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You experience a number of symptoms associated with heavy periods. You’re not alone; 1 in 20 women consult their GP about heavy periods every year.
The good news is that with the right diagnosis and treatment, the majority of women are able to find balance and maintain great gynae health… which means you can too!
Should you be on red alert?
Living with heavy periods can be distressing. There’s the physical and emotional toll your symptoms can have on you and there’s the uncertainty of not knowing if something more serious is going on behind the scenes.
While heavy periods aren’t always a sign that something is wrong, having an awareness of common (and not so common) gynaecological conditions puts you in the best position to advocate for yourself when you’re speaking to a doctor.
Speak to a specialist
Bloomful Clinic connects you to world-class gynaecologists who partner with you to get to the root of the problem. Stress less with a personalised pathway designed to help you feel your best.
Causes of heavy periods can include:
Fibroids, which are noncancerous growths that develop inside and around the uterus. They can increase bleeding in a few ways. For example, they can put pressure on the walls of the uterus, making it harder for it to contract and control bleeding. Read more
Endometriosis is a long-term condition in which endometrial tissue that is meant to grow along the uterine lining goes rogue and ends up growing in places outside the uterus (for example, on your ovaries). This tissue sheds every month, along with your period, causing a heavier flow. It can also become inflamed, which leads to pain and bleeding. Read more
Adenomyosis is similar to endometriosis, with one main difference: instead of endometrial tissue growing outside the uterus, in adenomyosis, it grows into the muscles of the uterus.
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding is a common condition that causes vaginal bleeding to occur outside of your period.
Cervical abnormalities can cause excess bleeding. For example, cervical erosion is when cells that normally line the inside of your cervix start growing on the outside of your cervix (the lower end of the uterus). These cells are more sensitive and can cause bleeding or spotting during or after sex. They can also lead to vaginal discharge that contains blood.
Blood thinning medications that are used to treat blood clots can increase the time it takes for blood clots to form. This, in turn, leads to more bleeding.
Gynaecological cancers, while rare, can lead to changes in your normal periods including heavier periods and bleeding between periods.
Please be mindful that this list is here to educate and isn’t meant to be a diagnostic tool 🙏🏽
Should you just go with the flow?
Here’s why it’s important to get to the bottom of your heavy periods:
1) While they aren’t necessarily cause for concern, heavy periods can signal an underlying condition that could have a long-term impact on your health and fertility. Rather than leaving you feeling worried about this, we want to empower you to seek out answers that could prevent symptoms from worsening.
2) There are effective treatments that can help you manage your symptoms. Period. Historically, it hasn’t always been easy for women to access these, but Bloomful is here to shake things up.
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