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Managing Menorrhagia
Help for Heavy Periods By Teri Brown
"What happens without good ovulations is that when you don't ovulate, you don't make a good amount of progesterone, which limits the growth of the lining of the uterus," says Dr. Minkin. "I refer to progesterone as the policeman of the lining of the uterus. If you don't make good progesterone, you can get extra thickening of the lining of the uterus and then [you] bleed excessively."
If an imbalance in hormones is the issue, your health care professional will attempt to regulate those hormones.
"These are the folks who usually respond very well to birth control pills or the Mirena IUC [intrauterine contraceptive device], which gives plenty of direct progestin to the lining of the uterus," says Dr. Minkin.
According to Dr. Minkin, intrauterine devices such as the Mirena IUC are small pieces of plastic coated with a progesterone-like substance that very effectively prevents pregnancy and effectively prevents the extra growth of the uterus' lining. Your health care provider can place this IUC right in the office, and it starts to work right away.
"So, bottom line, if you have heavy bleeding see your health care provider," says Dr. Minkin. "She can help rule out any serious cause of uterine bleeding. Then you should discuss with her ways to manage the bleeding. Most commonly, I find that a low-dose oral contraceptive will do the trick." Women don't have to suffer in silence. Though common, painful, heavy periods can be managed, allowing you to control it instead of having it control your life.
