What is menorrhagia?
Menorrhagia is a clinical term used to describe a condition that causes abnormal uterine bleeding and cramping that affects the quality of life. Women with menorrhagia lose twice as much blood during their cycle as women without menorrhagia.
What causes menorrhagia?
There are a number of different reasons you may be experiencing menorrhagia, including:
- Fibroids, polyps, or adenomyosis
- Hormone irregularities or ovulation dysfunction
- Complications from pregnancy
- Cancer
- Medical conditions such as inherited bleeding disorders or liver or kidney disease
- Medications
Use of a non-hormonal IUD for birth control may also cause heavy bleeding.
How do I know if I have menorrhagia?
Monitoring for common symptoms of menorrhagia may help the team at Garden State Women’s Center establish a diagnosis.
Common symptoms include:
- Cycle bleeding that lasts longer than seven days
- Passing large blood clots
- Bleeding through a pad or tampon in an hour
- Changing your pad or tampon during the night
- Doubling up on sanitary protection to control flow
Heavy bleeding that affects daily activities may also indicate menorrhagia. Additionally, if you’re feeling overly tired or are experiencing shortness of breath, your heavy blood flow may be causing anemia.
To aid in a diagnosis, the medical professionals at Garden State Women’s Center may need to do additional testing such as a blood draw, endometrial biopsy, Pap smear, or ultrasound.
What are the treatments for menorrhagia?
There are a number of treatment options available to help slow your blood flow. The doctors at Garden State Women’s Center go over all your options and create a treatment plan that takes your personal health and lifestyle into consideration, which might include medication or surgery.
Noninvasive treatment options might include:
- Hormonal IUD
- Oral progestin
- Birth control pills
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories
- Tranexamic acid
If medication can’t lessen your flow, your doctor may discuss surgical options, especially if you have fibroids. Surgical options might include:
- Myomectomy — removal of fibroids
- Uterine artery embolization — cutting off the blood supply to fibroids
- Dilation and curettage — scraping of tissue from the lining of your uterus
- Endometrial ablation — laser treatment that destroys endometrial tissue
If you’d like to learn more about your options to manage a heavy menstrual flow, call the office or book an appointment online.
