Heavy, Painful or Irregular Periods: Gynaecologist in Dubai
A period that soaks through protection every hour, lasts more than a week, arrives unpredictably, stops altogether, or hurts enough to stop you working is a reason to be assessed, not something to put up with. Most causes are benign and treatable. At Smart Care Polyclinic in Deira, a female gynaecologist takes the history, scans the womb and ovaries in the same visit, and arranges the blood tests that explain the rest.
For: heavy, prolonged, painful, irregular, missed or bleeding-between periods
Takes: a consultation with pelvic ultrasound
Price: consultation AED 150, ultrasound included
What it is
Gynaecologists classify abnormal bleeding by its cause, using the FIGO system. The causes divide into structural ones that ultrasound can see — polyps, adenomyosis, fibroids, and rarely cancer or pre-cancer of the womb lining — and non-structural ones: bleeding disorders, ovulation problems such as PCOS or thyroid disease, problems of the womb lining itself, and the effects of medicines or contraception.1 That is the checklist the consultation works through, which is why a scan and a few blood tests answer most cases.
Heavy bleeding is defined by its effect on you, not by a measured volume: flooding, clots, changing protection hourly, and the tiredness of iron deficiency that follows. Iron is checked because low iron is the commonest consequence and the most easily fixed.
Irregular or missed periods are usually a signal from the ovaries. PCOS is the commonest cause in younger women; thyroid disease, high prolactin, significant weight change, stress and intense exercise are others; and from the forties, perimenopause. Pregnancy is always excluded first. Treatment depends on the cause and on whether you are trying to conceive, which changes the options entirely.
Treatment options, in outline
For heavy periods without a structural cause: tranexamic acid or anti-inflammatories during the period, the combined pill, a progestogen, or a hormone-releasing coil, which is the most effective medical option. For fibroids and polyps: treatment depends on size, position and symptoms and ranges from watching to medication to removal, arranged by referral where surgery is needed. For painful periods: anti-inflammatories started before the pain, hormonal options, and assessment for endometriosis where the pain is severe or progressive.
Bleeding that must always be checked
Bleeding after sex, between periods, or after the menopause is assessed promptly whatever your age, because the small number of serious causes are far more treatable when found early. Most turn out to be benign; the check is what tells you.
The consultation, and what follows from it
Gynaecology consultation, with ultrasound
Assessment, examination and a plan with every cost stated before anything further is done.
AED 150 was AED 250
Bookiron, thyroid and hormones in one draw
Questions patients ask
Yes. Pelvic ultrasound is performed by the gynaecologist during the consultation at Smart Care Polyclinic, so the womb and ovaries are seen and discussed in the same visit.
A full blood count and iron stores, thyroid function, and where the history suggests it a clotting screen; a pelvic ultrasound for fibroids, polyps and the womb lining; and cervical screening if it is due.
Usually. Tranexamic acid, hormonal treatments and the hormone-releasing coil reduce bleeding substantially for most women. Surgery is for specific structural causes or when medical treatment has failed, and is arranged by referral.
This guide is general information, not advice about you. Symptoms overlap between conditions, and the gynaecologist's history, examination and ultrasound are what decide your assessment and treatment.
References
- Munro MG, Critchley HOD, Fraser IS, FIGO Menstrual Disorders Committee. The two FIGO systems for normal and abnormal uterine bleeding symptoms and classification of causes of abnormal uterine bleeding in the reproductive years: 2018 revisions. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. 2018;143(3):393-408. PMID 30198563. doi:10.1002/ijgo.12666The FIGO systems that define normal and abnormal bleeding and classify its causes (PALM-COEIN) into structural — polyps, adenomyosis, leiomyoma, malignancy — and non-structural causes.
Sources are listed for the specific statements they support. They are published research and guidance, not a substitute for a consultation — what applies to you is decided by a doctor who has assessed you.