Heavy periods are bad enough but pain is worrying
One possible cause of heavy bleeding (menorrhagia) is a hormonal imbalance.
There are other causes, such as fibroids, endometriosis and pelvic
inflammatory disease. Basically, anything that increases the surface area
of the endometrium (the inner womb lining that sheds at menstruation)
will cause menorrhagia. The possible cause of the heavy bleeding could also
be linked to the problems you experience when you attempt to go to the
loo.
Endometriosis is very common, affecting as many as 25 per cent of women in
their reproductive years. Many do not have any symptoms and the diagnosis
is only made at other operative times. In endometriosis, tissue like the
inner lining of the uterus (womb) is found outside the uterus, usually
within the pelvic cavity. The most common sites where this tissue is
deposited are over and around the ovaries and deep in the pelvis around the
lower bowel, rectum and the bladder neck.
As this tissue behaves in the same way as that of the endometrium, bleeding
at the time of the menses will cause inflammation in these other sites
(bladder, lower bowel, etc.) This could be why you get pain the commonest
symptom associated with the condition in and around those areas when you
have your period.
Discussions with your doctor should be arranged, and as it is not always
easy to prove a diagnosis by examination a further opinion from a
gynaecologist will probably be necessary. Most treatment is medical (not
surgical) so life can be fairly rapidly improved for you in these
circumstances.
