You envy friends who can set a clock to their periods or friends who bleed for 2-3 days without soaking through tampons or pads.
Instead, you’re often caught off guard. You often deal with heavy periods that have ruined more pairs of underwear than you can count, to say nothing of the uncomfortable cramps.
If you want regular periods, there is a way.
At McDowell Mountain Gynecology, our experienced team of women’s health care experts routinely helps women regulate their menstrual cycles to have more predictable and manageable periods. The key to these efforts is hormonal birth control.
Women’s menstrual cycles can vary greatly. That said, there are some parameters involved in a normal menstrual cycle, such as the following:
Anything that falls outside these parameters is considered abnormal or irregular, and up to one-third of women will experience abnormal bleeding in their lives.
If you’re experiencing abnormal uterine bleeding, we will first check for underlying issues. Certain gynecologic conditions can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, such as:
Other issues outside your reproductive health can affect your menstrual cycles, such as thyroid disorders, eating disorders, and diabetes.
If your health checks out and you’re not trying to get pregnant, we can look at hormonal birth control methods to better manage your menstrual cycles.
These methods rely on estrogen and progestin, either separately or in combination, to:
So, if you’re dealing with heavy bleeding during your periods, hormonal birth control methods can help lighten your periods thanks to their ability to prevent thickening in your uterus each cycle.
If you’re looking for a more reliable schedule for your menstrual cycles, we recommend birth control pills. In most cases, you take the pills for three weeks, during which time you won’t ovulate or have your period. For the fourth week, you stop taking the pills, and your period comes.
To avoid periods altogether, some women keep taking the pills without a break. If you want to try this, you should speak with us first so we can ensure you can do this safely.
Another method is hormonal birth control injections, which we administer every three months. Reports show that more than half of women stop menstruating after getting the injections for a year.
If you want more regular menstrual cycles that don’t disrupt your life, we invite you to schedule a consultation at our office in Scottsdale, Arizona. Booking online is quick and convenient.
