Menstruation is annoying for many women, but when it is particularly abundant, it can have a negative impact on habits, love life and wallet. The good news? A heavy period can often be managed by changing your diet, exercising regularly, and trying hormonal methods of contraception. If these measures do not work well, consult a gynecologist to determine if the disorder may be due to an underlying cause being treated. Read on to find out how to make your period lighter and more manageable.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Managing the Cycle with Diet and Exercise
Step 1. Avoid white flour, sugar and industrial foods
These products appear to worsen PMS symptoms and cause difficult periods. Avoiding sugars and carbs hasn't been shown to actually shorten your cycle, but this move can help reduce bloating and cramps. Additionally, many women report experiencing shorter periods after starting to pay more attention to their diet. When you are on your period, you generally crave ice cream and chips, but if you manage to avoid them you can notice a certain difference.
- Bread, pasta, refined crackers, salty donuts, chips, cookies, cakes, pastries, and high-sugar products are on the list of foods to avoid. Replace them with fruit and natural sweeteners like regular or agave honey.
- Avoiding these foods throughout the month is the best move you can make to manage your period. If you just can't live without a cup of chocolate ice cream during PMS, you can eat it, but a healthy diet will generally benefit you in the weeks leading up to your period.
Step 2. If you don't already follow the Mediterranean diet, start doing it
Some women have found that basing their diet on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, and lean meat has a significant effect on the abundance of flow. The Mediterranean diet is low in sodium, saturated fat, and processed carbohydrates. All of these substances cause the body to retain water and swell, so eating this way should help you deal with even the classic ailments that PMS entails.
Eat mostly fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, and whole grains like quinoa and spelled
Step 3. You can also place an ice pack on your lower abdomen to lighten the cycle
Eat dairy products, eggs and meat in moderation
Step 4. Eat foods rich in potassium
If the body has low potassium levels, this can cause irregular and heavy periods, not to mention that it causes more painful cramps and other symptoms. Throughout your cycle, especially in the weeks leading up to it (all three if you wish), choose foods rich in potassium to help normalize your flow.
- Bananas, sweet potatoes, lentils, yogurt, salmon, and raisins are all high in potassium.
- In some cases, boiling foods could deprive them of this substance. Steam or bake foods rich in potassium to reap the full benefits. Alternatively, if possible, eat them raw. Have you noticed that potassium is really good for you? You could also try a dietary supplement.
Step 5. Increase and maintain your intake of other essential nutrients
Foods rich in fundamental fatty acids, such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamins of group B, C and E, are ideal for promoting good health of the genital system. In particular, focus on strengthening blood vessel walls with vitamin C, flavonoids and iron, which must be at the top of the list of essential nutrients in your diet. Taking iron is also important to recover what you have lost due to excessive blood flow.
Step 6. Exercise regularly
It seems that doing moderate exercise with consistency helps to have regular and lighter periods. Constant physical activity keeps your body healthy and weight stable, so you are less likely to experience the fluctuations in body fat that lead to irregular and heavy periods.
- Some women claim that light exercise, such as swimming, jogging, and fitwalking, makes menstruation lighter and shorter. Aim to move for about 30 minutes, 5-6 times a week.
- The type of intense exercise you would do when training for a marathon or other sporting event can actually result in a cessation of your period. It causes a breakdown in estrogen, since you lose so much fat that the body would not be able to maintain a pregnancy.
Part 2 of 3: Try Contraceptive Methods to Regulate Flow
Step 1. Talk to your gynecologist to find out if you can take the contraceptive pill
This medicine contains progesterone and estrogen, two hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle and determine its monthly abundance. Many women who take the pill have lighter, shorter periods. If your period is particularly heavy and you are ready to handle it with medication, this might be the solution for you.
- Talk to your gynecologist to find out if they can prescribe the contraceptive pill. Every body is different, and there are many different types of pills designed to meet various needs. Make an appointment with your doctor or go to another medical center to request the right prescription for you.
- Take the pill following the instructions. If you skip the intake for a few days, you risk seeing a heavy or irregular cycle, not to mention that the medicine will no longer have contraceptive efficacy. Make sure you take the pill at the same time every single day to get the benefits you are looking for.
Step 2. Consider other hormonal contraceptive methods
The pill is not the only contraceptive medicine that can normalize the cycle. If you don't want to take it every day, consider the following solutions, which have the same benefits as a classic contraceptive pill:
- Contraceptive patch. Usually, it is located on the arm, back or thigh. It has the same hormonal dosage as the pill, only the active ingredient is absorbed by the skin. The patch should be replaced after a few weeks.
- Contraceptive ring. It is a ring that is inserted into the vagina and which must be changed once a month. Releases hormones into the bloodstream.
- Intrauterine spiral (IUD). It is a small metal device implanted in the uterus by a gynecologist. It releases hormones in the uterus and works for up to 12 years. In some cases, the spiral causes some cycles to disappear or make them lighter, while in others, it causes them to become irregular.
Step 3. Consider continuous-use contraceptive pills
If you'd rather avoid having your period, nowadays there are solutions that allow you to completely eliminate it. Several pharmaceutical companies produce pills that cause very light or nonexistent menstruation, then you choose the right product for you. They are similar to traditional contraceptive pills, but contain a hormone that can regulate the cycle to a greater extent.
