This is where first-line tests need to be carried out - you should be checked for anaemia, and some drugs can be offered. The most common medicines at this stage are mefenemic acid, which can reduce bleeding by 20 per cent, or tranexamic acid, which can reduce it by 40 per cent. If those fail, you should be referred for a further investigation."At a clinic, I would always examine the cervix, investigate the size of the uterus and do a scan. I felt I was only masking the problem, and the emotional side of all this was being ignored.

I did not want a D&C - I had fought so hard to let nature takes its course with the last miscarriage that capitulation would have been a huge setback.I'm not alone. Five per cent of women seek medical help for heavy periods, and 30 per cent believe they suffer from them at some point. The clotting was so intense and so painful that it was difficult to bear.The last straw came on a family holiday in March. A month in Florida meant that I was going to be affected at some point. It suddenly hit me - in a Disney loo in a fake jungle with Mickey Mouse waiting to hug me outside - that it definitely wasn't normal to go through four packs of sanitary towels in three days It wasn't normal to be in constant pain.

It wasn't normal to be crying because of the memories the blood loss and clotting were dredging up each month.Back home, I was faced with the same options as before: drugs to minimise the clotting, or a D&C (dilation and curettage, involving dilating the cervix and then scraping away some of the lining of the uterus). I had previously lectured in an obstetrics and gynaecology department, I had friends and contacts who could give me invaluable informal advice - but I still didn't feel the right solution was there.The drugs I tried did help a little, but as soon as I stopped them, the clots and bleeding returned. It never happened.Each month, I felt as if I was reliving the miscarriage. My breasts ached for three weeks, I would be in pain from ovulation, and when the bleeding did start (on a cycle of between 25 and 38 days), it was a nightmare It lasted for 10 days at a time.