Skip to main content

Factors that Cause and Factors that Prevent Menstrual Blood Loss

Image
By
Menstrual bleeding is controlled by factors that allow us to bleed and shed the lining, and factors that stop the bleeding. Like other areas of our body what is important is the “not too hot, not to cold, but just right” concept perpetuated by Goldilocks. And in our uterine lining, it’s no different. If there are too many factors causing the blood loss, menstrual bleeding is too heavy. If too much clot, then could be none at all…ok that sounds too good on the too hot side who wants to bleed anyway?! But you get my drift, balance is important. Women with heavy menstrual bleeding have increased plasminogen activators called “enzymatic ‘clot busters’ “ by Dr. David Grimes. In order to balance this off, plasminogen activator inhibitor (or antifibrinolytics) can be given to decrease bleeding. Ibuprofen, naproxen, mefenamic acid, or meclofenamate sodium, and we can even use birth control pills which change the whole physiology of our lining and make it so thin there is not much to bleed off. Ok, back up, too many big words, yep, you know my advice: talk to your gyno. When things are wrong we have the ABCs of how to approach it: Ask what is wrong, Be aware of alternatives, and then Carefully select a solution. Actually, that mnemonic is a bit off, just made it up. Many women select their type of birth control pill based on whether they will have periods or will not have periods. And a group of gynos from around the country publishing under NIH grant R03 TW007438 looked specifically at whether taking a long cycle pill, and skipping periods, would be better for controlling menstrual cramps, or dysmenorrhea. Actually for many in the first 6 months, the longer cycle pills were a bit better, but after that othe groups did well and did not have as many menstrual cramps. So for women who do want to still have light regular periods, be aware that you can achieve control of your menstrual pain this way too. Remember balance is important in all treatments, the side effects of the treatments must always be considered. And understanding the checks and balances in our body is a path to solutions.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments and questions. WE hope you will buy our book, https://www.gynogab.com/shop This blog is not intended to replace medical care, but is informational only. We hope you will become a follower or visit Womens Health Practice. We offer a variety of unique services including MonaLisa Touch, Coolsculpting, Labiaplasty, and Gynecoloigic Clinical Research Trials. For more information on menopause see

Popular posts from this blog

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

By
If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...
647 comments
Read more

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

By
Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously.  It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods  Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...
311 comments
Read more

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

By
Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...
199 comments
Read more