Jolly Mom: Recipes | Crafts | Atlanta Mom Blogger | Brand Ambassador | Product Reviews

If you're a baseball fan and looking to get your family to a game this Summer, you have to take advantage of KRAFT's Tuesday Night tickets! Just bring your KRAFT Singles package wrapper to your minor league ball park box office and buy one ticket and get one FREE! Offer is valid at select minor league ball parks and is good through September 6th. For more information, click HERE.

Look, I realize this post may be too much information, but I think it's something that should be talked about. Heavy menstrual periods. Immediately after Lucas was born, my periods changed dramatically. Where before they were light and lasted a few days, now my periods are heavy, painful, and last an entire week. Turns out there are lots of women struggling with heavy menstrual bleeding. There's even a name for it: menorrhagia.

What constitutes heavy bleeding?
If your bleeding interferes with your daily activities, soaks through one or more pads or tampons every hour for several hours or causes you to use a tampon and a pad at the same time, you may be one of the millions of women who experience heavy monthly bleeding, also known as menorrhagia.

To be honest, I don't think that I have menorrhagia because my periods don't interfere with my daily activities and it's never as heavy as described above, but it's still an issue for a lot of women. It can cause you to feel tired and develop anemia so this is a serious issue that needs to be talked about. If you suspect that you may have menorrhagia, I recommend that you visit HealthyWomen.org--a useful resource that discusses heavy menstrual bleeding and available treatment options. 

Treatment Options for Heavy Monthly Bleeding

• Ice packs Put an ice pack on your abdomen for 20 minutes at a time, several times a day when bleeding is especially heavy.
• Vitamins Try vitamin C supplements to help your body absorb iron and possibly strengthen blood vessels.
• Iron Some research suggests low iron levels can increase menstrual bleeding and that supplementing with the mineral can reduce menstrual bleeding.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) These drugs, which include naproxen (Aleve), ibuprofen (Motrin) and the prescription NSAIDs diclofenac (Cataflam) and mefenamic acid (Ponstel), work by reducing levels of prostaglandins, hormone-like chemicals that interfere with blood clotting. NSAIDs are not specifically approved for treating heavy monthly bleeding but may be prescribed as an "off-label" treatment.
• Tranexamic acid tablets Tranexamic acid (Lysteda) is the only FDA-approved prescription medicine specifically designed to treat heavy monthly bleeding without hormones. Women take it in pill form for up to five days a month during their periods. In clinical trials, women experienced lighter periods every month, and the medication started working as early as their first cycle.
• Intrauterine system The levonorgestrel intrauterine system (Mirena) is FDA-approved to treat heavy monthly bleeding in women who use intrauterine contraception for birth control. The IUD may be kept in place for up to five years, slowly releasing a low dose of the progestin hormone levonorgestrel into the uterus. In some women, it may take three months before heavy bleeding is reduced and there can be some light bleeding between periods, particularly in the first three months. IUDs are not recommended for all women, so talk to your health care provider.
• Progestin Progestin is the most-prescribed medication for heavy menstrual bleeding. The hormonal medicine works by reducing the effects of estrogen in your body and slowing growth of the uterine lining. But side effects, including weight gain, headaches, swelling and depression, lead many women to quit using this option. Progestin is not specifically approved for treating heavy monthly bleeding but may be prescribed as an "off-label" treatment.
• Oral contraceptives Oral contraceptives can reduce menstrual bleeding by using hormones to prevent ovulation and thin the endometrium. One study compared oral contraceptives to the NSAIDs mefenamic acid, naproxen and danazol and found all four worked just as well to reduce bleeding. Depending on the type of oral contraceptive and the individual, improvement can take up to three months. Oral contraceptives are not specifically approved for treating heavy monthly bleeding but may be prescribed as an "off-label" treatment.
• Danazol Danazol is a form of the male hormone testosterone that blocks the action of estrogen in your body. It causes your period to stop in about four to six weeks but can have side effects, including acne, reduced breast size, hot flashes, vaginal dryness and irritability. Danazol is not specifically approved for treating heavy monthly bleeding but may be prescribed as an "off-label" treatment.

Before deciding on a treatment option, it's important to talk to your health care provider. HealthyWomen.org offers some great tips and advice to prepare you for your doctors appoinment. To learn more about menorrhagia or for additional treatment options, please visit HealthyWomen.org and make sure to LIKE them on Facebook too.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Ferring Pharmaceuticals and received a promotional item to facilitate my review.

I hope you'll join us tonight at 7PM EST for a Twitter party with Intuit! We'll be talking about local businesses. Why we should support them and our favorites! Of course, there will be lots of FAB prizes---gift cards galore and Quickbooks Pro or Quicken--perfect for either home offices or those of us with our own small businesses!

Oh, and make sure to stop by TheBlogFrog for a chance to win an iPad2 from Intuit!

