The two most beautiful words in the English language to me now are endometrial ablation. Aaaahhhh! Don’t they just drip off the tongue with sweetness and satisfaction?
Like many women, I dreaded the arrival of Aunt Flo on the calendar. For one thing, Aunt Flo always stayed too long — 8 or 9 days. She also cramped my style, literally — as in curling up into a fetal position while my abdomen and back convulsed with pain. And for the first few days of her visit, she was heavy and demanded attention every hour. I spent most of Aunt Flo’s visits popping Ibuprofen like they were M&Ms and begging God for her to go away.
Needless to say, my marital intimacy took a free fall during the time that Flo was in the house. Now that’s a pesky relative that you definitely don’t want around when contemplating romantic recreation!
As it turned out for me, the loss of blood at such a high level can cause anemia. Which was good news because that meant that my medical insurance was willing to help me get rid of my Aunt Flo problem.
My gynecologist had recently started doing a procedure called endometrial ablation in which the uterine lining is destroyed, thus reducing or preventing menstrual bleeding. There are several methods for ablating the endometrium — laser, freezing, heat, electricity. She was performing the zapper method (NovaSure) of delivering a boost of radiofrequency energy which fries the uterine lining (more or less).
Most women who had undergone endometrial ablation went down to having mild periods for only a few days. That sounded like absolute heaven to me! I scheduled surgery.
It was a quick day surgery — in and out in several hours — with a brief recovery time at home. I waited for my next period to arrive.
It didn’t. It hasn’t.
Now, my experience is atypical. And even if I did have 3-4 days of moderate menstruation, it would be a vast improvement on marking off almost a third of the month as “No Way, José” days to my husband. Now any day or night is fair game (well, when it comes to that issue).
Not having to deal with terrible periods has done wonders for our sexual frequency and fulfillment. I’ve recommended this procedure to every post-childbearing woman who struggles with a bad period. If you are completely done with having children (and you must make sure that you are!), then an endometrial ablation may be the answer for you. Check with your doctor.
Kicking out Aunt Flo or limiting her visits to a few days instead a week and half might help you be more available and interested in having sex with your husband. I know it did for me!
hmmmm…….This is definitely something that I am going to look into! Thank you for the info!!!! I am sure that my hubby will LOVE the fact that our ‘recreation’ can be more than 2 weeks out of a month! Honey, sometimes my Aunt Flo comes and OVERSTAYS her welcome – so much so, I can’t keep up with it anymore!!!! GEEZE!!!
Bless your heart, Lady LaWanda! It can be grueling. I will say a prayer for you. And I hope that you can get Aunt Flo to keep to a reasonable guest schedule!
wow! i’m dealing w/ the same issue…my aunt flo stays for 8-9 days goes home for a day or 2 then comes back for a semi-visit for amother6-7 days. a d&c last may didn’t help her from comingback for more than 3 months. my hubby continually comments that he thought i did something to get rid of her…btw, did you have your breast augmentation? im praying 4 you!
Anonymous,
That does not sound like a reasonable period at all. Ouch. By the way, I tried birth control pills and laparoscopy before this procedure. The endometrial ablation is the thing that did it for me. I know two other people who had great experiences with this procedure as well.
I need to post a follow-up about the B.A. Yes, I did have it. Thank you SO MUCH for the prayers!
I COMPLETELY understand your delight!! I suffered from endometriosis and was advised to go back on BCPs to regulate crime-scene heavy periods that would last for at least a week and curb the excruciating pain each month. I specifically asked for LoEstrin 24 because they were advertising “shorter, lighter periods”. SIGN-ME-UP!
The amazing thing is that I never got a period. The first month was a scant spotting and that’s been it for almost four years! My GYN said this can happen to some women and is perfectly safe! Praise the Lord I am one of these women! Sweet relief is putting it lightly! No more pain, no more planning vacations around it!! I felt like I got a piece of my life back and I’m saving a heck of a lot of money now that I don’t have to buy tampons and pads in bulk!
Enjoy every minute of it!!! 🙂
I laughed out loud when I read “crime-scene heavy periods” because I SO remember those. Bless your heart! Glad you found something that worked, Anon.
You are not a doctor and your gyn well…maybe she is not that scientific.
The problem with such a difficult period is first hormonal and maybe has additional causes – so this should have been the primary foucs: to know the cause and treat it accordingly. To have this surgery doesn’t help at all with the cause – which remains, even without the previous symptoms – and it could get serious effect – like endometrial cancer or other gyn forms of cancer.
Also, mutilating the uterus lining could have results in differnt other problems – a more in depth SCIENTIFIC research would be in order.
Indeed, I am not a doctor.
In my case, there were years of tests and other approaches before we finally decided to do the endometrial ablation. We searched for hormonal and other causes before choosing this route. I don’t consider this self-mutilation in any way. There are plenty of other procedures where we freeze things off (warts), cut stuff out (tonsils), and otherwise tackle problems in our bodies.
I do appreciate your concern. Are you a doctor?
I am not a physician but I do have a PhD in science.
Your answer tells that you tried different things, and different approaches not that you know the cause of your problematic periods.
So again, the cause is still there and can produce its effects. You simply removed the part that was most disturbing and evident to you and your comfort.
Self – mutilation is something to be analysed with God. I suppose if you really asked Him for wisdom and God guided you to this surgery…….than there’s nothing to worry about. Or is it? There are ethical choices as to what one should do for his own comfort when there is not a matter of health or death (for sure one can survive and fight anemia even with this problem).
Well, I do have more information about what was going on with me, but I didn’t go into detail about my uterus here. However, I can honestly say that my problems are gone, period. I have no regrets. Indeed, these are ethical choices and personal ones. I agree wholeheartedly that a woman should fully research any procedure and know as much as possible what she’s getting into. I also prayed about my decision beforehand. Thanks.
Years ago I had a total hysterectemy because of all the pain, heavy flow, fibroids and so forth. Sure wish I had known of this procedure. But it is what it is, and NO MORE unwelcome visitors, and for that I am thankful and do NOT miss it at all!
While I don’t have lengthy periods, I do have extremely heavy bleeding for a couple days. I am 45, so I know I’m approaching the end of this at some point, and we are TTNC (trying to not conceive), but I am not opposed to the idea of another blessing either.
Anyway, I am pro-natural remedies first for everything, and a doctor for me is for life-threatening situations or broken bones. If you are into herbs at all, then this is my favorite book I own, The How To Herb Book, http://www.bulkherbstore.com/The-How-To-Herb-Book (And it’s a Christian-owned company, too, in case that matters to you.)
In my research I discovered that Bayberry is supposed to help treat excessive menstrual flow. Vitex (aka chaste berry tree) is another herb that is supposed to balance the hormones and regulate our visits from Aunt Flo. There are also different herbal combinations that can help.
I only have friends’ recommendations and experiences at this point, but I hope to soon have my own. My research is fairly recent and so I haven’t been able to purchase and implement the herbal treatments that I would like.
I just thought I would share this for anyone else out there who might be searching for a solution to their “female problems” and wants to try non-medical avenues first.
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