Heavy Periods
Heavy periods are a typical concern among ladies before menopause. The medical term for serious emission bleeding is “menorrhagia”.
If you have got menstrual bleeding thus serious that you simply dread your period, particularly when your period have causes enough blood loss and cramping that you just need to limit your daily activities, visit your physician or gynecologist. There are several effective treatments for menorrhagia. - Your menstrual period lasts longer than seven days.
- Your flow soaks through tampons or pads every hour for a few hours in a row.
- You need to change pads or tampons during the night.
- You have multiple grape-sized (or larger) blood clots.
- Life changes – Our bodies are sensitive to change. Even stress can cause abnormal periods. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that big life changes may affect your cycle. It’s common to experience heavy period flow after pregnancy or childbirth, or during the time your body transitions to menopause (perimenopause).
- Changes to your medications or birth control – Heavy periods are a side effect of some medications, especially blood thinners. Even changes to your birth control can affect the length of your menstrual cycle and how much you bleed. For example, using a copper or hormonal IUD (intrauterine device) can cause heavier periods for 3 to 6 months after insertion. Talk to your doctor if you notice changes to your period after starting a medication or birth control.
- Hormone imbalance – Too much or too little estrogen and progesterone can cause menorrhagia. Some women experience high levels of estrogen and low levels of progesterone. This can cause the uterine lining to thicken. When a thick uterine lining sheds during menstruation, women might experience heavier blood flows and larger blood clots.
- Uterine fibroids – Fibroids are small, non-cancerous growths inside the uterus. They range in size from a grain of sand to a large mass that can affect the size of your uterus. If your doctor finds fibroids in your uterus, they might recommend removing them to treat your heavy periods.
- Endometriosis – Endometriosis is a painful condition that causes abnormal growth of the uterine lining and forms uterine polyps. It can cause short period cycles and heavy, painful periods as your body sheds the thickened uterine lining. About one in ten women in the United States has endometriosis.