In case you are having heavy periods then the term that you have been looking for is menorrhagia. This means that the bleeding is heavier than it should be or it lasts longer than normal.
Although bleeding is not normal in case of post-menopausal women, in the majority of the cases the bleeding isn’t heavy enough to be called menorrhagia.
What heavy menstruation means?
We are talking about menorrhagia in case the cramping and the bleeding is so severe that you cannot maintain your regular activities during your period. If this is your case then you should talk to your doctor, because there are different ways to handle menorrhagia.
Treatment
If you are looking for treatment in case of heavy periods you should know that there are different factors that influence the kind of treatment that you will receive.
These factors include your overall health and medical history, the severity and the cause of the condition, whether you have allergies to certain medication, whether you would like to have children in the future or not, the effects that the condition has on your life and also your personal preferences.
Drugs for heavy menstruation
In case you are thinking about taking drugs to make your situation better, then you should consider iron supplements. It is possible that menorrhagia is accompanied by anemia, and in this case your doctor will advise you to take iron supplements on a regular basis. On the other hand, if the iron level of the blood is low, but you aren’t anemic yet, you could start taking iron as a preventive measure.
NSAIDs
The main point of these drugs is to reduce the blood loss during heavy periods. They include ibuprofen and naproxen. Another advantage of these drugs is that they also relieve the pain caused by the menstrual cramps.
Contraceptive pills
The advantage of these pills is obvious, of preventing an unwanted pregnancy, but they could also help with the heavy menstruation, because they regulate the periods and they reduce excessive or prolonged bleeding.
Progesterone pills
In case you take these pills for more than 10 days during each of the menstrual cycles the progesterone can take care of the hormonal imbalances and they also reduce the heavy bleeding.
Hormonal IUD
This is an intrauterine device that releases progesterone gradually. Because of this the lining of the uterus will become thinner and so there will be less menstrual cramping and the heavy periods will also decrease.
Surgical treatment
If the drug therapy doesn’t bring the desired results you may turn to surgical treatment in case of heavy periods.
One of these treatments is dilation and curettage. Through this procedure the doctor stretches the cervix and introduces a tube through which the tissue is removed by gentle suction. This way there will be less menstrual fluid. This procedure is very effective in case of menorrhagia, but it might not be a permanent solution.
Operative hysteroscopy
In case you are faced with heavy menstruation you could have the procedure during which there is a thin tube introduced in the uterine cavity and with its help your doctor could remove a polyp that causes the excessive bleeding.
Endometrial ablation
With the help of different kinds of procedures that doctor could destroy the lining of the uterus. After this procedure the patients will have very little or no menstrual fluid. Nonetheless we also have to add that in this case women will have reduced chances of getting pregnant.
Hysterectomy
This is a drastic solution in case of heavy periods because during this period the uterus and the cervix are surgically removed and so there will be no more menstrual periods. The procedure is done while the patient is under anesthesia and the patients need hospitalization. In case the ovaries are also removed, most probably you will be faced with premature menopause.
Except for the last procedure, hysterectomy, the procedures are done on an outpatient basis. Also in case of the surgical treatments for heavy menstruation you will require anesthesia, but in the majority of the cases the patients have the possibility to go home the same day.
Menorrhagia could be a problem on its own, but it might be the sign of another health condition, such as thyroid disease. In case the underlying condition is the one causing the menorrhagia, then if it is treated, the patient also gets rid of the heavy bleeding. As you can see, there is a lot to do when you are faced with heavy periods.
