NHS to stop offering some treatments for heavy menstrual bleeding

[honeysucklejasmine]

According to the link, "dilatation and curettage for heavy menstrual bleeding" will be offered only by individual request, and "Hysterectomy for heavy menstrual bleeding" only when specific criteria is met.

I'm saddened but not shocked that women's health is on the chopping block. I don't know that any woman would want gynaecological surgery unless it were absolutely necessary so it's upsetting that these routes may now be even harder to access than they already are.

I think most people posting in this area will know just how debilitating "heavy bleeding" can be.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44665560

It's GOOD news!

It's confirming what good doctors practise anyway!

D&Cs used to be the 'go to' option for anything gynae. 40 yrs ago they threw one in when I had a cervical erosion cauterised (Under a GA.) Now, that would be unheard of.

The point of the change is, as it says in the detail, that D&Cs rarely achieve anything for heavy periods (they are a temporary measure.) There are much better options like ablation, Mirena coil, hormonal treatments. Sadly there must be some old school drs who still offfer D&Cs.

Same for hysterectomy. Used to be the catch-all treatment until they realised there were better treatments.

These new measures are not about denying correct treatment. What they are saying is that outdated ineffective treatments (in the light of better ones) should be stopped.

Might be worth you listening to yesterday's Today on Radio 4, round about 8.30 when this was discussed with 2 drs, who used the example of tonsillectomies- again, something that happened to children regardless of whether they needed it, 60 yrs ago.

As usual the press always give news in a bad light. It's not about denying treatment; it's about making sure the patient gets the right treatment and not outdated ones.

You are absolutely right about the effectiveness of the treatments, but hysterectomy in particular can be helpful. My worry is that this guidance will prevent it being offered at all. After all, NICE guidelines for IVF say 3 cycles, but where I lived you'd only get 1. They used the fact that it is restricted to some extent to restrict it even further. Slippery slope, as it were.

It's women's services on the front line for the chop again if they were recommending other treatments first yes that's reasonable but I react Badly to hormones and the mirena coil is shite for many we really need to be finding alternative treatments before removing treatment protocols that can be effective