high blood pressure<\/a>, could also be responsible.<\/p>\nWhat to do:<\/strong> If the period change is sudden, dont wait longer than three months to see your gyno, Dr. Nardone says. Otherwise, you may be ignoring an underlying problem that needs immediate treatment. For uncomfortable perimenopausal symptoms, your gyno may recommend that you sleep in a cool room, dress in layers you can peel off if you get hot, and exercise regularly for stress relief.<\/p>\nOr she might suggest hormone therapy (the same kind used in women going through menopause) or low-dose birth control pills. If your medications are the problem, changing the type or dosage can help, but dont do it without talking to the doctor who prescribed it.<\/p>\n
Cramps<\/strong>
Whats up:<\/strong> Usually the cause is prostaglandins, chemicals manufactured in the uterus that bring on contractions to expel the uterine lining during your period. But if you have incredibly disabling cramps, it could be endometriosis, which affects 7 to 10 percent of women. The disorder is marked by uterine tissue growing outside the uterus, typically in the pelvic area. Just as the uterine lining sloughs off during your period, the same thing happens to the endometrial tissue outside the uterus, but the blood has nowhere to go.<\/p>\n“Youre bleeding into your belly,” Dr. Minkin says, which causes inflammation. While the risk factors are unknown, Dr. Nardone says endometriosis is associated with very heavy periods, starting your period early, a history of pelvic surgery, or a family history of endometriosis.<\/p>\n
What to do:<\/strong> Ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin fight the production of prostaglandins and reduce pain. Acetaminophen helps some people, but its not as effective. All prostaglandin inhibitors may occasionally lead to a heavier flow, “but the cramp relief trumps the bleeding for most women,” Dr. Minkin says. The trick is to take one of these medications (as directed on the label) at the first hint of cramps or in the days before your period starts, since they have no effect on prostaglandins that have already been manufactured. For endometriosis, you will probably need hormonal treatments that lower estrogen levels in the body or surgery to remove endometrial tissue.<\/p>\nNo Period<\/strong>
Whats up:<\/strong> If youve ruled out hormonal problems and other ailments linked to irregular cycles, you just might be pregnant. Some womens long periods overlap with the beginning of ovulation, which means that youre fertile even though youre menstruating. Say you have a short cycle (21 days, for example) and your period lasts a week. If you have sex close to the end of your period, you could become pregnant since sperm can live for 72 hours in your reproductive tract. Theres also the infamous late-in-life pregnancy that can occur during perimenopause, when periods are erratic. Experts say its not safe to ditch birth control until you havent had a period for a year.<\/p>\nWhat to do:<\/strong> If you dont want to get pregnant, always use protection. If you do have unprotected sex, emergency contraception is available from many pharmacies without a prescription.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your period comes at the same time every month…except when it doesnt. Suddenly, without warning, youre early or late, or your flow is heavy, light, or nonexistent (and you know youre not pregnant!). You and millions of women understandably wonder, Is this normal or is something terribly wrong? “There isnt a day that goes by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,186,35],"tags":[37,187,38],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}