Do you suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding? If so, you are definitely not alone. Many females experience excessive bleeding (menorrhagia) every month during their period. According to the National Women’s Health Resource Center, the average period lasts 5 to 7 days and females usually lose about 1 to 2 ounces of blood during each menstrual cycle. However, females who have heavy cycles may bleed anywhere from 10 to 25 times that amount. A lot of females find heavy menstrual bleeding to be very unpleasant and painful. Fortunately, there are safe and effective treatment options to stop heavy menstrual bleeding.
Instructions
1. Visit your doctor for a medical evaluation. In order to stop heavy menstrual bleeding, you must find out what is actually causing the excessive bleeding. So, it is important to see your gynecologist or health-care provider for an evaluation, physical examination and lab work.
2. Meet with your doctor to discuss your medical condition. Your doctor inquires about your symptoms, current health status, medical history and asks about the medications that you are taking (prescribed and over-the-counter). Your doctor also talks to you about the tests that she must give you in order to pinpoint the reason for your heavy bleeding.
3. Complete the required medical examination and tests. Your doctor gives you a physical examination, pelvic exam, an ultrasound (of your uterus, pelvis and ovaries) and possibly a pap smear. She may also take a urine and blood sample to send to the lab for additional tests. Your doctor performs these tests in order to find out if there is an underlying disease or infection that is causing the heavy menstrual bleeding.
4. Discuss the test results and treatment options with your doctor. Your doctor recommends an appropriate treatment option based on your evaluation, test results and the reason for the heavy bleeding. Your doctor may give you a drug therapy (hormonal therapy or oral contraceptives), a surgical procedure (to remove fibroid tumors, tissue, polyps or the endometrial lining in the uterus), a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix), antibiotics to treat an infection (like pelvic inflammatory disease "PID") or medications to treat an illness (such as endometriosis, thyroid problems, liver or kidney disease or cancer). If you are having heavy bleeding due to an implanted birth control device (such as an intrauterine device "IUD"), then your doctor simply removes it from the uterus.
5. Follow your doctor’s orders. Be sure to complete the treatment method as instructed by . Take all of your medication and go to your follow-up visits. If you have a serious medical illness such as cancer (cervical, uterine or ovarian), then your doctor informs you of the specific steps that you need to complete in order to properly treat the cancer.
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