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Frequently Heavy Periods May Be Caused By A Serious Problem

Heavy periods are often a painful condition that affects a woman's life and causes very severe pelvic pain. They may occur from time to time without being a major or debilitating condition. However, frequent and heavy periods may be caused by a problem known as adenomyosis, one that must be treated as soon as possible to avoid serious pain.

What Is Adenomyosis And Its Symptoms?

This condition occurs when the interior lining of the uterus grows beyond the muscle wall of the uterus and breaks through it. While not a life-threatening disease, it is one that can cause a lot of pelvic pain and very heavy periods. It is often tricky to diagnose because it is hard to spot on various MRI scans, while blood tests rarely show any abnormal signs. Typical physical symptoms of this condition include:

  • Frequent and prolonged periods of menstrual bleeding
  • Painful bleeding outside of the menstrual cycle
  • Heavy cramps that last for days
  • Abdominal pressure that won't lift
  • Severe bloating that makes life very uncomfortable

The Pain Can Be Serious

The severe pain caused by this condition often stretches beyond that which a woman normal experiences during their period. It may cause them to end up lying in bed for extended periods, unable to move. It can even be paired with endometriosis, a related disease that causes similar difficulties.

Isolating the cause of this pain may drive may drive many women and their doctors crazy, as it can seem so hard to identify its source. There's also the chance that symptoms may disappear for periods of time, making it more difficult to diagnose. However proper diagnosis and treatment is possible, which helps eliminate the severe pelvic pain it causes.

Treating This Form Of Pelvic Pain Is Possible

Managing the pain caused by this problem requires the use of multiple treatment methods. Anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen, help decrease the severity of this condition and reduce blood flow during a period. Hormonal treatments control estrogen levels and keep the body from reacting severely negatively to this condition and exasperating itself even further.

More serious treatments, such as endometrial ablation, require removing or destroying the endometrium that is causing the problem. In severe cases, MRI-guided ultrasound surgery can target and destroy the problematic tissue. When all else fails, a hysterectomy or removal of the uterus can eliminate this pelvic pain.

Thankfully this treatment is usually only utilized when there is no other choice. Saving the uterus is possible when suffering from this condition, but it will take a concentrated and serious effort from both the woman suffering from the problem and her doctor.


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