As women, we have many different “pet names” for our monthly visitor. from my own experience, I would hate to give something that gives me so much grief, a pet name – after all, aren’t pet names usually reserved for someone we love?
After speaking with my friends, I know that I am not alone when I say that I dislike going to the gyno VERY MUCH. I often want to be in and out, and usually do not ask all the questions I probably should ask. When it comes to having a heavy flow, women should take the time to ask their health care provider about options in order to make their periods lighter and more bearable.
HealthyWomen has compiled a list of questions you should consider before your next gyno visit:
- Do you want contraception as part of reducing your heavy flow?
- Are you comfortable with taking a pill every day throughout the month or do you prefer to take medication only during your period?
- Do you prefer a hormonal or non-hormonal treatment option?
- Does your health care professional recommend hormone therapy for you? Do you know why or why not?
- Do you want to preserve your fertility?
- Are you willing to consider a surgical procedure?
Now, I know what a lot of people might be thinking – I’ve dealt with this issue for so long, why should I do anything about it now? Well, heavy periods can be debilitating to many women. They feel that it may be normal and really do not want to acknowledge that there might be other underlying issues that may be causing a heavy flow. This about the following questions. If you answer “yes” to any of them, you should talk to your health care provider:
- Does your bleeding soak through one or more pads or tampons every hour for several hours?
- Do you need to change your sanitary protection during the night?
- Do you often double up sanitary protection to manage your heavy flow?
- Does your period make you miss school or work?
- Do you have to organize social, leisure and physical activities around your period?
- Does your heavy period limit your daily activities? If yes, how many days on average each month?
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Ferring Pharmaceuticals and received a promotional item to facilitate my review.