Taking Your Health In Your Own Hands When Uterine Fibroids Are An Issue

The benign tumors only become an issue when they produce related uterine fibroids symptoms such as pelvic pain and pressure, constipation, frequent urination, excessive bleeding or periods that last longer than usual, leg pains, etc. When faced with these symptoms, it is important not to panic and instead take your own health into your hands by getting as much information as you can on fibroids and various treatment methods.

Taking Control of Uterine Fibroids and Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

It is important to note as well that the tumors experienced by most women do not produce any uterine fibroids symptoms and because of this, they may go unnoticed. If you are troubled by the various symptoms, it is important to see your doctor for a diagnosis and to get a referral to an appropriate specialist.

An important part of overcoming fibroids is to not feel powerless or victimized. This will allow you to not only obtain the necessary information from the specialist you see but you will also be able to search for information elsewhere and decide the course of action that works best for you.

This independent research is important because you receive conflicting answers from doctors. Some may tell you to wait and just monitor the fibroids periodically for any changes. Others may want to take action immediately including recommending surgery. But since this is your body, you need to weigh the information and not rush into making any decision that you may regret later on.

While in the process of deciding on the best treatment option for you or no treatment at all, it is still important to monitor fibroids once a year to see whether there is any change in size or in the properties of the fibroids. Fibroids are usually monitored with an ultrasound. Fibroids usually grow very slowly and the larger they get, the more difficult they will be to remove.

Compare the growth of your fibroids or lack thereof with your doctor each year and determine whether there have been any changes from the prior year and how many you have and determine whether you need to have them removed or simply continue to monitor them.

If you suffer from various uterine fibroids symptoms, you may be able to get information from many sources on how to deal effectively with these symptoms. Surgery should always be a last option due to the expense as well as the associated risk factors. In addition, unless you decide to go ahead with a hysterectomy that removes the entire uterus, the fibroids may still return when other surgeries are performed.

There are many home remedies that you can use to deal with uterine fibroids symptoms and being proactive about dealing with fibroids will help you find various remedies and solutions that will help with fibroids.

Many treatments for fibroids are being discovered everyday so it is important to not just rely on your doctor for information. Do your own independent research on fibroids and uterine fibroids symptoms.  Doctors do have a lot of experience and knowledge but it is impossible for them to know every single medical development in treatments and procedures so you are better off being proactive about your condition.

In addition, while there are many good doctors there are also many bad doctors who may not take your symptoms seriously or suggest courses of action that may not be wise at the present time.

Take responsibility for your body. If you are experiencing various uterine fibroids symptoms, get as much information as you can on treatments. You never know, all you may need to do is make some lifestyle changes or use various fibroid natural treatment methods without resorting to surgery.

The Use of Hysterectomies To Deal With Fibroids and Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

While many women will develop fibroids at some point during their childbearing years, most will not suffer from any uterine fibroids symptoms which means that these women will not even be aware that they have these benign (cancer free) tumors. A few other women will suffer from severe symptoms that will require medical attention including a hysterectomy.

Fibroids are tumors that grow within the walls of the uterus or can grow out from the uterus. Very rarely may they grow on the cervix. In a few cases these fibroid tumors fill the uterus entirely, push out through the cervix and appear in the vagina.

The uterine fibroids symptoms if experienced at all by a few women include a heavy and prolonged menstrual cycle, pelvic pain and pressure, backache, leg pains, constipation, frequent urination or problems urinating, etc.

Medical attention is usually required when the uterine fibroids symptoms that you suffer from include very severe bleeding from the vagina as well as a sudden sharp pain in the pelvic area.

Hysterectomy for Dealing with Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

While the majority of hysterectomies performed each year are usually performed as a result of symptomatic fibroids, this surgery is usually recommended as a last resort when all other treatment options fail if you suffer from severe uterine fibroids symptoms.

Most of these tumors rarely require medical intervention and are simply monitored periodically by a doctor. If however, they produce complications such as causing severe bleeding and pelvic pain, surgery may be recommended.

As a last resort, a hysterectomy is usually recommended for women that are past their childbearing years or women who have no desire to bear children. This is because a hysterectomy makes pregnancy impossible by the removal of the uterus which leads to the termination of monthly menstrual cycles as well as the ability to bear children.

A hysterectomy is usually recommended for symptomatic fibroids because without a uterus, no tumors can be produced. This surgical procedure gets rid of these tumors for good.

A total hysterectomy involves the removal of the entire uterus and the cervix. A partial hysterectomy which is rarely performed today involves the removal of the uterus while leaving the cervix intact.

