Your obstetrician/gynecologist can explain these different treatments to you.
He/she will advise you in choosing a suitable treatment based on your health and preferences.
Which treatment should I opt for?
Drugs, hysterectomy or endometrial ablation?
It’s important that you know exactly what the pros and cons of each of these treatment options are.
Your choice of treatment should be made on the basis of your health and preferences.
You are the one who is going to live with the effects of the chosen treatment.
It’s important for your health that you be well informed of
the different treatments for dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
A well-informed woman is better able to assess her preferences and better prepared for her visit to her obstetrician/gynecologist.
There are solutions!
Get informed and talk to your obstetrician/gynecologist.
One woman in 5 experiences dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
This problem usually occurs during adolescence and during the ten years preceding menopause.
Further information
Further information is available at www.aetmis.gouv.qc.ca
Your obstetrician/gynecologist is a specialist.
It’s important that he/she know what your preferences are.
Talk them over with him/her. He/she will advise you.
Think of the questions that you want to ask, and write down your preferences.
Some considerations
What effect will the treatment have on my periods?
What are the potential side effects and complications?
What effect will the treatment have on my ability to have children?
What effect will the treatment have on my sex life?
If I’m prescribed drugs, how long would I have to take them for?
If I have surgery:
How long will the procedure take?
How long will it take me to recover?
For how long will I be in hospital?
I bleed a lot during my periods.
Is this normal?
Does the excessive bleeding interfere with or prevent you from doing your normal activities?
Do you have to change your super or maxi pad very often, for example, every half hour?
Do you have to wear two pads at a time because of excessive bleeding?
Are your periods too frequent?
If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes”, you may have dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
Is it treatable?
There are treatments for dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
They can improve your health and quality of life.
Your obstetrician/gynecologist can present different treatment options to you:
• Drugs
• Surgery
Each of these options has its pros and cons.
It’s important that you be well informed.
uterine muscle
cervix endometrium
fallopian tube
ovary
vagina
Endometrial Ablation
The endometrium is the thin membrane that lines the inside of the uterus (see drawing).
Endometrial ablation is performed under general, regional or local anesthesia.
It consists in removing the endometrium by applying a source of energy, such as electricity or heat.
Endometrial ablation reduces or completely eliminates bleeding without removal of the uterus. It is a day surgery procedure, recovery time is short, and the risk of complications is low.
As with a hysterectomy, you would no longer be able to have children.
However, endometrial ablation is not considered a means of sterilization.
Drugs
Drugs are often the first option proposed.
They could help you avoid surgery, and they do not interfere with fertility. In other words, you would still be able to become pregnant.
However, it’s possible that drugs would not work in your case. Furthermore, they can sometimes cause side effects that you or your obstetrician/gynecologist would consider too bothersome.
Hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is performed under general or regional anesthesia. This surgical procedure consists in removing the uterus, and sometimes the ovaries too.
A hysterectomy would permanently end to your dysfunctional uterine bleeding.
You would stop menstruating. You would no longer be able to have children.
Like any other major operation, a hysterectomy involves certain risks.
It requires a hospital stay of a few days duration, and recovery takes a few weeks.
In addition, you might have to take hormones for several years if your ovaries are removed.
