Dont Be A Couch Potatoe
Get up and get moving when your cycle kicks in. Says Molinaro, There are no specific activities to avoid. Some women find that exercise and the associated release of endorphins may help to lessen the cramping and pain experienced during their period.This boost of endorphins is also great for counteracting mood swingsso you can stay on the up-and-up.
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How To Stop Your Period Early
This article was co-authored by Rebecca Levy-Gantt, MPT, DO. Dr. Rebecca Levy-Gantt is a board certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist running a private practice based in Napa, California. Dr. Levy-Gantt specializes in menopause, peri-menopause and hormonal management, including bio-Identical and compounded hormone treatments and alternative treatments. She is also a Nationally Certified Menopause Practitioner and is on the national listing of physicians who specialize in menopausal management. She received a Masters of Physical Therapy from Boston University and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 70 testimonials and 100% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 5,730,312 times.
Menstruation for some people can be extremely painful, and a heavy flow makes for an unpleasant period. There are ways to shorten, lighten, or even stop your period, depending on your needs. Always consult your doctor first, but if you need a few quick tips about how to stop your period, read on.
Check If You Have Heavy Periods
You may have heavy periods if you:
- need to change your pad or tampon every 1 to 2 hours, or empty your menstrual cup more often than is recommended
- need to use 2 types of sanitary product together, such as a pad and a tampon
- have periods lasting more than 7 days
- pass blood clots larger than about 2.5cm
- bleed through to your clothes or bedding
- avoid daily activities, like exercise, or take time off work because of your periods
- feel tired or short of breath a lot
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Try A Contraceptive Implant To Stop Your Period
Birth Control Options Galore
Birth control isnt just for keeping your eggo not preggo. Hormonal birth control helps regulate your cycle. In addition to easing cramps and other messy menstrual symptoms, it helps shorten the duration of your period.
Some hormonal options, like the Depo-Provera shot, can stop your period for months at a time. Keep in mind, it can take a few months for the full effect to kick in. Definitely talk to your doctor about whats best for you.
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Dont Use Cleansers With Artificial Fragrance
Using soaps, sprays, or creams with perfumes can also cause vaginal irritation and should be avoided, says Molinaro. If you have a strong vaginal odor, it is best to see your gynecologist in case there is an infection or imbalance that can be treated.
Ob-gyn Jessica A. Shepherd, MD, adds that perfumes contribute to an overgrowth of odor-producing bacteria, so try using a more natural product like SweetSpot On-the-Go Wipes when you want to freshen up during your cycle .
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How Heavy Is Too Heavy
If youve just come off the Pill, or have a newly inserted intrauterine device, your first few periods may be heavier as your hormone levels readjust. The same can happen after youve given birth. If youve neither had a baby nor started taking hormonal contraception, and heavy menstrual bleeding comes on suddenly after years of a lighter flow, it could be triggered by a hormonal disruption, such as endometriosis or fibroids. So if your period feels abnormally heavy to you, and youre in serious pain, dont wait to speak to your doctor.
Stopped Or Missed Periods
There are many reasons why you may miss your period, or why periods may stop altogether.
Some common reasons are:
- breast tenderness
Symptoms usually start and can intensify in the 2 weeks before your period, and then ease and disappear after your period starts.
Read more about PMS, including symptoms and treatment.
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Choose The Right Period Products
There are plenty of nighttime period products to choose from. Natracare Maxi pads are soft and absorbent, and unlike tampons, will keep you comfortable through the whole night. To put your mind at ease, or if your period is especially heavy this month, try covering the entire area of your pants by using two pads instead.
Still leaking? We hear you, it happens to the best of us. If youre down with the idea, reusables might solve all your problems. You wont even realise youre menstruating with a cup, and reusable underwear like WUKAs or cloth pads like Period aisle can absorb all without bleeding through.
When To See A Doctor For Heavy Periods
You should see your GP urgently if youre nearing menopause and have irregular, heavy periods or are past menopause and have vaginal bleeding.