When a hysterectomy is performed, the uterus is removed either through an incision in the abdomen or through the vagina. When the surgery is performed through the vagina, the top of the vagina is sewn back together after the surgery. Because there isn't an external incision, there is no scar and the healing time is usually shortened than if the procedure was performed through an incision in the abdomen.

Hysterectomies usually do not interfere with or reduce a woman's libido or the pleasure derived from sexual intercourse. It also does not lead to weight gain contrary to popular belief.

The disadvantages of hysterectomies include but are not limited to the inability to bear children, are very expensive and in some cases may lead to early menopause. You may also have to deal with scarring if performed though an abdominal incision.

Before opting to use surgery to overcome fibroids and the various uterine fibroids symptoms, many women are turning to natural or holistic methods which have been proven to be very successful in curing these tumors and the symptoms. 

Plagued By Fibroids? Get The 411 On Uterine Fibroids Symptoms And Conventional Treatment

While many women do not produce uterine fibroids symptoms and may not even be aware that they have these tumors, many others experience various symptoms. Although what causes fibroids remains unknown, it has been noted that women with a family history of fibroids tumors are at greater risk. In addition, black women have been found to develop these tumors in greater numbers than women of other races.

The great news is that fibroids are usually benign (no cancer properties) growths that are found on or in the uterine wall and may navigate in a few cases outside the uterus. Believed to be a reaction to the high estrogen levels during childbearing years, these growths are common to women of childbearing age which may explain why menopausal women experience a reduction in these tumors.

The types of fibroids that a woman can develop include submucosal fibroids that develop on the inner uterine wall which can cause heavy periods that last longer than normal and subserosal fibroids that develop on the outside of the uterine wall and lead to pressure on various organs such as the bladder, rectum and various nerves in the spine leading to back pain which are some of the uterine fibroids symptoms.

Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

As mentioned, some women may not experience any uterine fibroids symptoms at all or any problems related to the tumors. For many other women, a few uterine fibroids symptoms include pelvic pain and pressure, heavy periods, the need to urinate frequently, problems being able to urinate due to pressure on the bladder by the fibroid tumor, being constipated from the pressure of the tumor on the rectum, back pain, pain in the upper thighs, periods that last beyond seven days, etc.

With the various uterine fibroids symptoms and not knowing when to seek treatment, the following signal that you should seek medical care immediately;

• If your pelvic pain or discomfort does not dissipate
• If you experience bleeding or spotting between menstrual cycles
• Prolonged constipation or difficulty urinating
• Painful and heavy menstrual cycles
• If you experience any pain during sexual intercourse
• Fever or fainting spells

Conventional Treatment

In the cases that treatment is necessary, you doctor will begin by simply monitoring the fibroids using an ultrasound to determine whether there is any change in the properties or the size of the fibroids. Medication to regulate the hormones and estrogen production may be suggested for less severe fibroids in order to shrink them or reduce the various uterine fibroids symptoms.

For more serious fibroids and uterine fibroids symptoms, a doctor will usually recommend a hysterectomy which is a form of surgical procedure that removes a woman's entire uterus which means that this woman will not be able to physically get pregnant and carry a child which may be more than most women who wish to procreate can bear. Without a uterus resulting from a hysterectomy, no fibroids can be produced. Besides the cessation of childbearing, this surgery is also expensive and can lead to various side effects including the premature start of menopause.

Another surgical procedure that is used in cases of less severe fibroid tumors is a myomectomy that removes the tumors while leaving a woman's uterus intact. A newer surgical procedure also for less severe tumors that will allow them to shrink is to clot the blood supply to the tumor in order to starve it which should hopefully cause it to shrink in size.

Besides the life changing hysterectomy, none of these conventional treatment methods lead to a cure for fibroids which is were natural treatment methods come in. There are various natural cures for fibroids and uterine fibroids symptoms that work effectively and prevent recurrence because they go to the root of the problem.

Uterine Fibroids Symptoms

What Are Fibroids? 

Affecting almost 40% of women at some point during the childbearing years, uterine fibroids are the most common tumors found on the uterus. The fibroid tumors are usually benign (non-cancerous). These tumors are usually made up of connective tissues and smooth muscle fibers.

Fibroids usually grow within the uterine wall and can sometimes attach themselves to the uterine wall. Fibroids can also develop as a single tumor or can be a cluster of tumors and can grow to any size whatsoever. Uterine fibroids usually grow very slowly and may fill the entire uterus, push through the cervix and show up in the vagina. They can grow to very large sizes especially when the woman is pregnant which can cause problems as the baby grows.