How Can I Stop Heavy Periods
If youve heard that the only options for treating heavy periods are hormone therapy or surgery, thats not true! Just like there are many causes of menorrhagia, there are many treatment options available. Were often able to manage heavy periods with treatments ranging from diet changes to prescription medication.
Menorrhagia can usually be managed with medication and lifestyle changes. In some cases, heavy periods caused by fibroids, growths or endometriosis might be best treated with surgery. The best way to know which treatment options will work best for you is to talk to a doctor.
When To See A Doctor
If a person is interested in stopping their period, they may consider talking with their doctor about doing so safely.
A doctor can suggest different birth control methods that stop a period altogether or only allow it to occur four times a year.
A person should also ask their doctor about the risk associated with taking ibuprofen. Ibuprofen can cause damage to the stomach lining, and a person should avoid taking high doses unless a doctor advises them to do so.
Can You Get Pregnant With An Irregular Period
Absolutely yes, says Lynn. Sometimes you can ovulate with irregular cycles, sometimes you dont ovulate with irregular cycles. If you’re not ovulating, you’re not going to get pregnant, but if you are ovulating with irregular cycles, you can. You can have bleeding without ovulating but it’s a real period only if you ovulate. You should use contraception if not desiring pregnancy and to protect against STDs.
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Start Exercising And Eating Well
A good hormone-free alternative is to try to eat a healthy, balanced diet packed with lots of fruit and veg.
Exercise is also supposed to help lighten your menstrual flow, and it’s also useful for reducing water retention, bloating and cramps.
Obviously, no bloody experience is the same and exercise isn’t always realistic if you suffer from really heavy, painful periods. But if you can, working out every day might help.
Where Can I Get The Period Delay Pill
Chemist Boots have offered a period delay service for several years and Superdrug have now launched their own which cuts out the need to go to the GP.
The service is available at Boots for women aged 16-54 who are not using any other kind of contraceptive pill or hormonal contraceptive, but you must be over the age of 18 to use Superdrugs service.
The process of getting the pill is slightly different between the two:
- Boots require you to fill in a simple, 5 minute online clinic form to assess suitability. Once your application has been approved by the clinicians in their pharmacies , you can then collect the medication for free from one of their 2,300 stores, or pay for delivery, including next day. Boots offer a 20-day delay service.
- Superdrug offers the pills through their Online Doctor service, on a walk-in basis or by making an appointment with its health clinic. If you go in person, youll have a consultation with one of their pharmacy team, fill in a questionnaire about your suitability and can then buy the pill on the spot. Superdrug offer 10, 20, and 30-day length packets of medication.
If you take the combined contraceptive pill, then you dont need to worry about delaying your period with a new pill. Take two packets back-to-back and skip the one-week break in between and youre period will be delayed until you next take your pill break.
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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.
When To Seek Help
If this period that keeps coming and going has occurred several cycles in a row or you have any other symptoms like increased pain, bleeding or spotting outside of your menstrual window, its best to visit your primary health care provider or gynaecologist for a check up to make sure nothing else is going on. With other more serious causes ruled out, focus on the strategies above to gently bring your body back into balance.
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How To Delay Your Period
You can delay your period with certain forms of hormonal birth control. But that’s about all that will work.
Don’t be fooled into thinking home remedies like drinking apple cider vinegar or lemon juice every day will help. “None of these DIY home remedies will delay your period,” says Sherry Ross, MD, an OB-GYN with her own private practice.
Therefore, if you’ve just noticed that you have a big day coming up that happens to fall on the same day as your period, here are two forms of hormonal medication that may help you.
What If I Do Bleed In Waterwould People Be Able To See It And Would It Attract Sharks
Nope and nope! Those are only myths. If youre planning to get into the bathtub or go swimming without using a tampon or menstrual cup, rest assured that there will be no red, bloody trail behind you, says Dr. Haughton.
Most women bleed only 60 milliliters over five whole days, says Dr. Haughton. Even if youre free-flowing into the pool for five hours, theres no way that water is going to turn into the Red Sea with the amount of blood coming out of your body. Even a whole pool full of people on their periods wouldnt give the water even the tiniest pink tinge.
And theres absolutely no chance that this tiny amount of menstrual blood will attract every shark in the ocean , so lets put that theory to rest right now. Whenever I hear the shark myth I think, How much do you people think youre bleeding? Its not like youre waving around a bloody arm, says Dr. Haughton.
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Maintaining A Healthy Weight
Fluctuating weight equally affects your periods as there is a high likelihood of your menstrual cycle being inconsistent. There are high chances of people with low body fat to miss their periods, while those who are obese are more likely to have heavier flows and irregular periods.
Overweight women have excess fat cells that are converted into estrogen and estrone. The excess estrogen that they produce causes menstrual disorders like going for months without ovulating. The failure to ovulate means that the uterine wall is still accumulating to the point where it is unstable thus causing very heavy bleeding. The heavy bleeding might last longer than usual.
Underweight women are equally susceptible to irregular periods. Being underweight means that the body does not have enough fat cells to convert into estrogen hence interfering with ovulation. As a result, underweight women might go for months without bleeding.
Don’t Keep It A Secret
Theres a reason you have a maid/matron of honor, and nows the time to clue her in. She can help you come to the wedding prepared so that a situation doesnt escalate and become a full-on crisis. Shell keep calm and put things into perspective so that you can enjoy yourself, even with a period on wedding day.
