You’ve lost count of the times you’ve been caught by surprise by your period, and you’re tired of that threat constantly hanging over your head. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to set your clock to your periods as they come and go, on time and without making a fuss?
Well, there are ways that we can help you better regulate your menstrual cycles through hormonal birth control methods. At Women’s Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley, Dr. Fernando Otero and our team offer a wide range of family planning services that address almost every concern.
For patients who want to regulate their periods with the added benefit of preventing pregnancy, there are plenty of choices, and we explore them here.
Before we recommend hormonal controls to regulate your menstrual cycles, it's important to rule out any conditions that need to be addressed. Under ideal circumstances, women should get their period every 24 to 38 days, and the bleeding should last 3-7 days.
There are many conditions that can interfere with these schedules, which is why up to one-third of women experience irregular bleeding at some point in their lives. Some of these conditions include:
This list is far from complete, but we wanted to illustrate why undergoing an evaluation for your irregular menstrual cycles is important. If we do find an underlying problem, we prefer to address that problem, which should regulate your menstrual cycles.
If, however, your periods just come and go as they please and there’s no concerning root cause, we can recommend a hormonal birth control that can control your periods.
Hormonal birth controls contain various combinations of progestin and estrogen that prevent pregnancy by:
With hormonal birth control options, we can greatly reduce the amount of bleeding during your periods, thanks to the thinning action in your uterus. If the lining of your uterus doesn’t thicken with each cycle, your periods will be lighter.
We can also control your schedule more readily with hormonal birth control. For example, you can take oral contraceptives for 21 days and then stop for 7 to allow your period. This same concept holds true for birth control patches and vaginal rings — you wear the patch or ring for three weeks and then you skip one week.
If you’d prefer not to have your period at all, we can discuss using these hormone medications without a break for your period.
Another option is a birth control injection, which we administer every three months. After a year of these injections, more than half of women stop menstruating, though periods do come back when you stop the hormonal controls.
As you can see, you have some great options. The first step toward better regulating your menstrual cycles is to schedule an appointment with us so we can fully evaluate your reproductive health and your goals. To get started, contact one of our offices in McAllen or Edinburg, Texas.
