How to deal with heavy painful periods
During one menstrual cycle, my period was so heavy I remember waking within the middle of the night to the space spinning out of control. I felt debilitated, dizzy, and struggled to even walk to the restroom only two metres away. I nearly blacked out from the blood loss and thought to myself this will not be normal to experience a period this way.
Nearly passing out from the pain of your period should not be considered normal. The mixture of heavy and painful Menstruation each month are some things that ought to raise suspicion and be investigated further.
When I talked over these symptoms with my doctor, she sent me for an ultrasound along side a referral to a gynaecologist. The ultrasound results shocked me, indicating I even have a condition called Adenomyosis. A menstrual illness I had never even heard of ahead.
Adenomyosis pronounced advertisement-uh- no-my-O-sis. Adeno (gland), myo ( muscle), osis ( condition) may be a condition of the uterus (womb) where endometrial tissue exists within and grows into the uterine wall and affects one in five assigned females at birth. It’s said to be at least as bad as endometriosis, occasionally worse, mainly because it goes undiagnosed.
While my diagnosis was certainly unexpected, it also made me question how multiple other people like me did not realize the illness and are putting up with painful, heavy Menstruation in silence.
Passionate about raising awareness for the condition is Interventional Radiology Specialist, Doctor Eisen Liang from the Sydney Fibroid Clinic, “ Adenomyosis may be a little known and under-recognised condition which will cause heavy and painful Menstruation. Mindfulness and clinical suspicion by GPs are the keys to reaching an early diagnosis.”
On average the disease can take up to nine to twelve years to be correctly diagnosed and a standard misconception is that it only affects people in their thirties and forties, however, this is often not true because it also can appear in youthful adolescents also . In my case, I believe I used to be un-diagnosed with both endometriosis and adenomyosis for up to fifteen years, as I have struggled with symptoms from both conditions since my teenage years.
So, what are the symptoms to seem out for no matter your age?
Symptoms
Even so, experience heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, severe cramping, If you’re changing your sanitary pad too often during the day.Due to the excessive bleeding people also can develop anaemia ( deficiency in the number of red blood cells) or iron deficiency causing tiredness and dizziness.
While adenomyosis are often tough to identify, there are several options to help in receiving a correct medical diagnosis.
The first option is an ultrasound with a high-definition transvaginal probe. Ideally, this could be performed by a gynaecologist or sonographer that specialises in these specific health conditions.
The alternate option is an MRI ( magnetic resonance Imaging) which can collect pictures of soft tissue like organs and muscles that will not show up on ultrasound. Doctor Liang says that in clinical practice MRI is way more accurate in diagnosing adenomyosis compared to the more subtle signs on ultrasound.
Treatments
Painful, heavy Menstruation are often hard to manage so finding the proper treatment plan can help to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life for multiple people.Short term treatment options include pain-relieving medications, menstrual cycle suppression and induced temporary menopause. It is important to note that while these courses of action may assist in reducing period pain and heavy bleeding, they will not address the underlying disease.
Currently, the Mirena, a hormone-releasing IUD is that the most effective non-surgical treatment option available. While multiple people have a positive experience from the Mirena, some may develop significant side effects so it are often a case of trial and error to seek out the foremost suitable option.
From a surgical perspective, hysterectomy is formed available for suitable candidates like those that have already born and do not wish to possess any more children. While a hysterectomy provides a cure by removing the uterus and ridding the body of the disease, it is major surgery with potential dangers and complications and thus should be considered with caution and as a final resort.
Currently, Australia has the very best rate of hysterectomy in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. Dr Liang says, “ In Australia, we do 250 hysterectomies per one thousand women per year. Compared to Denmark who features a similar demographic and standard of living who only do twenty hysterectomies per one thousand women per year.”
“ we have a safe, minimally invasive, non-surgical alternative to hysterectomy called uterine artery embolisation (UAE) which is understood to reduce heavy Menstruation, relieve pain and is as effective in ninety per cent of ladies affected by adenomyosis.”
During the procedure tiny particles are injected inside the uterine arteries to block the blood flow, thereby starving the adenomyosis tissue, helping to alleviate symptoms.
As I even have not had children, a number of these treatments are currently not an option including hysterectomy and UAE but a minimum of I do know what is available when the time comes. After years of being undiagnosed and feeling my menstruation was not normal, I now have a way of confirmation and feel more empowered than ever to better manage my menstrual health.