Heavy bleeding is a common experience for most women who have their periods. Every woman experiences a different menstrual flow. Therefore, it might be hard to know whether your period is heavy, light, or normal. However, if you experience an abnormally heavy flow, which causes you to change your pad or tampon after an hour or less, you might be suffering from menorrhagia. Heavy bleeding can cause anemia and severe cramps, which might affect your daily life. It would be best to consult a Lake Mary heavy bleeding specialist to know whether your period is heavy. Learn more about heavy bleeding, its causes, and the best treatment options to help you experience a stress-free menstrual flow.
What Causes Heavy Bleeding?
Heavy menstrual bleeding can be caused by several issues, including hormonal imbalance medications and birth control changes. Other common conditions, such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids, can cause heavy bleeding.
Women’s bodies are always sensitive to change. Factors such as stress or environmental changes might affect your menstrual flow unpleasantly. You may also experience heavy bleeding after pregnancy or childbirth, which is quite common and normal for most women. Talk with your doctor about what might be causing your heavy periods.
What Are the Symptoms of Heavy Bleeding?
Talking with your doctor is the best way to know you have a chronic heavy flow. However, common signs might guide you on whether your flow is normal or abnormally heavy. They include fatigue and lightheadedness during bleeding, large-sized blood clots, bleeding for more than seven days, and changing tampons in less than an hour.
You might also experience physical symptoms such as shortness of breath during or after your menstrual flow. Also, if you need to change your tampon or pad overnight, you might have abnormally heavy bleeding. Consult with your doctor on the best remedies for heavy bleeding.
How Is Heavy Bleeding Diagnosed?
Diagnosing heavy bleeding involves confirming whether your bleeding is out of the norm and identifying the underlying cause. Your doctor conducts a physical examination by asking questions about your menstrual and medical histories before recommending further testing.
If your doctor finds no reliable results during physical examination, they might recommend tests such as a pap test, ultrasound, blood test, and endometrial biopsy. Other tests, such as hysteroscopy or a sonohysterogram, can also help examine your uterine lining and the presence of fibroids or polyps that might cause bleeding.
How Can You Remedy Heavy Bleeding?
Depending on the underlying cause of your heavy menstrual bleeding, your doctor might recommend lifestyle adjustments, medications, or surgery. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ibuprofen can help reduce pain characterized by heavy bleeding and make your periods lighter. On the flip side, blood-thinning medications such as aspirin should be avoided as they might accelerate bleeding.
Birth control medications such as hormonal IUDs, pills, and patches might also remedy heavy bleeding by reducing blood and tissue loss during menstruation. If your heavy bleeding is caused by hormonal imbalance, you might require hormone therapy which works similarly to birth control medications and balances your hormones.
Hormone therapy can also treat gynecological conditions such as endometriosis, which might cause painful and heavy bleeding. Your doctor might also recommend eating a diet rich in iron to prevent anemia resulting from heavy bleeding. However, you should avoid foods with processed fats, sugar, and carbs, as they can accelerate bleeding.
Heavy bleeding can severely affect your daily life, and it should not be something you have to endure. You can seek treatment and receive a proper diagnosis from Christopher K Quinsey, MD, to reduce the disruptive symptoms of heavy bleeding. Call today through Dr. Quinsey’s office number or request an online appointment for a thorough discussion about your condition.