Part 3 of 3: Facilitating the Management of a Heavy Cycle
Step 1. Try to understand the classic causes of heavy periods
A heavier-than-usual cycle can occur at certain stages of life and, in some cases, is genetic. Changes affecting your body or lifestyle can result in heavy periods. If you have a heavier period than usual, be sure to check for the following possible causes:
- If you're facing puberty, your period can be heavy because hormone levels are still on the verge of normalizing. An imbalance affecting estrogen and progesterone can cause heavy periods.
- If you have recently stopped taking the pill, you risk having a heavier period because this medicine tends to lighten your period.
- If you have recently been implanted with the IUD, you will likely see heavier periods in the first few months. Initially, the body treats the device as if it were a foreign object, which causes heavier cycles. If the condition continues for 3 or 6 months, you may want to talk to your gynecologist and perhaps change your contraceptive method.
- If you have recently given birth and are experiencing heavy periods, you may need to wait. Postpartum cycles can be heavy, especially if you are not breastfeeding. In any case, after 2 or 3 menses, the cycle should normalize.
Step 2. Try aromatherapy to relieve the stress of having a heavy period.
If you trust such a treatment, then it could help you out. Maybe, combine it with other methods. Try mixing 2 drops of rose essential oil, Roman chamomile and moscatella herb with 4 drops of marjoram essential oil and 2 tablespoons of sweet almond or olive oil, which will act as a carrier oil. During your period, massage this solution on your stomach every night, or ask your partner to do it.
Step 3. Always have specific pain relievers or herbal treatments available
Be sure to check the expiration date. If in addition to the heaviness you feel some pain, at least you can manage it and remove a source of discomfort. Don't have specific medications for menstruation? You can also use classic anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen to relieve the pain of cramps. Don't Suffer Silently: Get rid of the painful side of your period. If you are unsure which medications are safest to take for relief, ask your doctor.
Step 4. Have a good amount of sanitary pads available
Don't skimp: get your favorite brand and make sure you have enough, so you don't run out of it when you need it. In addition to the classic internal and external tampons, buy enough packs of the larger ones. Also, buy some night pads, since you shouldn't sleep in a tampon.
- If you were forced to buy the largest sanitary pads available on the market, don't be scared. What's the problem? Using this product is by no means indicative of your personality or physique.
- If you are concerned that the tampon will show through your clothes, try to check it with a large mirror or ask a friend to check. Often it's just a feeling, so it doesn't reflect reality. However, if it shows, you may want to avoid the tight fitting clothing that causes this problem.
- For some women, internal tampons are not good for heavy flow, so be prepared to try different types of methods, including classic pads, menstrual cup, and other forms of feminine protection.
Step 5. Face the losses
Women who suffer from heavy periods may occasionally observe stains on their clothes. If they worry you, try wearing 2 pads at a time for maximum coverage. It's ideal to have a spare pair of briefs on hand in a locker, bag, or other convenient place, you never know. If you have stained yourself without realizing it, good friends, teachers, co-workers and kind strangers will be courteous enough to tell you discreetly. Ignore unpleasant people. There is nothing to be ashamed of. If a person laughs at you they are reckless and unable to feel empathy.
Step 6. Cover the surfaces you lean on to prevent them from getting blood stained
Cover beds, sofas, sheets, and any other surfaces you will sit or lie on for several hours. Use a towel or other cover that is easily washable and quick-drying. This is much easier than getting the blood out of the mattress or sofa cover. Once you take off the cover, no one will notice anything.
Step 7. If you have extremely heavy periods, talk to your gynecologist
In some cases, a heavy period is a symptom of a medical disorder that has a direct impact on the flow. It is normal to lose some blood, but it is possible to have heavy bleeding and risk anemia and weakness. If your period lasts more than a week, you see large blood clots coming out, you need to change the tampon or tampon once an hour because it soaks right away and you feel faint or out of breath, you should see a doctor right away to find out the cause of the problem.
- Write down a description of your classic period and any other symptoms you tend to see when you have your period.
- Ask your doctor to check for any complaints that tend to cause a heavy period. Hormonal imbalances, fibroids, polyps and other more serious diseases could cause excessive blood loss.
- The gynecologist will perform a pelvic exam, and may also perform a vaginal biopsy, pelvic ultrasound, blood draw, pap smear, or cervical biopsy.
Advice
- Get enough rest.
- If you are wearing a tampon, do not do splits, as this movement could cause it to shift and cause leaks.
- A heating pad helps relieve cramps.
- Eat foods containing vitamin K, such as romaine lettuce, spinach, and kale.
- Don't wear tight clothes.
- Stay active to reduce blood clots.
- Take hot baths.
- On days when your period is particularly heavy, wear a tampon and a tampon.
- Evening primrose oil and flaxseed oil can help relieve cramps and heavy periods.
- Exercise frequently.
- When you are menstruating, try to avoid situations where you have to move or stretch while wearing the tampon. This will cause it to move and cause losses. If you play a sport, try talking to the coach about it. Are you ashamed to discuss it with someone else? Then learn how to use tampons. If you can't fit them in, perform the exercises as controlled as possible and avoid making sudden movements. Also, some girls find that when they exercise, the flow is blocked for the duration of the workout.
Warnings
- If you have heavy periods, you need to keep an eye on your iron levels to prevent anemia.
- Don't overdo it with weight loss or physical activity, as too much can cause amenorrhea, which can be worse than heavy periods.
- If your period is causing you serious discomfort or you are about to change your diet, talk to your gynecologist.
