What should I do if my menstrual period is prolonged after IUD insertion?

After giving birth, most women will choose to have an IUD inserted for contraception. Some women experience prolonged menstruation after the IUD is inserted. In fact, prolonged menstruation is mostly caused by the IUD. After all, the contraceptive IUD is a foreign body. If it is placed in the uterus, the body has a degree of adaptation. Most people generally have no adverse reactions after the IUD is inserted. If you experience lower abdominal distension, increased vaginal discharge, etc. after the IUD is inserted, you must remove the IUD in time.

What to do if your menstrual cycle is long after IUD insertion

After the IUD is inserted, it usually takes half a year for the IUD to adjust to the body. You will experience longer menstrual cycles, heavier menstrual flow, and physical discomfort. Pay more attention to rest, do not do heavy work or lift heavy objects, and avoid being too tired. In severe cases, you need to go to the hospital for treatment.

The menstrual cycle, also known as menstruation or physiological period, is the physiological cycle of human females. In other mammals, it is the estrus cycle. Humans are different from other species. Compared with other female animals that have obvious external characteristics during ovulation, the changes in women's appearance during ovulation are quite subtle. A woman may feel her ovulation, but it is difficult for others to identify it. This is called latent ovulation. This feature has sociobiological significance. In contrast, other species often sense information through heat. Great apes are the only mammals besides humans to have cryptic ovulation. Medically speaking, only the reproductive cycle experienced by primates (including humans) is called menstruation. The reproductive cycle of other mammals is called the estrus cycle. Menstruation is regulated by the reproductive hormone system and is necessary for biological reproduction. A woman's first menstruation is called menarche, and the onset of menarche marks the entry of a woman into puberty.

Changes in your menstrual cycle

One of the physiological characteristics of the female reproductive system is its cyclical changes, and menstruation is an important sign of this cyclical change. The menstrual cycle is mainly regulated by the interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovary. The hypothalamus regulates the function of the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland regulates the function of the ovary.

The endometrium undergoes cyclical changes under the action of ovarian hormones. The sex hormones produced by the ovaries, in turn, act on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, affecting the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, which is the so-called feedback effect; when their release is inhibited, it is called negative feedback, and when their release is promoted, it is called positive feedback.

The relationship between the changes in blood hormones during a normal menstrual cycle and the ovaries and endometrium is as follows: After the corpus luteum atrophies in the previous menstrual cycle, the secretion of estrogen and progesterone decreases, relieving the inhibition of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone produced by the hypothalamus enters the anterior pituitary through the pituitary portal vein system, promoting the secretion and release of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. Under the synergistic action of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, the follicles in the ovaries gradually develop and mature, and produce estrogen, causing proliferative changes in the endometrium. After the follicles mature, the first peak of estrogen appears in the body.

The increase in estrogen secretion produces a feedback effect on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, inhibiting the production of follicle-stimulating hormone, promoting the increase in luteinizing hormone secretion, resulting in a luteinizing hormone peak and triggering ovulation. After ovulation, the corpus luteum is formed and secretes estrogen and progesterone. Under their combined action, the endometrium undergoes typical secretory phase changes. After ovulation, estrogen levels temporarily decrease, followed by a second, lower peak.

The large amount of estrogen and progesterone secreted by the corpus luteum inhibits the hypothalamus and pituitary gland through negative feedback, causing the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone to decrease, and the corpus luteum begins to atrophy. After the corpus luteum atrophies, the secretion of estrogen and progesterone decreases, the endometrium loses the support of sex hormones, necrosis and shedding occur, and menstruation occurs. After the corpus luteum atrophies, the inhibition on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland is also lifted, causing gonadotropin-releasing hormone to be secreted again, and another menstrual cycle begins.