My Journey with Cushing’s disease
At 30 years old, I was fit, healthy and naturally a size 8–10. I knew my body well, which is why, when it started to
I awoke in a panic, sitting straight up in bed. I knew something was wrong, but it took me a minute to process.
Suddenly, I felt cold under me; it all came rushing (pun intended) to an understanding like a lightbulb illuminating. My sheets were soaked in blood, and my clothing was sticking to me damp and gross. Once again I had underestimated the amount of protection I needed while sleeping on my period.
I had struggled with heavy menstrual bleeding my whole life. Starting at age 11, my periods had been like clockwork: painful, heavy, dreaded, and miserable.
Over the years I have seen many doctors for heavy periods, but the “solutions” they offered never have sat well with me. I finally gave in, and I have started the process of preparing for a hysterectomy. I have learned some things about heavy bleeding that I would like to share with you.
Heavy or prolonged vaginal bleeding during a menstrual cycle is called menorrhagia. Though easily diagnosable, its cause often remains unknown. The job of treating menorrhagia is often passed off onto birth control pills, and some doctors don’t bother to investigate first.
Managing excessive bleeding during periods can be a complicated nightmare, but there are some things that can help. The best way to start is to find the root cause and the best products to work together as a team to treat the symptoms.
The cause of heavy periods can be hard to pinpoint. Here are some possibilities:
Other conditions can also produce heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding. A doctor can help determine why heavy bleeding period may occur, and help treat it.
“Menorrhagia is considered to be one of the most significant causes of ill health in women. One in 20 women aged between 30 and 49 years consults her general practitioner each year with heavy menstrual loss.” (Gokyildiz, Aslan, Beji, & Mecdi, 2013)
In order to diagnose menorrhagia, a doctor will listen to the symptoms. These symptoms can include:
Tests may be ordered as well to help discover why someone may be having an extremely heavy period. Blood tests may show hormone imbalances, infections, or other causes. Ultrasounds can uncover fibroids or cysts and a whole host of other problems that could be behind excessive menstrual bleeding.
The symptoms discussed above do not accurately describe how menorrhagia can affect a person’s life. It can be a scary thing to experience huge clots of blood during period bleeding, large amounts of blood, or even continuous menstrual bleeding for months at a time. Struggling with these symptoms can cause anxiety, depression, and even affect your quality of life in general.
Studies show that the quality of life of those with menorrhagia is significantly lower than those without heavy menstrual bleeding (Gokyildiz, Aslan, Beji & Mecdi 2013). The impact can be felt by the person experiencing the symptoms, their family, and their wallet.
Though menorrhagia itself is not life threatening, it can cause complications to someone’s life. Managing frequent leaks, pain, fear, and isolation can be brutal. The time it takes to deal with the complications can impede one’s daily activities and relationships.
Stress levels can increase exponentially with heavy menstrual bleeding. Elevated stress levels can aggravate menstrual problems, including increasing pain, creating a vicious cycle. (Rafique, Al-Sheikh 2018).
Stress is not only caused by the cost of managing symptoms, but socially as well.
“The social taboo associated with speaking about periods forces women to stay silent thus resulting in medical problems, like anemia, and psychological stress. These facts hamper the physical and mental well-being of a woman, who actually act as a back bone of her family thus affecting the health of the whole family.” (Yusuf 2018)
As we see above, so much of the mental and emotional turmoil comes from the taboo associated with periods the world over. Breaking the stigma is crucial.
Periods are a natural part of life for many, but the problems that come with heavy menstrual bleeding and pain during periods are not. The ability to talk about these issues can go a long way to reducing stress, and getting the help needed to overcome them.
You may have heard the saying, “When Mama ain’t happy, no one is happy”. When someone is dealing with the stress menorrhagia can bring, that stress can trickle into their family, and affect their ability to care for themselves and others.
Relationships between partners can be affected greatly by menorrhagia. For some, reduced sexual encounters, irritability, and stress can take a toll.
Some people are afraid to go out for fear of unexpected leaks, limiting the time they can spend with their kids or partners. Some suffer in silence, leaving their loved ones to wonder why they are pulling away.
The cost associated with managing heavy periods is staggering. Replacing stained clothing or bedding can be expensive. Buying menstrual products and heavy period pad use adds up over time.
In fact, one study showed that, in the US alone, the estimated cost of managing menorrhagia and abnormal menstrual bleeding was around one billion dollars (Yusuf, 2018). Researchers believe this is a conservative estimate.
The cost of medical treatment can be astronomical depending on a person’s insurance coverage and treatment options.
Depending on the cause, what menorrhagia brings can be treated a number of ways. Birth control methods are usually the first option suggested, but those are not the right choice for everyone. Surgeries can also be an option for some.
According to the Mayo clinic: surgeries to treat menorrhagia can include:
Although surgery is a scary prospect for some, it might be a valid option. The kind of surgery options available depend heavily on a number of factors, including:
For example, someone with heavy periods after 40 with clots might benefit from hysterectomy while someone who is younger (and wants to become pregnant) may want to explore different options. Each person and each circumstance is different, so decisions should be made individually with advice from a medical professional.
Many people receive an ICD10 menorrhagia diagnosis each year. Each one is suffering in different degrees. While help is available, more research is needed to make healthcare more widely available, including empowering those with heavy periods to speak without fear.
Here are some resources available that have helped me personally as I have dealt with the pain and anxiety of my heavy periods. These are just my own recommendations.
Put a cup in it is a website dedicated to helping people with periods manage their flow. They have a quiz to help you determine if a menstrual cup is right for you and what kind. They also have a community on several social media platforms that I have found to be very supportive.
Lumma is a company that makes period products. Their menstrual disc literally changed my life. It can be worn for up to 12 hours, collects up to five tampons’ worth of menstrual fluid, and can be removed with a string. It was the first product I ever found to actually allow me to forget about my period and it reduced my stress levels immensely.
Period underwear: I was gobsmacked when I found out about underwear that could be worn instead of a pad to soak up period blood. These cloth garments have been super comfortable, breathable, and virtually leak proof for me. I also wear them as a backup to other methods on my heaviest days.
Gokyildiz, S., Aslan, E., Beji, N. K., & Mecdi, M. (2013). The Effects of Menorrhagia on Women’s Quality of Life: A Case-Control Study. ISRN obstetrics and gynecology, 2013, 918179. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/918179
Yusuf L. (2018). Menorraghia’s impact on quality of life: A case control study from a teaching Hospital in Lahore. Pakistan journal of medical sciences, 34(6), 1435–1438. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.346.15410
Rafique, N., & Al-Sheikh, M. H. (2018). Prevalence of menstrual problems and their association with psychological stress in young female students studying health sciences. Saudi medical journal, 39(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2018.1.21438
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