My Abnormal cycle…

Posted by Yakuti in Archives | 4 views since Jan 31, 2012 | 0 comments

Dear Toyin
What can I do about heavy periods? I’ve dealt with them for so long and
I’m tired of it all.
Thanks for your time,
Erica

Hey Erica,
Girl, thanks for sending in your question because it is an issue SO many women deal with. There are different disorders of the menstrual cycle; oligomenorhea are infrequent periods where a woman can go as many as six months without seeing their periods, menorrhagia where women experience periods that are excessively heavy; and last but not least, menometrorrhagia. Women with menometrorrhagia have heavy irregular periods, so in one month, a woman can have 2-3 heavy menstrual periods.

Causes…
From your question, it is easy to deduce that you are experiencing menorrhagia but it could be menometrorrhagia depending on how often you see your period. The reason for these menstrual disorders are so varied but includes:

Coagulation- What happens when you cut your finger? It bleeds for a few seconds and then stops right? It’s not by chance but by God’s design of coagulation. Proper coagulation ensures that every cut gets healed and you don’t bleed to death. A person with coagulation problems could bleed for hours from a simple cut; on the same note, a woman with coagulation issues could have excessively heavy periods. If you notice that you bruise/bleed easily and heavy, your menorhagia could be a result of this.

Fibroids- In a past edition, I explained fibroids to be abnormal muscle growths in the uterus; the presence of fibroids is another cause for excessive bleeding.

Endometrial lining- The lining of the uterus is shed with every period. A woman with consecutively missed periods can have a buildup of this lining and when she finally gets her period, she bleeds heavily.

Treatment
As I mentioned, coagulation problems could be a cause of menorrhagia and if this is your cause, your doctor could easily treat most issues that interrupt coagulation with regular IV drugs. The following reasons are for the other causes of menorrhagia; on initial visit, your doctor would recommend Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin/Aleeve)….which is more surprising; the fact that something so generic is the treatment or the fact that all these three drugs are EXACTLY the same thing? LOL. Either way, Ibuprofen has the ability to reduce the amount of blood loss. If the symptoms don’t resolve, your doctor would prescribe Combined oral contraceptive pill aka Birth control pills. Another shocker? birth control pills are a very sensitive topic within the church because a lot of Christians are under the misconception that if you use the pill, you must be sexually active. The truth is that the pill is not only for contraception, but also helps women regulate their menstrual periods. If this also fails to control your symptoms, doctors would recommend regular hormone injections and last but not least, surgery to remove fibroids or block the artery that bleeds during menstruation. I would advise you to make an appointment with OB/GYN in order to control your bleeding and prevent complications such as anemia, fatigue and fainting spells.
Stay blessed
T

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