Period won't stop

[adorabelle]

My little sister is 21, and has irregular periods (I have PCOS, so I'm assuming she does too).  She recently found out she has a 1 by 3 inch cyst on her right ovary, and has been experiencing menstrual bleeding pretty much continuously for the past 3 months.  The doctor put her on birth control and it stopped the bleeding for a little while, and then started again.  She seems to think that the bleeding and the cyst are not related. 

Do you have any ideas why she's bleeding non stop?  I told her to try to get an appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist/OBGYN.  She's frustrated and I'll have to say I would be too if I was bleeding that much!

[rachelalfreda]

I would def get a second opinion!  Just because *that* dr thinks it's unrelated doesn't mean it is... 

I recently read an article in a local freebee magazine about a woman with the same issue - she had to see a few ob/gyn's before she was able to get a diagnosis (she had lots of cysts) and then they only treated her with birth control.  She also did Reiki, Accupuncture, and herbal treatments as well which all helped more than the BC.  She ended up having surgery with this OB in Mexico who does an experimental procedure where they carefully remove the cyst and leave the rest of the organs in tact.  Before and after the procedure the dr's said prayers and performed energy work in addition to the surgery, which is the reason I remember the article (but can't remember the dr's name.  sorry!)

I'd totally be fustrated too, good luck to her!

[QueenOfTheMeadow]

I'm going to move this to Health and Healing.

[briannas auntie]

I had almost the exact same problem in mid-late 2009.  I had a period that i thoguht would end after 6 days, and it didn't end for 5 months.  I went to the doctor and tried eating differently, did some tips out of the book "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom", and even used cloth pads exclusively.  Nothing helped.  But, one day, I was gushing blood and soaking a pad in less than an hour, so my friend told me to go to the ER.  I had to do the mail delivery at the nursing home I worked at.  While i was sorting the mail for the residents, I got a severe cramp that kept getting more and more painful.  Eventually, i told my supervisor that I had to go to the ER, so I went over there and by the time I got there, I was in tears, because I was in so much pain. One of the ladies in the waiting area asked if i was in labor, since I was breathing like I was (I was doing anything to distract me from the severe pain).  It turns out I had an ovarian cyst that had ruptured.  But, I did notice that after that cyst ruptured, my period decreased a little bit.  I had to have a cervical and uterine biopsy, just to see what was going on, though (nothing wrong, thank goodness).  My gyno told me that it was not normal for a young adult to have such heavy prolonged periods and felt that my ovarian cysts were causing my prolonged bleeding. she removed the other one I had on my other ovary and it helped a lot.

My gyno also put me on Ortho Tri-Cyclen, and that regulated my period and I was finally able to have just one period a month.  Recently, I was taken off of the Pill, because I was getting to the point where I wanted to see if my cycle would cooperate on its own, and I couldn't stand the side effects of the Pill (especially hot flashes and body acne). 

I started drinking some Earth Mama Angel Baby Monthly Comfort Tea once a day and that has also helped keep my periods from being continuous.  My friend, Gerri, had the same problem as I did a couple years back, and she had surgery to remove her ovarian cysts, and her cycle returned to normal afterwards. 

I would get a second opinion, because there is a link between ovarian cysts and heavy periods, according to what I've read on the internet and what my gyno told me.

Jessie

[subtlycrunchy]

I've found the Women to Women site to have helpful (and holistic) info... Here are two articles that might give you more insight:

PCOS

Irregular Periods

Good luck! I have found that drinking raspberry leaf tea really helps!