FIBROIDS
Fibroids
are benign (non-cancerous)
growths which develop in or around the womb (uterus).
Muscular and fibrous tissues of varying sizes make up the growths.
The medical term for fibroids is uterine myomas or leiomyomas.
Many women are symptomless and so, are unaware that they have fibroids.
However, for around one in three women, these symptoms are
experienced:
- Heavy
bleeding during
periods or painful periods
- Abdominal
pain
- Lower
backache
- Frequent urination
- Constipation
- Pain
or discomfort during sex (intercourse)
In
some cases,
additional complications caused by fibroids can affect
pregnancy or cause infertility.
If
your doctor suspects you have fibroids, he or she will
generally carry out a pelvic examination for any obvious signs.
Sometimes fibroids are discovered by chance, during routine
gynaecological (vaginal) examinations or tests for other problems as
they are often symptomless.
The
exact cause of
fibroids is not known, but fibroids have been linked to the hormone
oestrogen.
Oestrogen is the
female reproductive hormone produced by the ovaries (the female
reproductive organs).
Fibroids generally
develop in a woman's reproductive years (from around the age of 15 to
50) when oestrogen levels are highest.
Fibroids tend to
shrink when oestrogen levels are low, like after menopause -
when a woman's monthly periods stop.
Fibroids
are
common, with around 1 in 3 women developing them at some point in their
lives. They happen in women aged 30 to 50 most of the time.
Fibroids develop more frequently in women of
African-Caribbean origin.
It is also thought that they occur more frequently in overweight or
obese women
because being overweight increases the body's levels of oestrogen.
Women who have had children have a lesser risk of developing fibroids
and the risk decreases further, the more children a woman has.
- Fibroids can grow anywhere in the uterus and vary
in size considerably - some can be pea-sized while others can
be the size of a melon.
The main types of fibroids are:
- Intramural
fibroids – the most common type of fibroid which develops in
the muscle wall of the uterus
- Subserosal
fibroids – fibroids that develop outside the wall of the
uterus in the pelvis and can become very large
- Submucosal
fibroids – fibroids that develop in the muscle layer beneath
the inner lining of the uterus and grow into the cavity of the
uterus
In some cases, subserosal or submucosal fibroids are attached to the
uterus with a narrow stalk of tissue - these are called pedunculated
fibroids.
Ultrasound
of the lower abdomen and
pelvis.
- No treatment
is necessary if they are not causing symptoms. They will often shrink
and disappear without treatment over time, especially
after menopause.
If the fibroids are causing symptoms, to help relieve the
symptoms, some medicine will generally be prescribed first.
There are also some medications available to help shrink fibroids. If
these prove ineffective, surgery or other, less invasive procedures may
be recommended.
Myomectomy
or surgical removal of a single fibroid is done at first. However,
fibroids recur after a myomectomy and then hysterectomy, that is, total
removal of the uterus is done. This is followed by Hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) as the normal producer of the hormones of the body, the
ovaries are removed during the hysterectomy which have their own side
effects. All this can be avoided by homeopathic treatment. Homeopathy
can not only cure the fibroid or fibroids naturally but can also
prevent
recurrences.
Please
E-mail dr_ramanand@rediffmail.com for any questions/treatment