Now I'm free ..... free flowing

Since I started having periods again last February I've bled for a total of 152 days out of 364. That's an average of 12.6 days per month, which doesn't sound too bad eh? That is 41.7% of the year that I've spent with a sack full of sanitary products on my person and preferably been within 15 minutes of a toilet.

I figure that the average woman without a bleeding condition could bleed for 7 days per month maybe, which is 84 over the course of a year.

It's ranged from 5 days in the first month to 21 days Jan 07, and so far 9 days this month. I haven't worked out my total spend on Bodyform, Always Ultra and Lillets but I'm sure it's enough to keep them in product development (other absorbant products are available - but are frankly less useful).

I'm not going to suggest that women bleeders should get sanitary prods on the NHS but boy would it be helpful! I'm not suggesting it because when I was in hospital with hideous periods as a teenager I was given unwieldy flannelette covered towels with strings to tie them into your pants, and I don't fancy going back to that thanks.

Anyway, I often find myself staring into a blood covered bowl that looks as if a small mammal has met with a nasty accident in there, thinking why am I doing this?

Anyone who has heavy periods will know that there are solutions out there:

• the hormone pill - which I used so successfully for sooo many years
• the mirena coil - many ladies I've met with von Williebrand's have told me how good this is, although with anything - it works well for some and not for others
• hormone injections - not sure if these are used for bleeders but have friends who would heartily recommend these to knock your periods on the head for three years

I have made a conscious decision not to use any of these things because my husband Adrian and I are trying to have children.

Together with my haemophilia specialist, I have been attempting to control my free flowing with prophylactic factor treatment. This consists of injections of factor VIII concentrate every day of my period. I am lucky because I am able to do these injections myself and can do them at home when convenient. I say trying to control the free flow because even with daily factor injections I was using Super Plus and Super Plus Extra (supersized tampons), with large ultra towels (with wings, obviously!!) for the majority of those 152 days last year.

I will do a running total of how many san prods I use every day if you like? Vote A for 'yes, we want a running total' and B for 'no, shuddup with the tampon talk'.

Gotta go to the loo now, I have a leak ........