Their period can last an unusually long seven days, their flow is so heavy that they must change their tampons or pads frequently, and they sometimes bleed so heavily that they do not want to leave the house. Excessive menstrual bleeding can lead to iron deficiency anemia as well. Two common treatments for excessive menstrual bleeding are hysterectomy and hormone therapy. Hysterectomy cures menorrhagia, but the procedure requires a hospital stay and lengthy recovery period. Because the procedure involves removal of reproductive organs, psychological effects can also result from hysterectomy in women who have not yet reached a natural menopause.
Hormone therapy is effective in treating menorrhagia but requires long-term prescription drug use.
In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the ThermaChoice TM Uterine Balloon Therapy TM system to treat excessive menstrual bleeding due to non-cancerous causes in women who have completed childbearing . ThermaChoice TM is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that requires a relatively short recovery period. It requires only local anesthesia and the entire process takes about half an hour. The system works because the endometrial lining of the uterus is destroyed by heat. A deflated balloon at the end of a catheter is inserted into the patient s uterus via her cervix.