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Having your period when you also have sickle cell disease (SCD) can pose unique challenges, including more severe cramps. Blood loss and fluctuating hormones can even set off a sickle cell crisis.
“It has been well documented that menstruation can trigger an acute pain crisisexternal link, opens in a new tab in people with SCD who menstruate,” says Layla Van Doren, MDexternal link, opens in a new tab, a hematologist at Smilow Cancer Hospital and a researcher and assistant professor of medicine (hematology) at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
In a recent multi-institutional study that Dr. Van Doren coauthored, almost 65 percent of participants reported they had SCD-related pain around the time of menstruation.