Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB), or menorrhagia, is a condition that nearly one in three people who get periods experiences. Nevertheless, getting proper treatment for HMB is rare for a variety of reasons. Some might have a hard time determining they have HMB, and some might avoid talking about it due to social stigma.
For 32-year-old Lou from Bordeaux, France, heavy periods were interfering with her normal way of life, and they got worse just after her gynecologist inserted a copper IUD.
Lou’s story: Living with HMB
Before the pandemic, Lou spent three years running a restaurant with her boyfriend. COVID forced the couple to shut down their business, and Lou started to take on illustration projects for work.
Her new free time gave her time to reflect on the previous year, she worked long hours, managed lots of tasks at the same time, and gave herself completely to please her customers. It took a good month of letting things go for her to realize something was wrong with her body.