Treatment for Menstrual Disorders

Menstrual disorders are problems that affect a woman's normal menstrual cycle. They include painful cramps during menstruation, abnormally heavy bleeding, or not having any bleeding.

Menstruation occurs during the years between puberty and menopause. Menstruation, also called "menses" or a "period," is the monthly flow of blood from the uterus through the cervix and out through the vagina.

Menstrual Disorders

• Dysmenorrhea refers to painful cramps during menstruation.
• Premenstrual syndrome refers to physical and psychological symptoms occurring prior to menstruation.
• Menorrhagia is heavy bleeding, including prolonged menstrual periods or excessive bleeding during a normal-length period.
• Metrorrhagia is bleeding at irregular intervals, particularly between expected menstrual periods.
• Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation.
• Oligomenorrhea refers to infrequent menstrual periods. Hypomenorrhea refers to light periods.

Treatment for Menstrual Disorders

• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve) can help provide pain relief for cramps.
• Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) can help regulate menstrual periods and reduce heavy bleeding. Newer continuous-dosing oral contraceptives reduce or eliminate menstrual periods. Progesterone injections (Depo-Provera) are another option. The LNG-IUS (Mirena), a progesterone intrauterine device (IUD), is often recommended as a first-line treatment for heavy bleeding.
• Endometrial ablation is a surgical option.
• In cases where medical therapy is not successful, hysterectomy may be considered.