You may not even know you have fibroids as they often develop silently
Fibroids are a common yet often overlooked health condition that many women may have without realising it. While some fibroids cause noticeable symptoms, others can remain undetected until they begin affecting daily life. Understanding what fibroids are, the signs to look out for, and when to seek support can help women take control of their reproductive health.
Quick Read:
- Fibroids can be as tiny as a grape or as sizeable as a lemon.
- Unfortunately, many women don’t realise they have fibroids until they become quite painful.
- You can be generally “healthy” overall, but still be at risk for fibroids.
What are fibroids?
Fibroids are generally harmless growths of muscle tissue that may develop on or around the uterus. You may have one or several fibroids. The reasons they form are complicated and could be due to a range of factors.
One major factor is high levels of certain hormones, like oestrogen and progesterone. Being overweight can also increase your risk, as extra body fat can raise oestrogen levels, encouraging fibroids to grow. This makes your diet important: animal products like meat, ham, wheat, spicy and fried foods, and too much alcohol are not recommended if you have fibroids.
Common symptoms of fibroids
The most common symptoms are usually:
- Painful cramps
- Swelling
- Abdominal pain
- Frequent urination
- Heavy bleeding
- Lower back pain as well as pelvic pain
The problem is that because these signs are also easily confused with your period and PMSing, fibroids can be easy to miss. In fact, many women, for years, simply believe they have difficult menstrual cycles because they bleed for longer than would be normal. As fibroids grow, it can lead to painful sexual intercourse, infertility, and miscarriage.
Do fibroids affect all women?
Unfortunately, fibroids affect many women. In a lot of cases, the fibroids are generally small, painless, and don’t affect your quality of life in any way. On the other hand, it’s concerning that black women seem to be at a higher risk of fibroids.
Uterine fibroids (UFs), also known as uterine leiomyoma, are the most common benign tumours found in reproductive-aged women of all races and may affect up to 70% of all women by menopause. The highest burden of this condition affects black women, occurring at rates 3–4 times greater in them as compared to their counterparts of other races. – National Library of Medicine (US)
Fibroids and menopause
Some women may notice that fibroids can shrink after menopause. This is the period when your hormone levels drop which cause the fibroids to often shrink or stop growing. However, this doesn’t happen for everyone, and some women may continue to experience symptoms even after menopause.
Frustratingly, the reverse may also be true. Some women could develop fibroids in their late 40s-50s. There may be some genetic link here, if your mother or grandmother had fibroids, you may be at risk, too.
While many women with fibroids can have healthy pregnancies, fibroids can sometimes cause complications like miscarriage, preterm labour, or problems with the baby’s position. However, most women with fibroids can still conceive and carry a pregnancy to term.
Help at hand
Hopefully, you’re staying up to date with your regular doctor visits and screening tests. And if not, it’s a good idea to make these visits priorities. In many cases, fibroids don’t call for medical help. If they’re small and relatively painless, and do not affect your daily life, doctors may simply monitor them rather than recommend surgery or other treatment.
If fibroids do become severe, they can lead to infertility or miscarriage. As always, the earlier you receive treatment, the better your chances of a swift recovery.
- Look for noticeable signs like weight gain, a swollen or bloated stomach, pelvic pain, and painful sex.
- Take proactive steps to prevent the growth and spread of fibroids. Regular exercise may help keep oestrogen levels in check. Eat more vegetables and fewer meat products. Also, try to cut back on sugar and processed foods. Add more Vitamin D-rich foods to your diet, which may help to shrink the fibroids.
- Always visit a doctor, go to the clinic, or a gynaecologist if you experiencing the symptoms we mentioned. You may think it’s just heavy bleeding from your period, but it could be fibroids, which a gynaecologist may be able to diagnose after a routine visit.
- Some women have few symptoms, such as no cramps but heavy bleeding. Do your best to monitor your health and know when something feels abnormal.
- There is treatment for fibroids if necessary, so please take action and get medical help when necessary.
Images: Pixabay