Party Details:

Date: Wednesday, July 27
Time: 7-8pm ET/ 5-6pm MT / 4-5pm PT
Hashtag: #lovelocal
Who to Follow: @Intuit @theblogfrog @jollymom

Hope to see you there!

I am completely addicted to Totsy. Every night at 9 PM, I open up my computer and head over to Totsy.com to find out what are the fab deals of the night. You can always find toys from leading brands, designer clothing for babies, kids, and even for women. Skincare, baby bath products, baby gear, jewelry, and so much more. By more, I mean even VACATIONS. Yes, Totsy is now selling fantastic travel packages. Right now, you can get a trip to the Caribbean. An all-inclusive vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for TWO. This vacation includes food, tax, and even gratuity. That means breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks, beverages and cocktails at one of six restaurants and at the swim-up pool bar. That also applies to the mini bar and room service. You will also have unlimited access to the resorts non-motorized water sports, tennis courts, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and gym. Oh, and you also get a 110 minute spa treatment for you and your guest. Sounds like my kind of vacation!

Totsy's price: $2,630. Regular price: $4,580.

For more information or to sign up for your FREE Totsy account, visit Totsy.com.

I am a compensated member of the Totsy Mom Committee. Affiliate links are used in the above post. All opinions expressed in this article are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.

Motherhood can often feel isolating. Moms spend their days and nights making sure their children are cared for. We run around getting the kids from one place to another. There's homework and schedules and extracurricular activities. Even Lucas at 3 years old has schedules and activities that I have to get him to and keep up with. By the end of the day, it's hard to remember to pick up the phone to call your friends to schedule some girl time or even a play date. That's why as conflicted as I am at times about technology, I really love and appreciate how both technology and social media has connected moms with one another. And, it's also why I am LOVING the new and FABULOUS RedRover App!

RedRover is a fun, new way to connect with your friends and be able to make plans with them on-the-go. For instance, let's say you and your kids are headed to the pool and you think, "I wish I'd called some friends to come with us." This happens to me all the time as Lucas and I head to the park, library, out to eat, etc! With the RedRover App, you tell your friends where you are going and ask if anyone wants to meet up. It's so cool! OK, let me show you. First, you have to add your friends. You can have the app scan your email contacts and phone address book for friends to add. It's super easy! Once you have your friends added, then the fun begins! So, let's say I'm headed to the library and want my friends to join. I would click SHARE on my phone...

Click on NOW or LATER depending on when you're going and then scroll until you find the place you are headed. If it's not there, then you will have to add it, but in my area it's already loaded with tons of places. Oh, and do you notice in the picture below the two tabs that say CLEAN BATHROOM and KID FRIENDLY?? If you click on one of those, RedRover lets you know all of the places nearby that have been rated by other users as either having a clean bathroom or being kid friendly. SO not only can you make plans with friends, share, etc on RedRover, but it's also a fantastic way to discover new places and find a clean stop for a potty break. Can you say AWESOME?!!

Once you find the place you're headed to, click on it and then you're able to announce it to all of your friends or you can select specific friends.

You can also create events or meet-ups. Let's say you want to have a playdate at your house. Just create it on RedRover and let your friends know...

You and your friends can add pictures, rsvp, and chat about the meet-up right from their phones. You can also see everything online as well. 

Speaking of chatting...with the RedRover App, you can see what your friends are up to and send each other messages and photos. Facebook and Twitter are also integrated into the App so you can share on your social media pages as well!

Oh, and if all of that wasn't enough--RedRover also has an emergency feature. You set up five emergency contacts and if you're even in an emergency situation, click on Text My Emergency Contacts and it will send them whatever message you have set up. 911 and Poison Control are also a click away. 

Plus, it lists all the closest hospitals with their phone number, how many miles away, and a link to a map. TRULY a lifesaving feature!

Now that I have RedRover, I will definitely be using it all the time to connect with my friends. My top places to use are...

Playground

Peach Wave Frozen Yogurt 

Library

Starbucks

Pool

And, here's a tip: As I mentioned above, make sure to use the RedRover App to discover new places as well. Scroll through and check out all of the kid-friendly places around you--these are the spots other moms in your area are hanging at. This is also an invaluable tool when traveling to new places--whether on vacation or just on-the-go!

Watch RedRover in Action:

RedRover from RedRover on Vimeo.

I know you must be thinking that RedRover is going to cost you some money. NOPE. RedRover is FREE! It's available for Andriod, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. For more information about RedRover, visit their website and head to the iTunes Store to download. And, from now until July 28th--RedRover will donate $1 for every new signup up to $20,000 towards the important work of EveryMotherCounts.org. So, download and try it out soon!

This is part of a compensated campaign as a RovingMom Ambassador. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use for more information.