Heavy menstruating female?  What to do….

Heavy menstrual bleeding is considered more than 80 ml or more of menstrual blood loss per period.  Truly, heavy menstrual bleeding (the diagnosis name is menorrhagia) is more often diagnosed on patient report of an amount of frequency of blood loss that interferes with psychosocial or physical well-being. 

Menorrhagia affects 30% of reproductive age females.

How to treat this?  Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like Aleve and Ibuprofen) DO reduce heavy menstrual bleeding in premenopausal women when compared to placebo.  But, NSAIDs are less effective than tranexamic acid and less effective than the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (Mirena IUD).

How expensive is tranexamic acid?  Per the GoodRx app, I show that 30 pills of tranexamic acid 650 mg cost $26 near my zipcode.  Not bad. 

If you have life-altering menstrual periods, ask your family physician how she can help.