What are fibroids? Between 20% and 75% of women will experience the effects of fibroids in their lifetime. Although many women understand the symptoms, they do not know the origin of this condition. Fibroids are benign smooth muscle tumors that have fiberous connections. They happen in the uterine wall muscle and can range in size from a microscopic seed to the size of small basketball. As you might imagine the larger these fibroids grow the more they will affect a woman\’s body and have significant changes in her overall health.
The medical term for uterine fibroids is a leiomyomata (lie-oh-my-oh-mah-tah). Fibroids can grow as a single growth or can occur in groups within the uterus. As they grow larger and heavier the symptoms they incur are also more significant. Women will have feelings of heaviness in the pubic region as well as urinary urgency and frequency because of the size and weight of the uterus on the bladder. Larger fibroids can also cause constipation and pelvic pain as well as increasing amounts of monthly menstrual bleeding leading to anemia.
At this time researchers are not able to pinpoint a conclusive or definitive reason why fibroids grow and who will get them. But they do know there are significant risk factors for some women to get fibroid tumors. Fibroids are more common in women who are in their 30s and 40s, who are African-American or African Canadian and who have women in their own families who have suffered from fibroid tissue.
Women who are obese have a slightly higher risk for developing fibroids while women who have given birth are at a lower risk than women who have never had children. Researchers also know that fibroid growth and maintenance is dependent upon the presence of the hormone estrogen.
Doctors classify the type of fibroid a woman is experiencing based upon the location of the tumor within the uterus. These tumors can grow underneath the lining of the uterus, on the inside of the cavity, between the muscles or on the outside of the uterus. The most common fibroids are those that are present within the wall of the uterus and not within the cavity or on the outside.
Fibroids continue to increase in number of those diagnosed as the years progress. We do know that they decrease in size and may disappear during perimenopause and menopause. We also know that a woman who has one fibroid will usually have another.
Thankfully fibroid tumors are not cancers and they are not pre-cancerous. They are a totally benign overgrowth that occurs in the uterus and uterine wall. They do affect the health and daily lives of many women and can be very frustrating to live with. Many women who have fibroids also do not have symptoms and the tumors may be picked up during the regular pelvic examination. Because they are benign tumors most doctors made no recommendation for treatment unless the woman begins to suffer symptoms.
One of the most significant symptoms a woman experiences its heavy menstrual bleeding each month. The bleeding often includes large clots and lasts beyond the usual five to seven days. This heavy amount of bleeding that lasts for longer periods of time has a secondary side effect, anemia. This results in fatigue, shortness of breath and a low blood count that places the individual at higher risk for illness, infection and in the long-term, cardiac side effects.
Anemia affects the daily living abilities of any woman who suffers from it. She will struggle to do daily activities, climb stairs or exercise and the condition will affect the long term ability of the hear to pump adequately and effectively.
Anemia decreases the ability of the cells to gain the oxygen they need to survive. Because the heart is responsible for pumping the blood and the blood doesn\’t have enough oxygen the heart must work harder to pump more. This increased workload on the muscle that also requires oxygen can cause long-term problems if the anemia isn\’t addressed and the blood counts brought back to normal range.
Addressing the fibroids will ultimately cure the anemia but in the meantime women can eat a diet higher in iron, take iron supplementation and decrease their activity level to decrease the workload on the heart.
RESOURCES:
WomensHealth.gov: Uterine Fibroid Fact Sheet
British Society of Interventional Radiology: What are Uterine Fibroids