How Can I Decrease My Symptoms While I Wait For My Doctor’s Appointment?
Print PageIf heavy bleeding occurs and you cannot get to your doctor’s office right away, try these easy steps to control bleeding:
- Bed rest.
- Drink several salty liquids, like V8, tomato juice, or bouillon soup. Good fluid balance will help keep you from getting dizzy.
- Take one or two 200 mg tablets of ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hours. Avoid taking aspirin, because it is an anticoagulant and could worsen your bleeding. Ibuprofen will lessen your cramps by decreasing prostaglandins and reduce the blood flow 25% to 30%.
- Take one 300 mg tablet of ferrous gluconate (or iron alternative) per day to prevent anemia.
Do not take iron supplements regularly without consulting your doctor, because they can cause iron overload. Next cycle, start the ibuprofen 72 or 48 hours before you anticipate bleeding. It will prevent prostaglandins from forming in your uterine muscles, and will reduce your pain.
Losing weight if you are obese helps reduce your symptoms, because fat is a repository of estrogen. Avoid estrogen-mimicking chemical toxins in the environment, such as: Pesticides on produce, phthalates in cosmetics and plastics, and antibiotics and growth hormones in meat and milk. These xenoestrogens reside in your fatty (adipose) tissue.
Avoid cold temperatures. In 1985, Mergler and Vezina found women who worked in cold slaughterhouses were more likely to have dysmenorrhea and to miss work.
Eat small, protein-rich meals every 3 hours to reduce your symptoms. Energy expenditure increases by 9% to 16% during the luteal phase (second half of the menstrual cycle). Women consume about 500 calories more during the luteal phase than they do in the follicular phase (first half of the cycle), mostly by increasing their carbohydrate intake by 50%. Hormonal changes in the luteal phase alter carbohydrate metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and carbohydrate storage.