During your period, do you find yourself using a jumbo tampon and a thick pad at the same time, just in case you leak? Do you avoid activities that don't have a nearby bathroom? If these are the case, your period may be heavier than it should be. Periods that are extremely heavy are very common, affecting about 50 percent of women who are aged 40-50. Learn ways of making your period much lighter so that you can go back to doing regular activities without fear of leakage.

How to Make Your Period Lighter

Before going about lightening your periods, make a visit to the doctor to make sure you are healthy and aren't suffering from some disorders that result in abnormally heavy periods. The doctor will help you be assured that you don't have any significant illness causing the problem and then it is okay to try to ways below to lighten the flow. These have worked on many women who were in your same situation.

1.   Change Your Diet

If you eat a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, and whole grains, you can lighten your menstrual flow. These foods are healthy and contain very little salt, processed carbohydrates, and saturated fats, which can result in water retention and bloating. This is a diet that can also help reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. You should also have foods that contain a lot of potassium in them because low potassium levels can cause heavy periods that are irregular and associated with extreme cramping. Other foods you should consider include foods that are high in calcium, essential fatty acids, vitamin B, zinc, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin E.

2.   Engage in Exercise

This is also a good and easy answer to how to make your period lighter. Try engaging in a moderate exercise because this can help your periods become lighter and more regular. Exercise can help you maintain a steady weight, so you won't have fluctuations in weight and fat that cause heavy menstrual periods. Good exercises to engage in include jogging, swimming, and power walking. Try to exercise at least thirty minutes per day for about 5-6 times a week.

3.   Try Natural Remedies

There are herbal remedies that seem to lessen the flow and can help you learn how to make your periods lighter. These include blue cohosh, golden seal, and agrimony. Talk to your doctor before trying any of these remedies as they can have an abnormal effect on medications you are already taking.

4.   Avoid Stress

When you are under a lot of stress, you might eat more poorly, which can make your period heavier. Use the food pyramid to find out which are the healthiest foods you should eat. Also get plenty of sleep if you want to avoid stress and stay healthy.

5.   NSAID Therapy

If the above listed methods for how to make your period lighter don't work, then you may need some medications. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen or naproxen will help you to make your periods lighter. They lower the prostaglandin levels in your system, which decreases your menstrual flow. You need to take a lot of these medications in order to see an effect. Don't take these medications if you have a gastric ulcer, a bleeding disorder, liver disease, kidney disease or take other medicines to thin the blood.

6.   Birth Control Pills

Birth control pills keep you from ovulating and help the uterine lining be a lot thinner. There are birth control pills that let you have only a few periods a year. Use the pills that contain both estrogen and progesterone and avoid birth control pills if you have diabetes, migraine headaches, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, or are a smoker who is over 35 years of age.

7.   Hormonal IUDs

IUDs are tiny devices made from plastic. Some of them release hormones into your system. The devices that secrete progestin cause the uterine lining to become thinner and prevent ovulation, at least partially. Two good choices are Mirena and Skyla. You can't use these devices if you already have cancer of the uterus or bleeding that cannot be explained from the vagina, or a bad liver. Problems like heart disease and hypertension may also be reasons why your doctor won't recommend this method of lightening your periods.

8.   Endometrial Ablation

This is another option for how to make your period lighter. This is an office procedure in which the doctor destroys the inside lining of the uterus, so your periods disappear or are very light. You may have it done using local anesthesia or after taking a sedative. You shouldn't use this method if you have suspected cancer of the uterus, uterine fibroids, a large uterus, or if you are still planning to get pregnant.