My Periods Are Extremely Heavy. What Should I Do?

Under the best of circumstances, periods aren't necessarily events that women enjoy. When there’s heavy bleeding, periods can fast become a problem that hijacks your life each month.

About one-third of women seek help for heavy bleeding during their menstrual cycles, so you’re in good company if you’re experiencing the issue.

This also means that the team here at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health has extensive experience helping women with this type of abnormal bleeding, and we want to share what we know.

Defining heavy bleeding

The first step toward figuring out whether your periods are problematic is to determine whether they qualify as heavy.

There are some good rules of thumb for defining heavy menstrual bleeding, which is medically known as menorrhagia. These include:

• Soaking through tampons or pads every one or two hours 
• Needing to change your tampons or pads during the night
• Needing to double up on feminine products
• Passing blood clots larger than a quarter
• Bleeding for more than seven days

In extreme cases, you may develop anemia because of the blood loss during your menstrual cycles, which can leave you fatigued and pale.

Common causes of heavy bleeding

If one or more of the signs of heavy bleeding we outline above applies to you, the next step is to figure out what’s behind the issue.

In some cases, there is no reason for the heavier-than-normal flow, but often we find that one of the following is to blame:

• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Uterine fibroids
• Endometriosis
• Hormone imbalances
• Adenomyosis
• Certain reproductive cancers
• Blood disorders
• Certain medications, such as blood thinners

There are also temporary issues that can lead to heavy bleeding, such as an ectopic pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection. 

Getting to the bottom of your heavy bleeding

If your life is being upended by heavy bleeding, it’s important that you come see us so that we can identify and treat the issue. As you can see by the list of potential causes above, there are any number of problems that can lead to heavy bleeding and the treatments can vary widely.

From hormone medications to endometrial ablation procedures, we offer a wide range of services that can remedy heavy bleeding.

Ultimately, this blog isn’t meant to identify the root of your heavy bleeding, but underscore the fact that a trip to our office is in order. After reviewing your symptoms, we can get a better sense of the issue and narrow our search to find answers, and the right solutions, for your menorrhagia.

To get on the road to more normal periods that don’t disrupt your life, we invite you to contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to set up an appointment.