Do you suffer from very heavy & debilitating periods?? Have you always been regular and not had heavy periods but are now experiencing them??
Adenomyosis
Sometimes heavy periods in the perimenopause can be misdiagnosed. There is something called Adenomyosis – it is sort of like endometriosis & can get missed.
Adenomyosis is a condition that causes the lining of the womb (the endometrium) to bury into the muscular wall of the womb.
It can affect the whole womb or just one part of the womb.
Adenomyosis isn’t life-threatening, but the symptoms can have a big impact on everyday life.
Symptoms
It’s possible to have adenomyosis and have no symptoms. Symptoms you might experience include:
- heavy periods that last for a long time
- severe period pain
- a feeling of pressure in your tummy
- bloating
We can go through a lot of pain & it is amazing how much women can cope with!! However, we shouldn’t have to go through all of this pain because of ‘women’s issues’!!
Irregularities in your cycle, painful periods and heavy bleeding can have devastating effects on your life – whether that’s from the cramping pain, the inconvenience of heavy bleeds and embarrassment of flooding or the general discomfort of it all.
But you don’t need to and shouldn’t suffer in silence.
What can you do? What is the treatment
There are now lots of different options out there for women – so it’s worth asking for help. Typical conventional medicine will offer:
- Speak to your doctor if you are having very heavy periods and ask them to check them out
- anti-inflammatory medication to help relieve mild pain
- treatment during your period to help reduce the amount of menstrual blood loss
- hormone therapy such as the contraceptive pill, to help control heavy or painful periods
- a hysterectomy (removal of the womb) – this would only be considered in extreme cases.
Non-conventional / Natural treatment
- start to monitor your periods. Write down how often, how heavy and what the pain levels are like.
- monitor how regularly or irregularly you are having your periods
- start being aware of what your tiredness levels are like. IF you are bleeding heavily then you are more prone to becoming anaemic. Either get a blood test and check iron and vitamin B12 levels are
- Maybe try avoiding cows dairy – dairy can make your periods heavier & could worsen the underlying inflammation that drives adenomyosis & endometriosis.
- Maybe try avoiding gluten – this can also make the immune system more dysfunctional
- maintain healthy gut bacteria as a healthy gut can help get rid of excess oestrogen in the body.
- Supplements/Herbs to try – turmeric – helps lighten periods, Zinc – helps with period pain & inflammation.
Here is a podcast from the Latte Lounge with a specialist in this area – Dr Heather Currie MBE, about the causes of heavy bleeding and irregular periods during the perimenopause and menopause years.
Dr Heather Currie MBE is a gynaecologist and founder of Menopause Matters, an informative website for women in their 40s onwards. She is the past chair of the British Menopause Society and is all about raising awareness of women’s health.
In the podcast episode, Dr Currie talks about what happens to our menstrual cycles as we age. She helps us understand what is ‘normal’ for periods, when we should be concerned and what underlying issues might cause heavy bleeding.
She also explains why feeling tired may be related to your heavy periods and what the many different treatment options are for heavy bleeding and irregular cycles. It is a really interesting podcast and it is worth listening to. Here is the link to it:
https://www.lattelounge.co.uk/the-latte-lounge-podcast/
