KissMeGoodnight
Article Series: Birth Control
What Are My Birth Control Options?
Birth
Control and Heavy Period (Menorrhagia)
Menorrhagia,
better known as heavy period, is a common problem for women.
This is because the woman may
suffer from severe anemia and the only way to save her life
is through blood transfusions. There are several causes such
as hormonal imbalance, uterine fibroids, polyps, dysfunction
of the ovaries, adenomyosis, IUD's, medications, pregnancy
complications and cancer. Of those mentioned, two are directly
linked to birth control.
A
hormonal imbalance may occur when you get too much
estrogen
and progesterone in your system. You have to remember
that these two hormones are produced by the body and when you
take pills that also carry this ingredient, a hormonal balance
occurs. This is prevalent among adolescent girls and women
who are nearing menopause.
Another is by using intrauterine devices or IUD's. Just like
pills, this T-shaped plastic device is either wrapped in copper
or contains hormones. Both are effective in preventing pregnancy
but if ever you experience heavy bleeding, you need to remove
it.
If you experience heavy bleeding as a result of either of
the birth control methods, it is best to see a doctor immediately
and tell that person when this happened.
Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history
before a physical exam will be done. These include blood tests,
an endometrial biopsy, Pap test and ultrasound scan.
Should there be additional tests needed, you
may undergo a sonohysterogram, a hysteroscopy or dilation
and curettage otherwise
known as D&C. This is done of course to rule out other
menstrual disorders.
Treatment for heavy period is based on your current health
and medical history. If it has been found that birth control
devices are the culprit, you may have to switch to another
device so this will never happen again.
Often
recommended by doctors are oral contraceptives because it
has been proven to help regulate ovulation and reduce episodes
of heavy periods. Since this may not go away right away, the
doctor may also prescribe NSAID's or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs to reduce the heavy period. They are also known to relieve
painful menstrual cramps.
There
are two types, namely combination birth control pills and
progestin only pills. You should keep in mind that there
are certain side effects in using them and if this is a problem,
you should ask your doctor to reduce the dosage or recommend
something else.
If birth control is not the reason and you are anemic, the
answer will be to take iron supplements as part of your daily
diet.
Should heavy periods still occur, this is the
time that surgery may be the final solution. Some examples
of these include Dilation
and curettage or D&C, operative hysteroscopy, endometrial
ablation, endometrial resection and hysterectomy.
Except for the last one mentioned, the others can be done
on an outpatient basis. You can check in the hospital or clinic
in the morning and be out by lunch or in the early afternoon.
The different birth control methods are effective in preventing
pregnancy but not all of them can protect you from sexually
transmitted diseases or STD's. Two of those mentioned above
are directly linked to heavy periods or menorrhagia so if you
don't want this to happen, you should be examined regularly
by a doctor and consider other conventional birth control methods.
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by KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2008
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