7-2-1

As physicians taking care of young girls and women with HMB, we are often faced with a challenging patient who is at a high risk for developing thrombosis due to a family history, a past personal history of thrombosis or medical conditions that could be a trigger for developing blood clots. In this podcast, we will be speaking with our experts on thrombosis and HMB to help us navigate through these difficult decision-making scenarios. We will be referring to certain brand names of hormonal therapies as our listeners are familiar with those rather than the complicated generic nomenclature. We will use gender-neutral language whenever possible, but when discussing the results of clinical studies, we may refer to women or girls because that is the language specifically used by the authors. 

The pill aka “oral contraceptive pill, OCP “, “birth control pill” is a misnomer when used solely for HMB by a pre-teen or teenager and unfortunately, can be associated with a stigma. In the true sense, pill used for heavy period flow is in fact hormonal therapy. We will be referring to the pill also as hormonal therapy during this discussion and will clarify several misconceptions about it, thereby hoping for a wider acceptance of these medications.

To dispel these stigmas, we have our esteemed guest Dr. Janice Bacon, who is a general obstetrician & gynecologist with a sub-specialty certification in pediatric and adolescent gynecology. She is currently in private practice at Lexington Medical Center and is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology for the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine in Columbia. Dr. Bacon has a strong interest and background in helping patients with menstrual problems. She is the past president of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG) and currently serves on the board of directors and education committee for the Foundation for Women and Girls with Blood Disorders (FWGBD).

In this episode, your hosts continue to explore some great information and facts about the use of IUDs for heavy menstrual bleeding and are joined by a well-known expert in the fields of adolescent medicine and reproductive health, Dr. Claudia Borzutzky.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about IUDs. As healthcare professionals, we are seeing more and more providers prescribing them as hormonal therapy for bleeding disorders. In this episode, your hosts discuss demystifying IUDs with Dr. Patricia Huguelet, Associate Professor and Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

For years, providers have heard their patients say, “But my period has always been this heavy. That’s normal for me.” But what does “normal” even mean when we talk about periods? In this episode, your hosts discuss how to differentiate normal vs. heavy menstrual bleeding and tell you more about how heavy menstrual bleeding could be a sign of an underlying bleeding disorder. They also speak to a mother and daughter team about their experiences with normal vs. heavy.

Please note: In our discussion in this episode, we mention "non-hormonal therapy". One non-hormonal therapy that Doctors will utilize for the management of heavy menstrual bleeding is tranexamic acid.