How do you determine how heavy your menstrual flow is when gyn asks?

Pad/tampon usage: It is often difficult to gauge the heaviness of one's own menses. However, if the menses lasts 6-7+ days, is heavy with clots, and is associated with occasional bed staining, changing tampons, pads every 2 hours, and interferes with your daily routines, it can be considered abnormal and you may want to consider therapy - the pill, iud, or an endometrial ablation, for ex.