Your self-care for perimenopause periods and bleeding
While heavy menstruation in the menopause transition can disrupt everyday life for many women. Attention to your lifestyle can help manage perimenopausal symptoms as well.
What can you do for perimenopausal periods and irregular bleeding?
Keep a diary
Dates and flow are important to know when seeking medical help. Make a note of when a period comes and how many times you change a pad or tampon (a ‘regular’ holds 5ml, a ‘super’10ml), whether or not, you felt dizzy and have any spotting between periods.
Stay hydrated
Blood loss dehydrates, ensure you top up lost fluids. The Canadian Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR) advises that if you feel dizzy or your heart pounds when you get up from lying down, you should increase fluid and salt intake as blood volume is low, drink vegetable juices and water!
Over the counter pain killers
Research shows that ibuprofen can help decrease bleeding during periods by 20 to 40% and alleviate symptoms like cramps.
Lifestyle triggers for irregular periods during perimenopause
Periods are guaranteed to come to an end as hormones and eggs run low. Lifestyles can impact on periods, so avoid:
Drinking too much (alcohol can play havoc with hormones, making cycles longer).
Smoking (smokers may have shorter, more irregular cycles than non-smokers).
Excessive exercise (body perceives excessive exercise as stress which affects hormone production).
Stress (can throw hormones out of whack, stopping periods, so find your own stress busting activity).
Significant changes to weight (both loss and gain have an impact on ovulation).
Are there natural treatments for period problems?
Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
TCM’s long history of treating women with period issues in menopause, or Beng Lou, (‘flooding and trickling’) uses a combination of herbs and treatments to regulate fluctuating hormones.
Reflexology
The Modern Reflexology site says that targeting certain pressure points may deal with ‘irregular’ periods and ‘menstrual problems’ in menopause. However, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists patient information leaflet into alternative treatments to HRT for menopause symptoms says that while reflexology is safe, there have been very few studies on whether it helps menopausal symptoms and more are needed. Reflexology may help your sense of wellbeing and promote stress reduction and relaxation – no bad thing!