Opening Patient Dialogues

Many women consider menorrhagia a normal way of life, rather than a serious medical condition. Many are also embarrassed to discuss the discomfort and disruption it can cause. This may mean that patients need your help to discuss and understand that menorrhagia can be treated.

Cytyc Surgical Products has developed a physician tool called Synchronicity. This tool contains valuable support materials to help you open and maintain a comfortable dialogue with your patients about menorrhagia and the treatment options.

Helping Patients Help Themselves

Some patients wait to bring up the topic with their physicians until they’re completely frustrated. Others are silent sufferers and may not say anything at all for a variety of reasons. They may fail to realize that very heavy bleeding is abnormal or they are afraid of what treatment might entail. They may be hesitant to bring up the topic, believing that the physician is too busy and not wanting to take up too much time. They may simply be too embarrassed or too shy, but they would discuss the issue if they were engaged in a dialogue.

Here are some simple questions to help patients who may not feel comfortable discussing their menorrhagia symptoms:

Questions that can help women open up about menstruation:

• How often do you get your period?
• How many days does your period last?
• In the first few days of your period, how many tampons and/or pads do you go through in an hour?
• How often do you have to get up at night to change your tampon/pad?
• How often do you find you bleed through your protection, even your clothes?
• How often do you have a lot of blood clots in your flow when you’re menstruating?
• How often are you afraid to leave the house or go out in public when you have your period?
• How often does your menstrual bleeding cause you to avoid social activities, sexual activity, or sports, or cause you to miss work?

Helping Patients Help Themselves

You can help your patients better assess their symptoms and understand menorrhagia. The Patient section of our web site contains tools like the period tracker and the self-assessment quiz which can provide you with the information you need to open the dialogue and plan the patient's treatment.