By: Catherine Yeh for Fibroids1Extreme cramps, moodiness, and excessive bleeding are just a few of the symptoms women often experience during menstruation. Now, a new 20-minute procedure promises women a life free of painful periods.
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If you or a loved one experiences any of the following abnormal period symptoms, talk with your doctor. You may even be eligible for a procedure to get rid of these symptoms for good:
Painful cramps
Extreme moodiness
Excessive bleeding
Periods interrupting your lifestyle |
Gynecologists across the country are starting to offer Her Option, an in-office procedure which rids women of excessive bleeding and cramping. For women who have lived with periods that interfere with daily life, Her Option is an easier, less invasive alternative to hysterectomy.
Here’s how it works: a slender wand is inserted into the uterus while an ultrasound is used to help monitor the treatment. Her Option uses cryoablation – or sub-zero temperatures – to destroy the endometrium. This technique freezes the uterine lining and causes less tissue to shed, producing dramatically lighter periods or no menstrual bleeding at all. Although the thought of sub-zero temperatures may sound unpleasant, doctors say it is not painful because the pain receptors become frozen as well.
“We’re freezing the inside lining of the uterus: [it] does not affect the muscle, does not affect the ovaries, does not affect the hormones,” said Dr. Richard Salter, a gynecologist at Baylor Garland in Texas.
Although very exciting for those with heavy and painful periods, it is important to note the procedure is not meant for everyone. Cryoablation is designed for women who have not started menopause and who are done having children. Patients must realize that serious damage can occur if pregnancy happens after the procedure. In addition, patients with uterine cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease, active urinary tract infections or other types of uterine abnormalities are not ideal candidates for Her Option.
On the brighter side, there is a high success rate for this procedure. In over half of cryoablation cases performed, women are period-free for good. You are able to resume to normal activity the next day. Furthermore, you may resume a normal lifestyle without the interruption of painful menstruation and symptoms like backaches, bloating, cramping, tiredness, irritability, and more.
“The only way it’s affected my life is making it easier,” reported one woman from Texas to CBS 42 news.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that more than one in four women in the United States will have a hysterectomy by age 60. Her Option is the easier, painless, and less invasive in-office option, and it is becoming more and more popular as patients are satisfied with the results. To learn more about the cryoablation procedure, consult you doctor and visit the Her Option Web site.
