
• You feel tired, especially during your period. This could mean you have anemia. Anemia happens when your body is not able to make enough new red blood cells to make up for ones you lost during your period. Your doctor can find out if you have anemia by testing a sample of your blood. If your red cell count is low, you may need a treatment, such as iron pills, to help you make more red cells.