Thanks Marilynn for bringing up this subject.
Sometimes it's right to tough it out like someone mentioned, but sometimes toughing it out can be dangerous.
A few years ago I decided that I needed to just tough it out that everyone my age was going through the same thing. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and confided in my doctor about how I was feeling. He told me at my age it wasn't normal to be on a period more often that off it. At my age it should be so light as almost gone. He ran some blood tests and then went balistic over the results. I was extremely anemic due to the heavy periods. Papsmear showed nothing wrong. It took an ultrasound to show a uterus full of tumors. He was able to quickly schedule a hystorectomy.
So, don't try to tough something out before getting expert medical advice. We usually just hear all the horror stories so don't think your symptoms are minor just because some one else has more severe symptoms. Catch something in the early stages and you will be way better off.
Stepping down from soap box.