If you arent near or past menopause and notice that your periods have been significantly heavier than usual for one or two months, see your GP.
Signs that your periods are heavy include:
- Bleeding lasting for more than seven days
- Having large clots in your menstrual blood clots may be about the size of a 10p coin or bigger
- Needing to use two sanitary products at the same time
- Needing to change your sanitary product in the middle of the night
- Soaking through your sanitary product in an hour
As heavy periods can also cause anaemia, look out for signs such as extremetiredness , shortness of breath and pale skin. These are all signs that you have lost more blood than your body can cope with and youll need treatment.
Your GP will work with you to put together a treatment plan that fits with your lifestyle and reduces your symptoms as much as possible.
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What Can You Do To Feel Better
If you have severe cramping during your periods, taking an NSAID such as ibuprofen or naproxen may help. An NSAID works best when you start taking it 1 to 2 days before you expect pain to start. If you dont know when your period will start next, take your first dose as soon as bleeding or cramping starts.
Heavy periods can make you feel weak and run-down and can lead to anemia. Your doctor may suggest that you take an iron supplement if your iron levels are low. You may be able to prevent anemia if you increase the amount of iron in your diet. Foods rich in iron include red meat, shellfish, eggs, and beans.
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How To Stop Your Period For A Night
There are medications available that will allow you to delay and stop your period. Our Online Doctor service offers Norethisterone which can delay your period by up to 17 days, but you can chose how long you would like to stop your period for. This treatment is available on the NHS, and however you will need a prescription from your GP to get Norethisterone tablets.
With Online Doctor you can start your online consultation straight away and pick up your tablets from your local LloydsPharmacy. However, for your safety your doctor or our pharmacists may want to measure your height, weight and take your blood pressure to check your suitability for the tablets.
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How Can Hormones Help
Painkillers like ibuprofen and diclofenac both of which are non-steroidal are often used for the relief of menstrual pain and cramps, and also for heavy periods. In addition to relieving the pain, they may also help to lower the amount of blood lost. Acetylsalicylic acid is not suitable for heavy periods because it has an anti-clotting effect so it can increase the amount of blood lost during menstruation.
The most common side effects of NSAIDs are stomach problems, nausea, vomiting, headaches and drowsiness. The women who took NSAIDs for heavy periods in studies didn’t experience many more side effects than women who took a placebo for comparison.
Another medication that can help in the treatment of heavy periods is tranexamic acid. It affects blood clotting and reduces the tendency to bleed. Studies have shown it to be more effective than NSAIDs. Tranexamic acid may cause headaches, tiredness and muscle cramps. But these side effects are not more common than with NSAIDs.
There is no good-quality research on whether herbal products can relieve heavy periods.
If excessive loss of blood is causing extreme tiredness, iron deficiency anemia is probably the reason. It is normally treated by taking iron tablets. Iron supplements may have side effects such as stomach ache and constipation, and can cause your stool to turn black.
Sometime In Your 40s Or 50s You Will Experience The Process Of Menopause This Represents The Natural Decline In Fertility And The End Of The Menstrual Cycle Find Out What To Expect As You Go Through Menopause
Eventually, menstruation comes to an end, typically in the late 40s or early 50s. When you have had no periods for a full year, you are considered to be menopausal. The period of time when your periods are slowing down, becoming irregular, and your hormones are changing is called perimenopause. Most women experience some symptoms related to the change in hormones that happens as the cycles slow down. There are many things you can do to cope with perimenopausal symptoms if they become difficult to manage.
Explore Menopause:
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Do Natural Methods Work
There is little research to support any claims that natural methods, such as apple cider vinegar, can cause a person to delay or skip their period.
If a person is opposed to using hormonal methods to delay their period, using a menstrual cup may be an alternative. This does not delay a period, but it can prevent any leakage without using tampons or sanitary pads.
Menstrual cups fit over the cervix and collect the menstrual flow, allowing people to participate in a range of day-to-day activities without changing menstrual products as frequently.
How Does This Work
Menstrual symptoms, including heavy periods, affect quality of life for many women. Heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the most common reasons women visit a gynaecologist, accounting for up to 30% of visits.
