Up until a year ago, Irene Eisenhauer of Cardiff planned her life around her menstrual period. A camping and motorcycling enthusiast, Eisenhauer said the excessive bleeding that she experienced affected her lifestyle.

"(I had) very heavy, very painful periods," Eisenhauer said. "I had both my children without pain medication, but with my periods I would consider an epidural. It was a quality-of-life issue for me."

Eisenhauer's affliction is known as menorrhagia, or excessive menstrual bleeding. Those who suffer from it complain of painful, lengthy periods. Some women even become anemic. According to MayoClinic.com, any woman can experience menorrhagia, but those approaching menopause are most susceptible.

Until fairly recently, relief options were limited to birth control pills, which help some but have side effects of their own; hormone therapy; or hysterectomy, a major surgery that can produce long-term complications.

Eisenhauer, however, found relief through endometrial ablation, a procedure that removes the lining of the uterus. Today she is period-free with light cramping for only a few days a month.

Her doctor, obstetrician-gynecologist Michele Gerber, who practices at Pacific Coast Women's Health in Encinitas, is a cheerleader for the procedure who said she has seen many women improve their quality of life. Gerber had the procedure herself in 2002.

"I love doing this procedure because it's very low risk," she said. "It's very easy and you get the happiest patients. You feel like you really changed someone's life."

Gerber uses a method called NovaSure, which has been around since the early part of this decade. It uses radio frequency to cauterize the lining of the uterus.

Most women have the procedure at a surgery center and receive general anesthesia. Sometimes only a local anesthetic is necessary. According to Gerber, the procedure takes one to two minutes and usually requires only a few days of recovery.

It is done by inserting a slender wand through the cervix. Other methods of endometrial ablation involve heat, freezing or using a laser beam.

According to Gerber, most ob-gyns are familiar with endometrial ablation, so obtaining the procedure is not difficult. Gerber said, however, that she is surprised that most women who come into her office complaining of excessive bleeding have not heard of it.

"It's taking longer than I thought to get in the general community," she said. "I rarely have people ask for it."

So who is a good candidate for the procedure?

"Someone who has completed childbearing and whose lifestyle is being affected by their heavy periods," said Gerber.

Gerber defined heavy periods as those requiring a change of a pad or tampon more than every two hours. She said the procedure has been especially popular among working women, such as teachers and lawyers, who are unable to make it to a bathroom any time they want.

Results vary, but Gerber said 60 percent to 70 percent of her patients have no period at all following the procedure. The other 30 percent to 40 percent have less of a period or a normal one. She also said the procedure does not trigger early menopause.

Eisenhauer was among the majority. "It completely eliminated any period," she said. "I can go the entire month without even thinking about my period … A lot of women out there don't expect their periods to become horrible. I just want them to know that there is help out there."

Contact staff writer Pam Reeder at preeder@nctimes.com.