Light relief

Women no longer have to simply put up with the trials of heavy periods. There is a range of treatments that may help stem the flow.

- Nicky Pellegrino

Many women know all about the misery of heavy periods. The needing to wear double protection and getting up through the night to change it, the having to stay close to home and avoiding exercise, plus the fear and embarrassment of experiencing “a leak”.

Quite apart from the way it restricts everyday life, heavy monthly bleeding depletes the body’s iron stores and can lead to anaemia, causing fatigue and weakening the immune system.

Often women keep soldiering on. “They’ll put their children, partners and work first, and their own problems last,” says Auckland gynaecologist Michael Wynn-Williams, who, over the course of his career, has seen many women who haven’t asked for help until they were severely anaemic.

There is a range of things that can be done to alleviate menstrual flooding. The first priority, however, especially if heavier periods are a new development, is to check whether anything more serious is happening.

Uterine polyps and fibroids can cause excess bleeding, as can abnormal thyroid hormone levels, and some heavy periods can be a sign of cancer. And a condition called endometrial hyperplasia, in which the lining of the womb becomes unusually thick, can affect those in peri-menopause or menopause, particularly if they are suffering from obesity, diabetes or hypertension.

But there are also entirely benign reasons. During the menopause transition, anovulatory bleeds are frequently a cause of heavy and irregular menstruation – these occur when there is no ovulation and the lining of the womb still builds up and has to be shed.