Menorrhagia

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Menorrhagia

Don’t assume that heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding is just the way your body works. Excessive bleeding may be the sign of a condition called menorrhagia. The team of caring, expert OB/GYNs at The Center for Women’s Health offers treatments to alleviate your bleeding. Call the office in Newport News, Virginia, or schedule an appointment online to get started with your menorrhagia treatment today.

Menorrhagia Q & A

What is menorrhagia?

Women almost universally agree that they don’t look forward to their period. But if your menstrual cycle comes with such heavy bleeding and cramping that you can’t maintain your usual daily activities, it’s time to talk to one of the doctors at The Center for Women’s Health. If you live with menorrhagia — or heavy, prolonged menstrual bleeding — The Center for Women’s Health offers effective treatment to ease your bleeding and discomfort.

How is menorrhagia different from normal menstrual bleeding?

Every woman’s menstrual flow is unique, but there are a few key indicators that your bleeding is severe enough to be diagnosed as menorrhagia.

The symptoms of menorrhagia include:

  • Bleeding for more than seven days
  • Regularly bleeding through sanitary products in a couple of hours or less
  • Doubling your sanitary products to try to keep up with the blood flow
  • Passing blood clots that are bigger than a quarter

If you modify your daily activities while you’re on your period to accommodate your heavy flow, you may have menorrhagia.

The heavy bleeding can also cause anemia, which is marked by fatigue or shortness of breath.

How is menorrhagia treated?

Some cases of menorrhagia can be managed with medication. If medication is ineffective, The Center for Women’s Health also offers endometrial ablation.

With endometrial ablation, your OB/GYN removes a small, targeted amount of your endometrium, or the lining of your uterus. This reduces your menstrual flow.

The Center for Women’s Health offers two in-office endometrial ablation procedures:

Her Option™

This treatment uses the power of cold to ablate your uterine lining. You won’t need any incisions and the treatment itself takes just minutes.

Her Option comes with minimal side effects. Some women report mild cramping after treatment, but it typically resolves in a few hours.

NovaSure®

Another quick, no-incision treatment, NovaSure takes just five minutes. Rather than using cold to freeze your endometrium, it uses radiofrequency.

NovaSure comes with minimal downtime. Some women head back to work as soon as the next day.

Both of these treatments are designed for women who are done having children.

To get started with your menorrhagia care, call The Center for Women’s Health or book an appointment online today.