Heavy periods suck.
Menorrhagia, or excessive uterine bleeding is a common concern for women, especially those in the 31- 50 age range. It is defined as blood loss in excess of 80 ml per cycle or longer than 7 days.
There can be a number of reasons why, ranging from PCOS or anovulation, luteal phase defect, hypothyroidism, ovarian cysts, polyps or fibroids.. the list goes on.
Firstly, we need to find out why. Treating the cause will result in long-term success. And in the interm, there are lifestyle and dietary measures + some great herbal medicine to help.
Dietary measures such as increasing fibre, increasing fish oils and decreasing animal fat intake results in a better 'prostaglandin profile' aka. lowers inflammatory prostaglandins (implicated in heavy flow) and can lower excess estrogen (which promotes the growth of the endometrial lining, again resulting in a heavy flow).
Next steps are looking for any underlying deficiencies that may have been missed, such as iron deficiency (both a cause and effect of menorrhagia), vitamin A deficiency (vitamin A serum levels in women with menorrhagia are found to be lower than in healthy women), vitamin K to promote clotting. Health of both the liver and bowel movements are important for the removal of estrogen.
Herbal medicine that helps can both be targeted at the root cause; for example regulating hormones and promoting ovulation is that is the issue, or specifically at decreasing excess blood loss such as Yarrow, Cinnamon or Shepards Purse.
If you've suffered from heavy periods, there is help! Book an Initial Intake to get started (AB or BC patients).
References:
Ojeda L. Menopause without medicine. Rev. 5th ed. Alameda, CA: Hunter House Inc; 2003
Robins JC. Therapies for the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding. Curr Womens Health Rep. 2001;1:196–201
Livdans-Forret AB, Harvey PJ, Larkin-Thier SM. Menorrhagia: a synopsis of management focusing on herbal and nutritional supplements, and chiropractic. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2007 Dec;51(4):235-46. PMID: 18060009; PMCID: PMC2077876.