Alternative Options to Fibroid Surgery

Did you know there are almost 600,000 hysterectomies done in the United States every single year?  At least one-third of those surgeries are performed because of fibroids. If you suffer from fibroids there’s good news . . . you may have other options. Before you resort to painful and irreversible surgery, explore the alternative treatments outlined in this article.

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign (non cancerous) tumor of a woman’s uterus (womb).   They can grow as a single tumor or in clusters.  Fibroids start in the muscle tissues of the uterus and can grow in the uterine cavity, in the thickness of the uterine wall, or on the surface of the uterus into the abdominal cavity.  While these tumors are called fibroids, they are not made of fibrous tissue.  In fact, they consist of muscle tissue.

What causes fibroids?
Fibroids are stimulated by estrogen, which is a hormone that is produced naturally in the body.  Women as young as 20 can develop fibroids. Fibroids often shrink after menopause because your body stops producing estrogen in large amounts.  Here are some factors that have been known to cause the growth of fibroids.

• Being overweight or obese
• Having never given birth to a child
• Onset of your period before the age of ten
• African American heritage (fibroids occur in these women 3 -9 times more often than Caucasian women)

What are the symptoms of fibroids?
The majority of the time there are not any symptoms associated with fibroids.  However, if there are symptoms the most common ones are:

• Irregular vaginal bleeding or an increase in menstrual bleeding
• Pressure on the bladder, which can cause you to urinate more often
• Pressure on the rectum, which causes constipation
• Pelvic pressure, which causes you to feel like you are full in your lower abdomen
• Increase in the size of your waist

You need to call your doctor if you:

• Have irregular or heavy menstrual cycles or bleeding between periods
• Have pelvic pain or abdominal pain
• Have a fever or night sweats
• Have an increase in abdominal girth
• Any combination of these

How can you tell if you have fibroids?
There are exams and tests that can be done to check if you have fibroids.  Your physician will conduct a physical examination, which will include a pelvic exam.  Your doctor should be able to tell if your uterus feels irregular or abnormal.  However, for verification of the diagnosis, your doctor may choose to do one of the following tests:

• A transvaginal or pelvic ultrasound, which will tell you how many fibroids there are, as well as the size and shape.  The test uses sound waves to give an image of your pelvic area.  A wand is either passed over your abdomen or could be inserted into your vagina.
• An endometrial biopsy can be performed by taking a sample of tissue from your uterus.  In this test, a small instrument is passed through your cervical opening and grabs small tissues samples from the inside of your uterus.
• A hysteroscopy can look at your uterus with a small fiber optic camera that is passed through the opening of the cervix.
• Hysterosalpingography is an injection of dye into the uterus and the fallopian tubes.  An x-ray is then done to identify if there are any fibroids.
• Laparoscopy is actually a surgical procedure where a small fiber optic camera is inserted into your abdomen to look directly at the internal organs.

How are fibroids treated?
As stated above, many women turn to surgery to remove their fibroids. However, more and more women have turned to natural remedies for fibroids, which is a viable alternative to surgery.

Because there are different causes of fibroids in women, there are different natural approaches to take. For instance, women who are prone to inflammation can add the spice curcumin to cooked foods, as well as eating hops and rosemary, all of which have anti-inflammatory properties. 

Excess estrogen has been known to cause fibroids, which is many times caused by fat cells.  Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy weight. Also, pollutants can cause excess estrogen; so natural remedies for fibroids include detoxification, especially of the liver. 

Herbal Chinese preparations have been known to aide in cleansing the reproductive organs, which help to remove toxins and prevent further growth. This method has also been known to shrink fibroids.

Of course when deciding which approach to take, you should consult with your healthcare provider to ensure that you are making the best choice for your situation. Natural remedies might just be your best option.