Three Reasons to Not Ignore Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
Do you feel like all you do is change your tampons and pads during your periods? Do your periods seem to go on endlessly? Don’t just complain to your friends and family — see our San Antonio OBGYNs to find out why you have heavy menstrual bleeding, also known as menorrhagia.
How do physicians define a “heavy” period? If you bleed for more than seven days, or soak through one or more pads each hour for several consecutive hours, that’s not normal. If you are getting up at night to change your menstrual products or have large blood clots the size of a quarter or more during your periods, you have heavy bleeding.
Here are three reasons to see our physicians if you have heavy periods.
Your heavy periods could be a symptom of a condition that needs to be treated
Several health issues can cause heavy menstrual bleeding. Each of these issues requires medical diagnosis and treatment.
- Polyps
- Fibroids
- Irregular ovulation
- Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS
- Pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID
- Endometriosis
- Miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy
- Certain medications
- Endometrial cancer
Ignoring menorrhagia, or heavy bleeding, could lead to serious complications
Without diagnosis and treatment, the underlying issues that cause your menstrual problems will continue to get worse. For example, heavy bleeding can be an early symptom of endometrial cancer. Early diagnosis is crucially important with cancer. Blood loss can also lead to anemia, which can become very serious. In most cases, living with your heavy periods leads to pain, discomfort and other symptoms related to conditions such as fibroids and endometriosis, which have to be treated to improve your health and quality of life.
Noninvasive and minimally invasive treatment options can improve your health
Don’t be afraid to talk to our San Antonio OBGYNs about heavy, prolonged periods. It’s an extremely common problem; one that about a third of women experience at some time. Treatment for menorrhagia may be as simple as medication. Our caring physicians also perform minimally invasive procedures, often right in our offices, to improve your symptoms and take care of your underlying condition.
Our San Antonio OBGYNs have the answers you need if you have heavy menstrual bleeding
Whatever your diagnosis and treatment plan involves, you can rely on our highly trained physicians and compassionate staff to walk you through the process and support you along the way. Contact us to make an appointment.