by Lorri B Smalls

Created on: July 13, 2009   Last Updated: July 15, 2009

The menstrual cycle is a necessary but challenging time of the month for many women. The majority of women either suffer from cramps, bloating, anemia, irritability, heavy bleeding, pain in the legs and in the back and sometimes migraines associated with their period. For these reasons and more some women have decided to reduce the number of times they have a monthly cycle. I feel that in some cases, the pill is very helpful in giving a woman relief from their period, but overall it can also make a bad situation worse.

Because menstruation is a normal body function, stopping the monthly cycle can lead to very bad side effects, that may leave a woman regretting the decision to only have four cycles per year. Probably the best advice I could give any fellow woman is to weigh the pros and the cons of taking birth control pills to stop the monthly cycle, and see if it's really worth the potential risks that may follow.

There are many causes for the menstrual cycle to go awry, but the most common reasons usually include environment , hormonal imbalance and what a woman may eat or drink. There are several herbal remedies that may offer significant relief, but with herbal supplements these should be taken with caution because even though these remedies are considered natural, they may still cause adverse side effects by taking them too long or with other medicine when seeking to balance the female hormones. Surgery is another option depending on the severity of bleeding and presence of fibroids, ovarian cysts and endometrial lesions that may be causing pain in the back or other areas of the body.

After about a year and a half of taking birth control pills to get relief for my menstrual problems, I decided that the best route for me was to get an endometiral ablation to alleviate the blood clots and painful bleeding that I was experiencing. Some women will most likely pick this procedure over hysterectomy because it is not as invasive and recovery time is much faster.

However, a woman's chances of becoming pregnant are slim to none. I feel that a woman being healthy and feeling good is a wonderful thing that is much deserved. Unlike the older generation, we don't necessarily have to suffer until menopause to get relief from our menstrual cycle, and if there's a way to find relief other than taking birth control pills I am all for encouraging any woman to go for that option.

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