When Period Pain Is Cause for Concern
Many women experience menstrual cramps from time to time, but extreme pain is another story. Here’s when period pain indicates something deeper.
Do you suffer from heavy periods that soak through tampons or sanitary pads and continue for hours and last for more than a week? Those are unusually heavy periods, which plague 1 in 5 women in the United States.
It’s tempting to ignore heavy periods and just go with the flow. However, heavy periods can signal a medical condition that requires attention. Often, treatment reduces monthly bleeding.
No matter how old you are, you should tell your doctor about any heavy periods you experience. At Serrano OB-Gyn, we want to educate you about heavy periods and let you know you can do something about them.
Having menstrual periods that produce heavier-than-normal bleeding or that last an unusually long time is called menorrhagia. The condition can be accompanied by pain, swelling, or infertility. Menorrhagia can be caused by the following.
With this condition, tissue lining the inside of your uterus grows into your uterine wall.
These noncancerous growths in your uterus lining (the endometrium) can cause excessive bleeding.
Endometriosis causes your uterine lining to grow outside of your uterus. Excess endometrial tissue bleeds during menstruation, leading to heavy periods.
Uterine fibroids are muscle tissue growths within your uterus lining. Fibroids are typically benign, although they can cause excessive bleeding and long periods.
These include platelet disorders, clotting disorders, leukemia, and hemophilia.
Cancer of the reproductive organs (ovaries, uterus, cervix) can cause unusually heavy and long menstrual flows.
Some drugs, such as blood thinners, can cause heavy periods.
An improperly placed IUD can lead to heavy periods.
Extra fat can lead to the production of excess estrogen, which can cause heavy or irregular periods.
Cysts are fluid-filled sacs in your ovaries that can burst and cause excessive bleeding.
Hormones control ovulation that releases an egg from your ovaries each month. If hormone levels are out of balance, you may not ovulate, and your uterine lining may build up, causing you to bleed excessively or unpredictably.
This occurs when your ovaries or adrenal glands produce more male hormones than they should, which causes fluid-filled cysts to grow on your ovaries.
An underactive thyroid can cause heavy bleeding.
If you’re experiencing heavy periods, no matter your age, help is available. Our caring providers at Serrano OB-Gyn can perform a pelvic exam and order tests to determine the cause of your excessive bleeding.
Once we determine why you’re having heavy periods, we work with you to develop a treatment plan. To find out more, call our office at 210-761-5309, or make an appointment using our online scheduling tool.
