When To See a Gynecologist for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Signs and Symptoms
posted: Dec. 26, 2023.
Suffering from heavy periods can severely restrict the activities that you can participate in. It can also cause pain and force you to miss time from work. Dr. Anya Rose and Dr. Megan Gau of Rose Women's Health are here to help with a variety of treatments.
Signs of Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
When you have menstrual bleeding that lasts more than seven days, it is known as Menorrhagia, and it also refers to heavy menstrual bleeding. How do you know if the signs of bleeding that you are experiencing are considered heavy bleeding? If you need to change your pad or tampon more often than every two hours, you have heavy periods. Passing clots that are larger than the size of a quarter is a sign you have heavy periods. If you need to get up in the night to change your pad or tampon, it is time to make an appointment with your OBGYN to get a diagnosis and treatment.
Symptoms of Heavy Periods in Arcadia, CA
When you have heavy periods, you may feel tired all the time. This can be a result of anemia from the amount of blood that you are losing. If you have pain in your lower belly during your entire period, and it is combined with heavy flow or clots, this is a symptom of heavy menstrual bleeding. If your period is disrupting your life by making it impossible to do the things you normally do for fear of leaking, you have heavy periods, and it is time to get checked by a doctor to look for possible causes of the heavy bleeding.
Treatments
Your doctor will ask a lot of questions and may request some tests to determine what exactly is going on. Getting a prescription for iron can help with anemia. Taking ibuprofen or other NSAID can help with the pain. But if the bleeding is what is debilitating, it may require a little more. Birth control pills or an IUD can help with regulating periods with hormones. If your family is complete and you no longer plan to have children, your doctor may suggest an endometrial ablation or a hysterectomy. With an ablation, the lining of the uterus is removed and with a hysterectomy the uterus is removed. These are just some of the options that your doctor will discuss with you.
Contact Dr. Rose, and Dr. Gau of Rose Women's Health in Arcadia, CA when you have signs and symptoms of heavy periods. You can reach out through our website or give us a call at (626) 461-7071 for an appointment.