However awkward it may be, your MOH should accompany you to the bathroom so that she could keep your gown out of harms way.
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Treatment Options: Can You Fix Irregular Periods
If stress is a possible culprit in your irregular cycle, try stress management techniques, such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, visualization, cognitive behavioral therapy, and biofeedback. Avoid over-exercising, and try not to diet excessively. If you need help figuring out whats best for you, contact a registered dietitian. For all medical issues, consult your healthcare professional.
Irregular Periods Can Be Caused By Non
Lynn points out that irregular menstrual cycles can also be caused by:
- Perimenopause As you enter the transition to menopause, which can last as long as 10 years, your menstrual cycles will become erratic as part of the process. If you skip more than two periods, you are probably in late perimenopause. Its been estimated that 70 percent of women experience menstrual irregularities in the approach to menopause.
- Stress and anxiety Chronic stress or even short-term anxiety about a specific problem can wreak havoc with your hormone balance, causing a missed period and irregular cycle.
- Extreme exercise Exercising too much can throw off the timing of menstrual bleeding and sometimes stop it.
- Eating disorders, extreme dieting, or weight loss Being underweight, whether from extreme exercise, dieting, an eating disorder, or illness, can have the same effect.
- Age As mentioned, perimenopause and menopause have a major effect. But being young can create irregularities as well. Once menstruation begins in young women, it can take several years before it falls into a pattern, says Lynn.
- Birth control And not just birth control pills IUDs, implants, and rings can also cause irregular bleeding.
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Stopping Menstruation For Day Or Night
There are a number of methods that can be used to make your flow stop for a day or night. Various reasons for this include:
- When planning a special evening with their partners
- When celebrating special occasions like their birthdays
- If they suffer from PMS and are looking for a way to reduce or eliminate their symptoms.
If this is the case for you, think about using any of the following options:
- Using gelatin
- Taking ibuprofen
- The party wayalcohol is known to assist in stopping the periods for a certain The method is however limited as you cannot take alcohol every time you want to stop your flow for a few hours
- Taking vinegar
Don’t You Wish Your Periods Could Be Shorter And Lighter Well It Can Be Made Possible
Every month as you deal with cramps during periods, all you want is for the dreaded five days to pass in a blur. But not every wish comes true, right? Wrong. While it’s not practically possible to put on a fast-forward mode, you can make your periods end faster than usual.
Here are 4 simple ways to do that:
Exercise regularly
According to a report published in LiveStrong, exercise can have a significant impact on your menstrual cycle. By keeping fit and maintaining a regular exercise routine, you may shorten and lighten your menstrual flow. Moreover, it’s going to make your period cramps go away. It also reduces stress, and even alleviates mood, because of the release of ‘happy hormones’ called endorphins.
Bank on vitamin C
According to a report published in the blog Menstrual Cycle Calculator, “If you take this vitamin in right amount, it can reduce the level of progesterone inside your uterus and help to shed the walls of your uterus a lot quicker. This will help to end your menstrual cycle faster than normal.” However, make sure you drink lots of water and consult a doctor before taking in large doses of vitamin C.
Have Lots of Sex
Use sanitary napkins instead of tampons
So there you go ladies, happy periods!
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Period Problem: Missing Periods
The absence of menstrual periods before menopause is called amenorrhea . You may have amenorrhea if you:
- Havent had a period for three months in a row
- Havent had your first period by age 15
Amenorrhea happens in 3% to 4% of women.
Amenorrhea that is not caused by pregnancy or breastfeeding could mean that your ovaries stopped making normal amounts of the hormone estrogen. Missing this hormone can have serious effects on your health.
Causes of amenorrhea include:
Avoid Alcohol Caffeine And Salty Foods
Bloating is no joke, and to make sure you can fit into your wedding dress on your big day, stay away from foods that make period bloat even worse.
Sodium, or salty foods, cause water retention, so avoid anything high in sodium and cut back on adding salt to your food starting a week before your wedding day. If youre accustomed to having a daily cup of Joe, youll also want to start weaning yourself off a week before your big day. Coffee is acidic, and it can irritate the stomach.
Other foods that cause bloating include artificial sweeteners, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and refined sugars and flours.
Drink plenty of water, although you may want to come back on your actual wedding day to avoid having to make too many trips to the bathroom.
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Why Its Not Possible To Stop A Period That Has Already Started
It isnt possible to stop a period that has already started, because the shedding process in the lining of the uterus has already started.
This process happens close to the end of the menstrual cycle, when the levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease, which causes the internal lining of the uterus to shed and that leads to the bleeding that occurs during a period.
Massage With Essential Oil
Simply massaging your abdominal muscles relaxes the uterine contractions. This may help divert blood away from the uterus. Doing this repeatedly may help stop your flow early and fast. This procedure will also help relieve some of the symptoms accompanying your period, such as cramps and bloating.
This is what you need to do:
- Mix some amounts of lavender oil and sage oil
- Into the mixture, add three some amount of warm almond oil
- Use the oil to massage the abdominal and pelvic area
- Do this twice or thrice to stop your period
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Watermelon For The Win
Like cucumber, watermelon is believed by some to possess cooling properties that can keep bleeding at bay. As far as science is concerned, the jury is still out on this remedy.
However, there is evidence to support the diuretic effects of watermelon. So add watermelon to your menu if its bloating you want to escape rather than bleeding.
While science cant confirm the aforementioned natural remedies to put off your period, you can rely on good old Western medicine for proven results.