Barb's Daily Dose

Questions and Answers about Heavy Periods

How Do I Know if I Have Heavy Periods?

Although many women may feel as though they are the only ones experiencing heavy periods, women of all ages have heavy periods that interfere with their day-to-day lives. You may have heavy periods if your period:

• Lasts a long time
• Is so heavy that you need to change pads or tampons every 1 to 2 hours
• Is so heavy that you often have a tampon AND a pad for more protection, and
• Is so heavy that you have to change pads at night.

Von Willebrands Disease

I found this helpful fact sheet on the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner's (AANP) website:  Von Willebrands Disease: VWD

What is Von Willebrands Disease?

• VWD is the most common hereditary bleeding disorder in the United States
• VWD is classified by types, ranging from Type 1 (the most commonand usually mild) to Type 3 (the most severe)
• In some cases, VWD is caused by low or nonexistent levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF), a protein in the blood that is necessary for normal blood clotting, and
• In other cases, VWD presents with normal levels of VWF, but the factordoes not work properly.

Heavy Periods

"I decided to stay in the shower, because I was bleeding so heavily that it was just easier that way."

Did you know that 1 in 5 women suffer from heavy periods? That's a lot of pads and tampons. Some women have heavy periods their entire lives and some only experience this particularly feminine challenge  
with perimenopause.

Not Your Mother’s Treatment for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: The 5-Minute Alternative to Hysterectomy

Final Edition to a Five Part Series

To Review the Series in Parts:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

There’s one patient, Ellie (not her real name), who comes to mind whenever I think about how much things have changed in the last 20 years. I cared for 2 of Ellie’s 4 daughters during their pregnancies and really enjoyed their visits.  I was happy to be the person who did their first ultrasounds and printed up photos of their babies. One day, the oldest daughter called me and asked if I’d be willing to see to her mother right away as she was visiting from out of town. She was concerned about her mother’s repeated blood transfusions for blood loss from heavy periods.

How to Talk to Your Healthcare Provider About Your Periods?

“I was too embarrassed to talk about my periods with my doctor, and since none of my friends ever talked about their periods, I just figured that it was normal to bleed through tampons and pads and everyone was in the same boat."  Carly

If they don’t ask, you might not tell.  If a health-care provider doesn’t ask, you might not feel comfortable bringing up concerns about your periods.

Health care providers often assume that a woman’s periods are normal, unless she brings it up. We as health care providers aren’t asking, all the time. I understand. There’s lots of things to cover during an annual exam, and many of us have limited time with our patients.

Alternatives to Hysterectomy

Recently, I heard from a woman, who we’ll call Tracy (not her real name) who has had heavy menstrual bleeding for years. She’s in her mid 40’s and has 2 children. Tracy explained that she was tired of having to miss so many of her children’s activities because she never knew if there’d be a clean bathroom close by. She told me that there were times when she felt that she couldn’t get off the toilet because the bleeding was so heavy and when she saw the size of the clots she passed, it scared her. She had been through extensive testing didn’t show any fibroids, polyps or clotting disorders. She was advised to consider having a hysterectomy and wanted to find out what her other options were.

Are My Periods Normal - Take the Quiz!

Have you ever found yourself in the drug store searching for super duper tampons and gigantic maxi-pads, wondering if you’re the only one out there dealing with heavy periods?

One Woman’s Story

This was the situation that Katie (not her real name) found herself in month after month. A mom with 3 kids, she was busy and didn’t need one more thing on her plate. At the same time, she was worried that there was something seriously wrong with her, but felt tired and discouraged from trying various hormonal treatments, having ultrasounds and trying to remember to take her iron tablet every day.  She felt discouraged, knowing that for a solid week each month, she couldn’t exercise, had PMS, wasn’t interested in sex and felt uncomfortable.  Katie had heavy menstrual bleeding.

What’s A Common Condition You Haven’t Heard About But May Be Affecting You Or One Of Your Friends?

Imagine not being able to leave the bathroom because the bleeding from your period was so heavy, ordinary sanitary protection was a joke.  Imagine missing your daughter’s soccer games, because you never knew if there would be a bathroom near enough to the field that you could change your pad and not ruin yet another pair of jeans.

These are just two stories that illustrate what millions of women experience each month; heavy menstrual bleeding.  In fact, 1 in 5 women experience heavy periods known as “heavy menstrual bleeding,” or what my patients call, “Periods from Hell.”

What is Heavy Menstrual Bleeding?

Heavy menstrual bleeding is defined as periods that occur at regular monthly intervals, with blood loss that is greater than 80mL or bleeding for > 7 days.  As a point of reference ½ cup = 60mL.

I counsel my patients to call me if they are soaking a pad and/or a tampon in less than 1 hour for more than 1 day. Many of my patients don’t realize that the period they’ve been putting up with month after month and year after year is not normal; it’s not just their bad luck and something with which they have to deal with, it is a medical condition called heavy menstrual bleeding.

Omega 3's May Decrease Depression

A recent review of 15 studies found that when the Omega 3 DHA was used in combination with EPA, people with depression had some slight improvement.  The researchers caution people who are depressed NOT to   rely only on Omega 3's, but to consult with their mental health professional. The research didn't find any benefit for DHA alone, and only saw it when the amounts of DHA and EPA were similar.

NovaSure: A Great Solution for Heavy Bleeding

A patient said to me, "Barb, can you prescribe sleeping pills for me?"  I don't just write prescriptions without asking a few questions first and after a few minutes learned that this woman wasn't sleeping in her bed for 1-2 weeks each month.  You see her periods were so heavy that she had ruined too many sheets, stained the mattress and so when she had her period. she would sleep on a plastic sheet on the floor. She explained that rolling over made so much noise that she would wake up and she thought that sleeping pills might help her get more rest.

Lucky for her, there was another solution:  NovaSure, an endometrial ablation procedure that treats heavy bleeding and doesn't involve hysterectomy.  It's safe and effective.  In fact, it's so safe that recently the 1 millionth woman had a NovaSure procedure done.  NovaSure was recently featured on The Doctors TV show.