One study found menstrual symptoms including pain, heavy bleeding and low mood may be linked to nearly nine days of lost productivity per woman every year.
Read more:Period pain is impacting women at school, uni and work. Let’s be open about it
Women who have heavy bleeding, and who experience painful periods, have elevated levels of hormones called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins act to dilate blood vessels, slow the clotting process and also help the body shed the uterine lining by inducing muscle contractions. So having higher levels of these hormones can lead to heavier bleeding and more severe cramping.
Ibuprofen has been shown to reduce prostaglandin levels in the lining of the uterus, which may be one way it reduces menstrual flow, though the exact mechanism remains uncertain.
This process may also be part of the reason ibuprofen can be an effective first-line treatment option for painful periods.
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Take Hormonal Birth Control Pills
What Causes Women To Have Period
Periods or cyclical vaginal bleeding is normal in women during their childbearing years. It occurs because body hormones cause your uterine endometrium to thicken. During each menstruation, this thick endometrium is washed out in period.
Your period cycle, also called the menstrual cycle, is the time difference between 2 periods. At the beginning of your period, there is a low level of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is the dominant hormone in the first half of your cycle and it is responsible for the proliferation of the endometrium.
After ovulation and release of the egg, progesterone level begins to rise and makes the endometrium thicker and glandular.
In women that have intercourse during their ovulation period, the sperm from the man may fuse with the egg released. If this happens, the thickened and matured endometrium helps provide an environment for implantation and growth of the embryo or baby.
However, if there is no fertilization, then your thickened endometrium is shredded out as period.
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Diagnosis Of Painful Periods And Heavy Bleeding
UT Southwesterns experienced gynecologists conduct a thorough evaluation, which includes a:
- Review of personal medical history, including details of the patients menstrual cycle
- Discussion of symptoms
Patients should bring information about the dates and lengths of their last several periods. For sexually active patients, a pelvic exam will be performed to check for infections and to examine the cervix.
To diagnose heavy bleeding and painful periods, our doctors usually recommend one or more tests, such as:
- Blood tests to look for signs of iron deficiency, thyroid disorders, or blood-clotting abnormalities
- Ultrasound: Diagnostic tools that use sound waves to produce images of the pelvic organs. Used to look for any abnormalities
- Pap smear: Sample of cells from the cervix that are examined under a microscope for infection or changes that can lead to cancer or already are cancerous
- Endometrial biopsy: A test that samples a small amount of endometrial tissue for examination under a microscope
- Magnetic resonance imaging scans: Equipment that uses a large magnet and radio waves to produce detailed images of pelvic organs
Based on the results of these tests, we might recommend further testing, such as:
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How Long Can You Stop Your Period For
You can technically stop your period for as long as you want or need to, using a variety of birth control methods. However, you should consult with a physician regarding the safety of skipping menstruation for an extended period of time. It may or may not be safe depending on each individual person.
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What Should I Expect After Menstrual Suppression Treatment
Menstrual suppression can be used for as long as desired. Many teens do continue to have difficult menstrual periods through their adult years, so it is important to discuss with your doctor before stopping treatment.
Using medication for menstrual suppression does not affect a womans ability to have a baby later. When a woman stops her medication, periods will return as they would if the treatment was never used.
Take Time To Menstruate
Sure, it sounds corny to take a few days off from your usual life just to sit on the couch and bleed, but sometimes its just what your body needs. Susun Weed calls it Crones Time Away, and its all about acknowledging the changes your bodys going through. As you take time off from your usual routine or duties, make space to ponder the meaning of your fertility cycle and how its end will change you, for whether you will it or not change is coming. For me, that kind of time is bittersweet. I relish the time when my life is no longer dominated by the hormonal ups and downs of fertility, yet I grieve the passing of my child-bearing years just as well. Flooding, as much as I wish Id never experienced it, gives me time and reason to acknowledge my grief then tip the emotional scales in the direction of moving into my Elder Years free of regrets over what might have been.
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