Menorrhagia is a condition causing excessively heavy or prolonged menstrual periods which is often caused by diverse health issues.
What is Menorrhagia?
Menorrhagia is also known as heavy menstrual bleeding. It is known for its rich and prolonged menstrual periods often going longer than seven days and clinically exceeding 80 ml of blood loss during that duration or clot the size of quarters. Often as a result of the bleeding hygiene products need to be changed within a two-hour time frame due to Menorrhagia. However, it is important to note that Menorrhagia can be permanent or temporary.
Causes
Reasons for Menorrhagia include
- Uterine fibroids.
- Dysfunction of the ovaries.
- Polyps
- Adenomyosis
- Intrauterine device (IUD)
- Pregnancy Complications.
- Cancer
- Inherited Bleeding Disorders
- Medications
- Pelvic Infections
- Stress
- Depression
- Genetics
Symptoms
- Soaking through one or more sanitary pads or tampons every hour for several consecutive hours
- Needing to wake up to change sanitary protection during the night
- Needing to use double sanitary protection to control the menstrual flow
- Menstrual bleeding that lasts longer than a week
- Symptoms of anemia, like fatigue, light-headedness and shortness of breath
- Passing blood clots more significant than a quarter
- Restricting activities because of heavy menstrual flow
- Constant lower abdominal and pelvic pain
- Inability to perform regular daily activities because of bleeding
- Tired, lack energy, or short of breath.
Diagnosis
Like many illnesses, the diagnosis process starts with a questionnaire and looking into medical history. Some of the questions most commonly asked are the following.
- How old were you when you got your first period?
- How long is your menstrual cycle?
- How many days does your period usually last?
- How many days do you consider your period to be heavy?
- How do your periods affect your quality of life?
Then you will be asked to keep track of menstrual days and non-menstrual days as well as the bleeding and how many sanitary products were used/ taken out.
Doctors may also do some testing to diagnose you, these tests include:
- Pap Smear test
- Blood Test
- Ultrasound
- Endometrial Biopsy
Varying on these test results they may ask for the following test to be done for further diagnosis.
- Sonohysterogram
- Hysteroscopy
- Dilation and Curettage (D&C).
Treatment
In terms of treatment, there are two forms, surgical and drug therapy. Overall treatment will be considered from the following factors
- Your adolescent’s age, overall health and medical history
- Cause and severity of the condition
- Your adolescent’s tolerance for specific medications, procedures or therapies
- Your adolescent’s future childbearing plans
- Effects of the Condition on your adolescent’s lifestyle
- Your adolescent’s opinion or preference
Some of the drug therapies include the following:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Oral contraceptives
- Oral progesterone
- Hormonal intrauterine devices (IUD)
- Tranexamic acid
- Desmopressin Nasal Spray
- Iron Pills
- Birth control pills
- Intrauterine contraception
Surgical treatments are often recommended by gynecologists following these treatments:
- Hysterectomy
- Endometrial ablation or resection
- Operative hysteroscopy.
- Dilation and Curettage
Conclusion
Menorrhagia or heavy menstrual bleeding can often descend from genetic, mental or other health factors. We must look out for the symptoms to follow the progress of the diagnosing process. Then choose the type of treatment and what treatment of that type you and your doctor would think is the best for you.
Summary
Heavy menstrual bleeding also known as Menorrhagia is a condition that can stem from several factors including, depression, genetics, stress, uterine fibroids, dysfunction of the ovaries, polyps, adenomyosis, intrauterine device (IUD), pregnancy complications, cancer. Many of the symptoms include Soaking through one or more sanitary pads or tampons every hour for several consecutive hours needing to wake up to change sanitary protection during the night, needing to use double sanitary protection to control the menstrual flow, menstrual bleeding that lasts longer than a week, symptoms of anemia, like fatigue, light-headedness and shortness of breath, passing blood clots larger than a quarter etc.
However the diagnosis process is quite simple, you’ll start out being questioned and looking into your family history for Menorrhagia. Many tests can be further arranged to start to find support proof you may have Menorrhagia, this includes a pap smear test, blood test, ultrasound, and endometrial biopsy. If these tests prove to support the fact you may have Menorrhagia they may test us using a sonohysterogram, hysteroscopy, dilation and curettage (D&C). After diagnosis, there are two treatment options, drug therapy or surgical, to go the surgical route there would be the need for gynecologists to be involved and the procedures include hysterectomy, endometrial ablation or resection, and operative hysteroscopy. Where drug therapy includes nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, oral contraceptives, oral progesterone, hormonal intrauterine devices (IUD), tranexamic acid, desmopressin nasal spray, and iron pills. However, each individual is different so anyone with Menorrhagia will want to treat it differently which is why it’s important to keep an eye out and understand the information which is why it’s important to do a treatment that you and your doctor believe will work best for you…
References
APGAR, B. S., KAUFMAN, A. H., GEORGE-NWOGU, U., & KITTENDORF, A. (2007). Treatment of Menorrhagia. American Family Physician, 75(12). https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2007/0615/p1813.html
CDC. (2015, August 28). Heavy Menstrual Bleeding | CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/blooddisorders/women/menorrhagia.html#:~:text=Menorrhagia%20is%20menstrual%20bleeding%20that
Dunkin, M. (2022, August 24). Why Is My Period So Heavy? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/women/heavy-period-causes-treatments
Gokyildiz, S., Aslan, E., Beji, N. K., & Mecdi, M. (2013, July 8). The Effects of Menorrhagia on Women’s Quality of Life: A Case-Control Study. ISRN Obstetrics and Gynecology. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2013/918179/
Henigsman, S. (2021, September 30). Menorrhagia: Causes, Symptoms, When to Seek Help. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/menstruation/menorrhagia
Mayo Clinic. (2017). Menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding) – Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menorrhagia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352829
NHS Choices. (2019). Overview – Heavy periods. NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heavy-periods/
Philadelphia, T. C. H. of. (2018, September 11). Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (Menorrhagia). Www.chop.edu. https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/heavy-menstrual-bleeding-menorrhagia
Shaw, J., & Shaw, H. (2020). Menorrhagia: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology. EMedicine. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/255540-overview
Smith, L. (2017, February 1). Menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding): Causes and treatments. Www.medicalnewstoday.com. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295202