Even if ibuprofen doesn't work, this therapy is harmless at worst. Clinically, abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding is defined by more than 80 cc of blood lost per cycle. However, studies show that many women who complain of an abnormally heavy flow have lost much less than that. If a doctor tries to determine exactly how much blood you have, this is a waste of time for both of you. A more scientific measurement is to simply take inventory of the number of pads or tampons you're going through and compare that with your normal pattern.
Age has a lot to do with menstrual flow.
In fact, teenage women and women approaching menopause will have similar cycles, often characterized by changes in flow. If you're under twenty and notice heavy bleeding, ask your doctor to check for a blood coagulation disorder known as van Willebrand's disease or platelet disorders, such as thrombocytopenia or thromboasthenia. Most of the time, however, abnormally heavy bleeding is caused by some sort of hormonal disorder, which can be investigated by a reproductive endocrinologist. Therefore, you don't produce progesterone and you develop an unusually thick uterine lining, which is expelled during your period. This translates into abnormally heavy bleeding.