HMB:if you suffer from blood loss during your period
Do you suffer from a lot of blood loss during your period? Know that you are not alone with HMB! And:there is a lot to do! No less than 20% of all women between the ages of 35 and 55 suffer from heavy menstrual blood loss and other menstrual complaints † Especially for all these women, the Blood Serious campaign . will be launched in November launched.
Table of contents
What exactly is Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (HMB)?
With an average period, you change your sanitary towel or tampon every 4 to 5 hours. With HMB, however, this is shorter than 4-5 hours. There are women who need a new pad every hour due to the large amount of blood loss and, for example, lose more than a teacup of blood per day. And that's a lot. Mentally and physically, this too much blood loss during menstruation can lead to problems.
Some facts about HMB in a row
1 in 5 women experience heavy menstrual bleeding during the premenopause
This is 500,000 women between the ages of 35 and 55 in the Netherlands
54 % of these go to the GP
27% do not know how the GP could help with a lot of blood loss during menstruation
If you lose a lot of blood every month, this is very annoying. You can feel dirty n and afraid that others will smell the blood for instance. There are women with HMB who cancel parties during this period because the risk of leakage is real is present. There are also women who feel very gloomy and tired during this period of heavy menstrual bleeding. † Do you recognize yourself in one or more of the symptoms below and do you suffer from a lot of menstrual bleeding? Then we advise you to request a consultation with your GP.
Symptoms in women with a lot of menstrual bleeding
Loss of confidence during monthly menstruation
Depressed feelings around menstruation
Being very tired due to too much blood loss during menstruation
Have iron deficiency due to heavy menstrual blood loss
Have a headache when you have your period
Severe abdominal cramps
You have to cancel sports during menstruation because this is not possible due to a lot of blood loss
Canceling social activities or planning around your period
Use more than 1 menstrual product at a time (think of tampon one sanitary towel at the same time)
Have to replace your menstrual products frequently in a day
Not being able to go to work due to physical or mental complaints related to your period.
Menorrhagia
Another name for HMB is menorrhagia. It is one of the most common complaints in gynecology. Characteristic are:
Abnormal amount of blood loss
Long and irregular periods
Interim bleeding
Impacts of HMB
Fatigue during menstruation, due to a lot of blood loss you develop iron deficiency which entails fatigue
There can be demonstrable causes of a lot of blood loss during your period:
Distortion in the hormone balance due to an uneven production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone
Myomas:generally not dangerous, but they can cause complaints. Myomas grow in the cervix
Pops:also called benign growths, occur in the uterus or in the cervical canal.
Flein trees:These are benign growths in or on the uterus. Although they are often not dangerous, they can cause unpleasant complications such as pressure on the bladder, lower back pain, pain during intercourse, interim blood loss and heavy blood loss
In some women the endometrium is thicker, which also causes heavy menstrual blood loss
Very rarely, blood disorders cause too much blood loss in a woman during menstruation
Endometriosis :no less than 1 in 10 women experiences complaints such as a heavy and painful menstruation
PCOS:in addition to a reduced chance of getting pregnant, this also causes irregular and sometimes heavier menstruation
Inflammation of the small pelvis causes heavy blood loss in addition to abdominal pain
Adenomyosis:in 1 in 10 women cells of the endometrium are found in the muscle wall of the uterus. This also causes a lot of blood loss
What can you do if you have a lot of bleeding during your period and think of HMB?
Let's first say that you are absolutely not the only one with heavy menstrual bleeding and you should absolutely not be ashamed of it. But it is annoying, painful and difficult.
Advice:go to the doctor!
It helps if you have mapped out your HMB complaints before your conversation with the doctor. Write them down and also think about what you want to ask. A doctor may ask you to fill in a menstrual calendar or diary. You fill in on which days your period was and how heavy your blood loss was and what other complaints were. You can of course also create such a diary yourself in advance.
The doctor will ask you questions, possibly perform an internal examination and refer you to a gynaecologist if it turns out that you are indeed losing too much blood during your period.
What possible solutions are there for a lot of blood-loss during menstruation?
Without going deeply into the treatment methods at the same time, we would like to inform you that there are treatment options. Examples include:
Hormone therapy:taking the pill or inserting an IUD
Remove the endometrium by radiofrequency energy
Scrape away uterine mucosa
There are also cases where the entire uterus is removed.
Take the step and give yourself and your body the best care, also during your monthly period. Take it seriously and don't keep walking around with a lot of blood loss during your period unnecessarily. Do you have more questions about this topic? On the website Hevigbloedloss.nl find more information.
What is the campaign really serious about?
Extra consultation hours and other (online) events are organized throughout the Netherlands to provide patient information. The campaign is primarily intended to create awareness. You are not the only one with this medically recognized condition runs. In fact, far too many women do not yet go to the doctor with these complaints. There is something to do! Share your story and go to the doctor.
