Fibroids and Related Symptoms Can Be Relieved
What are Fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths of the uterus that often appear during your childbearing years. Also called fibromyomas, leiomyomas or myomas, uterine fibroids are not associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer and almost never develop into cancer.

Symptoms

In women who have symptoms, the most common symptoms of uterine fibroids include:

1) Heavy menstrual bleeding
2) Prolonged menstrual periods — seven days or more of menstrual
bleeding
3) Pelvic pressure or pain
4) Frequent urination
5) Difficulty emptying your bladder
6) Constipation
7) Backache or leg pains

Rarely, a fibroid can cause acute pain when it outgrows its blood supply. Deprived of nutrients, the fibroid begins to die. Byproducts from a degenerating fibroid can seep into surrounding tissue, causing pain and fever. A fibroid that hangs by a stalk inside or outside the uterus (pedunculated fibroid) can trigger pain by twisting on its stalk and cutting off its blood supply. Fibroid location influences your signs and symptoms:

Submucosal fibroids. Fibroids that grow into the inner cavity of the uterus (submucosal fibroids) are thought to be primarily responsible for prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding and are a problem for women attempting pregnancy.

Subserosal fibroids. Fibroids that project to the outside of the uterus (subserosal fibroids) can sometimes press on your bladder, causing you to experience urinary symptoms. If fibroids bulge from the back of your uterus, they occasionally can press either on your rectum, causing constipation, or on your spinal nerves, causing backache.

Causes

Uterine fibroids develop from the smooth muscular tissue of the uterus (myometrium). A single cell reproduces repeatedly, eventually creating a pale, firm, rubbery mass distinct from neighboring tissue. Fibroids range in size from seedlings, undetectable by the human eye, to bulky masses that can distort and enlarge the uterus. They can be single or multiple, in extreme cases expanding the uterus so much that it reaches the rib cage.Doctors do not know the cause of uterine fibroids, but research and clinical experience point to several factors:

Genetic alterations. Many fibroids contain alterations in genes that code for uterine muscle cells.

Hormones. Estrogen and progesterone, two hormones that stimulate development of the uterine lining in preparation for pregnancy, appear to promote the growth of fibroids. Fibroids contain more estrogen and estrogen receptors than do normal uterine muscle cells.

Other chemicals. Substances that help the body maintain tissues, such as insulin-like growth factor, may affect fibroid growth.

Western Medicine Treatment

There is no single best approach to uterine fibroid treatment. Many treatment options exist. In most cases, the best action to take after discovering fibroids is simply to be aware they are there. If you are like most women with uterine fibroids, you have no signs or symptoms. In your case, watchful waiting (expectant management) could be the best course. Fibroids are not cancerous. They rarely interfere with pregnancy. They usually grow slowly and tend to shrink after menopause when levels of reproductive hormones drop. This is the best treatment option for a large majority of women with uterine fibroids. Medications for uterine fibroids target hormones that regulate your menstrual cycle, treating symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding and pelvic pressure. They do not eliminate fibroids, but may shrink them. Medications include:

1) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) agonists Medications
2) Progestin-releasing intrauterine device (IUD)
3) Androgens
4) Danazol
5) Other medications
6) Hysterectomy
7) Myomectomy
8) Abdominal myomectomy
9) Laparoscopic myomectomy
10) Hysteroscopic myomectomy

Other procedures to shrink or destroy fibroids

1) Myolysis
2) Endometrial ablation
3) Uterine artery embolization
4) Focused ultrasound surgery

Adopted from Wei Laboratories, Inc.