Hello doctor, My periods have been heavier ever since I got chickenpox three years back. The first two days it is just spotting, the third day it starts with cramps sometimes really severe, with sharp and excruciating pain on both sides of the lower abdomen, radiating to the inner sides of legs, warm legs, back pain, dizziness, exhausted feeling, sleepiness, black moods. Then on the fourth and fifth days, I experience heavy bleeding along with cramps. There are clots. The bleeding is very red and not viscous, when clots are discharged. If I sit down for a while, it is like the clots get accumulated and when I get up, so much is discharged all of a sudden, and I am forced to stay at home. This affects my professional and personal life quite a lot. After this period, the bleeding tapers off fast. But I do feel exhausted, and it takes me days to get back to normal. My blood tests and pelvic ultrasound have come back normal. The only thing is that my hemoglobin is at 11.3. Thyroid test and LFT are normal. No fibroid and ovaries are normal. My doctor is not able to figure out what is wrong. I just turned 37. My child is 8 years old. My pregnancy was normal and uneventful. I gave birth to a full-term baby through NVD. What could be wrong? Should I undergo any further tests? Since my tests are normal, can I have another child? Will another pregnancy solve my issues with menstruation? My periods were regular with a cycle of 28 days, even now it is regular with these problems.
Hello. Chickenpox usually does not have anything to do with heavy periods. You seem to be suffering from severe PMS (premenstrual syndrome) with dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia. You have not mentioned about the prolactin level. I presume it is to be of normal value. If you have not done it, please do so. I also presume you are non-diabetic with no high blood pressure. Does the ultrasound mention about the size of the uterus? Is it of normal size? If no pathology could be found out, then you belong to a group of patient who is believed to be having dysfunctional uterine bleeding mostly seen at the perimenopausal age group roughly say beyond 35 years. They usually get relieved by a progesterone course for six months, or in refractory cases, a simple operative procedure called Dilation and Curettage does the trick. I believe your doctor must have already suggested that, or maybe you are on it right now. Regarding bearing children, I do not see why you should not conceive, and there might be normalization of your symptoms after a second pregnancy. I hope this helps.