Question:
Was your period after having heperin shots different?

I had open RNY on 10/31. I got my period while in the hospital, as I was due anyway. I bled for about 4 days, but it was lightly and I had no cramping. I just started my second cycle since surgery since yesterday. The blood is very heavy and bright red, the cramps are very painful. I am completely filling a pad once every 2 1/2-3 hours. Is this common after surgery? Could this be happening because of the Heparin shots making my blood thin? How long do the effects of Heparin shots last (I am also freezing all the time, regardless of whether or not I have my period)? Just to note, I went off birth control pills about 2 months before surgery and have not started them yet. Could the bc have something to do with it? Thank you for you answers    — enjo4 (posted on December 12, 2000)

December 12, 2000
I'm not sure which pill you are on, but coming off the pill can really impact your periods...especially the cramping. My understanding is that the blood thinner actually stays in your body for quite a while, so maybe the thinness of the blood makes it seem like more??? (What do I know.) Did you have to do shots after you came home from the hospital? I had to do 2 weeks worth of Lovenox...also a blood thinner. My surgeon let me stay on the pill up until the day of surgery, then I had to be off for 6 weeks. I have yet to have a period since my surgery, but as I am now back on the pill, it should come next week, and I'm hopefull that it will be normal.
   — tlg6056

December 12, 2000
My periods were very heavy each month for the first 4 or 5 after surgery. I don't think it was due to the heparin after that much time had passed. I figured it was due to the hormone changes we go through as we lose weight quickly.
   — Lynn K.

December 12, 2000
I'm a nurse, so I can tell you with a reasonable amount of confidence that heparin is processed by the body within a few hours. I suspect the change is more related to hormones--such as stopping the BC pill. Talk to your OB-GYN if it continues more than a few cycles--or speeds up.
   — Jesse M.

December 12, 2000
I am a nursing student and I can tell you that heparin doesn't stay in your body all that long, hours as the previous nurse posted. It is probably due to the fact that you just went off the pill and your body is trying to readjust to the "normal" hormones in you have. If it continues and the bleeding gets worse you should probably let your gyn know. Also, you might want to take some iron supplements, since we WLS ppl tend to become anemic quite fast. Especially, a menstruating woman of childbearing age. Hope things get better...Hugs~
   — Marni

December 12, 2000
Erin, After coming off the birth control pill it's not unusual for your body to take some time to readjust to making its own hormones. Likely what happened was that the period you had in the hospital was anovulatory (that is you didn't release an egg) but the uterine lining had reached a thickness that it needed to be shed. So that's why your period was light. It may also have had something to do with the anesthesia. Even though you had a very light period, the uterine lining continued to accumulate. This month when you did ovulate (probably) you had 1 1/2 to 2 months worth of lining to shed. That's why this period was heavier. It should all work out over the next 2-3 months. Barbra Falta, PA-C
   — Barbra F.