Why Am I Missing Work for Period Pain?

Period pain causes major problems. Also called dysmenorrhea, the monthly cramps and pelvic pain can really disrupt your life. But for some reason, many women are too embarrassed to discuss this and their other fibroid symptoms with their doctors.

Accordin to Ingrid Harm-Ernandes, a Duke Health specialist 1 in 4 women in America experience pelvic floor problems. But, she says, "Everybody feels like they are alone so they don't step forward and say 'I have this symptom, I have this problem, and can I get help for it?'"

Unfortunately, that can trigger a domino effect of delayed diagnoses for the cause of your period pain, along with harm to your career. In fact, one Dutch study reveals that painful periods cause women to lose nine days of work and school each year!

Period Pain Takes you Off the Job

This study followed more than 32,000 women between the ages of 15 and 45 to see how often they women missed work or school, or arrived in agony, due to period pain. And the numbers aren't great: close to 14 percent of the women missed work during their periods, while almost 4 percent skipped work or school almost every month during their periods. Even more upsetting? Even when the women made it to their jobs, 80.7% said their periods made them less productive.

Fibroids and Period Pain

Now, many of the study participants simply had run-of-the-mill menstrual cramps. But guess what? when you have fibroids, your period gets longer, heavier and a lot more painful, among other symptoms.

Plus, according to studies, 30% of women with fibroids also experience painful sex, pelvic and back pain and many other disruptive symptoms. It is advisable to take note of any substantial changes to your period and discuss them with your doctor if they are concerning.

Forutnately, while some forms of dysmennorhea are hard to address, we can help you overcome period pain caused by fibroids. And the answer isn't surgery or medications: instead, you can explore non-invasive treatment options, such as Uterine Fibroid Embolization, that alleviate symptoms without sacrificing your uterus. Ready to start your journey to relief? Click here to request an appointmentwith our Dallas-area fibroid specialists to learn if you're a candidate for UFE.