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I have been having 3week-1 month long periods w/ large clots. What could be causing the length and clots? Should I worry?

By August 29, 2008 - 4:39pm
 
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I'm Having Menstrual Bleeding for 3 Weeks. What's the cause?

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I'm 29 yrs. old and I've been having my menstrual cycle for 3 weeks to 1 month with about a 2 week break between each period. Along with my period I have huge clots. This has been happening since I had my daughter in 2006. I saw a doctor about it and he just put me on birth control pills to try and regulate it, but that just caused me to have blood clots in my lungs. I went on Coumadin and my period was normal while I was on the meds. Now I'm off Coumadin and my period went back to being long again and with the huge clots. Is there something my doctors should be testing for? Why am I having a 3 week menstrual cycle? Can this cause complications with conceiving again? What is wrong with my cycle?

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Michelle, we have quite a few women on our site who have experience with cryoablation procedures. There are even a couple of long threads where various women have talked about how it went for them and what their recoveries were like. You can find them by typing cryoablation into our search box. Here is the thread with the most conversation on it:

https://www.empowher.com/community/ask/has-anyone-had-her-option-cryo-ablation-procedure-done-heavy-bleedingpms-cramps-i-had-

I don't come up with anything on our site on roller-ball ablation or REA. It seems like an older procedure? What has your doctor told you about its pros and cons?

Here's a 2003 study that says the cryoablation requires less anesthesia but that the REA (called electroablation here) reduced menstrual bleeding about 10% more:

http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/aagl/article/PIIS1074380405602290/abstract

And here's a reference that says that cryoablation patients had about a 1% to 2% better chance of success at 12- and 24-months afterward than electroablation patients, and cryablation needed retreatment about 1% less often than electroablation:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12634643

All those statistics are very close together. I'm wondering if your doctor feels that one treatment has an advantage over the other for any reason? Can you share her or his reasoning with us here?

July 8, 2009 - 9:38am
(reply to Diane Porter)

Thank you so much for your response. I'd be happy to share my gynecologist's opinion and recommendations after I see him (end of August). One thing that I failed to mention in my previous comment is that my 17 year old daughter has recently began experiencing the same symptoms and, she too, had an ovarian cyst removed around the beginning of '09. I do intend to speak with my gynecologist about this as well about hereditary and what she should expect in her adulthood.

July 8, 2009 - 10:12am

I'm 39 years old and have had one child (now 17 years old). A year ago I started having periods that last anywhere from 2 weeks straight, or heavy interrmitent bleeding. Every period comes with excruciating cramping, fatigue and huge disgusting blood clots. I've had uterine fibroids removed 13 years ago via laparoscopy and had an ovarian cyst removed almost 2 years ago. I'm scheduled to see a new Gyn. next month and the term "cryo ablation" has been mentioned by primary care physician.

Has anybody had either cryo ablation or REA (known as 'roller-ball' ablation)? I'm curious as to the pro's and cons of each - especially recovery time.

Thank you.

~ Michelle

July 7, 2009 - 9:36am
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