So you just got back from the regular gynecological test, and your doctor told you that you might have uterine fibroids. Fibroids, what are they? Are they harmful? Can we remove it? Should they be removed?
Take a deep breath first. Fibroids are very common: about 20-70 percent of women will develop fibroids during their reproductive years. And they’re nearly always (99% of the time) harmless.
But that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to ignore them. Fibroids may cause complications like excessive bleeding and reproductive disorders. At any point during their life, many women have uterine fibroids. But then you do not know if you have uterine fibroids, and there are sometimes no symptoms caused by it. During a pelvic exam or prenatal ultrasound, your doctor can discover fibroids by chance.
What Are Uterine Fibroids?
Uterine fibroids, which may be called leiomyomas or myomas by your doctor, are muscle tumors that may develop on your uterus. It sometimes turns into cancer, and it doesn’t mean that you’re more likely to have uterine cancer once you have it.
In size, shape, and position, fibroids can vary a lot. The size of fibroid clusters will vary from 1 mm to more than 8 inches (20 cm in diameter or even larger). They may grow as big as the size of a watermelon, for comparison. Within the uterus wall, these growths may develop within the main organ cavity or even on the outer surface.
Are Fibroids Common?
Actually, fibroids in your pelvis are a very common type of growth. There are fibroids in about 40 to 80 percent of women. However, many women do not feel any fibroid symptoms because they do not know that they have fibroids. When you have small fibroids, called asymptomatic, this will happen, and they do not cause you to feel something unusual.
Who’s At Risk For Uterine Fibroids?
Uterine fibroids are pretty common. They can appear at any age, but you are more likely to get them when you grow older. For people aged 30-40, they’re the most common. After menopause, fibroids normally shrink. You have a greater chance of getting fibroids if you:
- Have family members (especially your mother) with fibroids
- Are obese
- Eat lots of red meat
- Don’t get enough vitamin D
Data shows that it is more common for black women to get fibroids. Data also show that fibroids usually form at a younger age, grow faster and larger, and cause more serious black women symptoms.
The Symptoms
There are no symptoms in certain women who have fibroids. In those that do, the location, size, and several fibroids will affect symptoms.
The most common signs and symptoms of uterine fibroids in women who have symptoms, including:
- Serious menstrual bleeding
- Menstrual cycles that last longer than one week
- Pelvic discomfort or pain
- Frequent urination Frequent urination
- Difficulty with the bladder emptying
- Constipation
- Backache or pain in the leg
In rare cases, when a fibroid outgrows its blood flow and starts to die, it may cause extreme pain.
Causes
The cause of uterine fibroids remains unclear to doctors, but studies and clinical experience point to these factors:
- Genetic changes: Some fibroids produce gene changes that vary from those in the uterus’s normal muscle cells.
- Hormones: The growth of fibroids tends to be stimulated by estrogen and progesterone, two hormones that enhance uterine lining production during each menstrual cycle in preparation for pregnancy. Both estrogen and progesterone receptors contain fibroids than normal uterine muscle cells do. Due to a decrease in hormone production, after menopause, fibroids begin to shrink.
- Other growth factors: Fibroid development can be affected by substances that help the body maintain tissues, such as insulin-like growth factors.
- Extracellular (ECM) matrix: ECM is the material that helps cells, like mortar inside bricks, stick together. In fibroids, ECM is increased, which makes them fibrous. ECM also stores growth factors, which allows the cells themselves to change biologically.
Doctors assume that uterine fibroids develop in the uterus’ smooth muscle tissue (myometrium) from the stem cell. Many fibroids that have been present during pregnancy will shrink or vanish after pregnancy as the uterus returns to normal size.
Risk Factors
There are few known risk factors for uterine fibroids other than those of a woman of reproductive age. Factors that may have an impact on the development of fibroids include:
- Race: Although any woman of reproductive age may develop fibroids, black women are more likely to have fibroids than women of other racial groups. In addition, black women have fibroids at younger ages and are more likely to have one or more fibroids along with more serious symptoms.
- Heredity: If your mother or sister has fibroids, you are at increased risk of developing fibroids.
- There are other factors: Early onset of menstruation; obesity; vitamin D deficiency; a higher intake of red meat and a lower diet in green vegetables, fruit, and milk; and consuming alcohol, including beer, appears to increase the risk of developing fibroids.
Treatment
Treatment for women with fibroids will depend on the nature of the symptoms, your age and whether or not you plan to have children in the future. Fibroids that interact with a woman’s quality of life can be handled and managed in a number of ways.
Available Treatments Vary From Medicine To Surgery:
- Iron supplements: Women with serious menstrual bleeding can take iron supplements to prevent anaemia.
- Anti-inflammatory medications: Your doctor can prescribe these medicines for pelvic pain and discomfort.
- Anti-hormonal medicines: Drugs that block estrogen or reduce estrogen levels can prevent and reduce fibroids. Anti-progestins can also be successful.
- Surgery: Various types of surgical procedures are used to treat fibroids. These treatments can remove the entire uterus, the uterine lining, or only the fibroids themselves.
Available Surgical Procedures Include:
- Myomectomy: This is a traditional surgical approach that prevents fibroids and leaves the uterus intact. This may allow for a future pregnancy.
- Embolization of uterine fibroids: This operation decreases the fibroids’ blood flow by blocking the arteries that deliver blood to the fibroids. It is unclear if this treatment will affect the ability to become pregnant in the future.
- Hysterectomy: The uterus is removed. Pregnancy after hysterectomy is not possible.
The Bottom Line
Uterine fibroids are very normal, but their effect on the life of each woman is unique.
You can’t avoid fibroids in general. You will reduce your risk by maintaining a good body weight and taking daily pelvic examinations. Women should be conscious that there are many treatments available to treat fibroids and that these options will greatly improve their quality of life. If you have small fibroids, plan for your healthcare provider to monitor them.
