If you’re a woman who has been told that you have fibroids, you’re not alone. You may find yourself asking your doctor “Are fibroids serious?”, “Do fibroids need to be removed?” and “Do fibroids go away?”.
“Fibroids, which are muscular tumors in the wall of the uterus, are actually very common in women of childbearing age,” Steward Health Care and Steward Medical Group OB-GYN Taidine Lopes, MD. “By age 50, up to 70 percent of white women and 80 percent of African-American women may have fibroids. After menopause, the tumors usually shrink.”
Fibroids are almost always noncancerous. Many women never experience any problems with them. However, other women develop symptoms such as:
- Heavy menstrual bleeding
- Painful periods
- A feeling of fullness in the lower belly
- Pain during sex
- Low back pain
- Frequent urination
- Difficulty getting pregnant
- Problems during labor and delivery
If you aren’t having symptoms, you may not need treatment. But if your fibroids are causing problems, several treatment options are available.
What are Drug Options for Treating Fibroids?
To manage milder symptoms, your doctor may prescribe medication, like the following:
- Pain relievers (such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen) to ease mild pain
- Hormonal birth control (such as certain birth control pills or an IUD) to reduce heavy bleeding during periods
- Iron supplements to prevent anemia caused by heavy periods
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (such as Lupron) to treat anemia or shrink fibroids prior to surgery
- Non-hormonal therapy for abnormal uterine bleeding management which would include the anti-fibrinolytic agent, Tranexamic acid
What are Surgical Options for Fibroids?
f you have more severe symptoms, your doctor may recommend a surgical procedure, such as:
- Myomectomy to remove fibroids while leaving the rest of the uterus intact—a good choice for women who want to become pregnant later
- Hysterectomy to remove the entire uterus
- Endometrial ablation to destroy the lining of the uterus, which reduces heavy bleeding during periods
- Myolysis to destroy fibroids with an electric current or freezing
- Uterine fibroid embolization to block the blood supply to fibroids, which causes them to shrink
The choice of procedure depends on the size, location, and number of your fibroids as well as whether you want to have children in the future. Talk to your doctor about which treatment option is right for you.
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