Depending on the location of the growth, we can sometimes feel a fibroid during a pelvic exam. Many women, however, seek our care for relief of symptoms that they may not connect to fibroids. These symptoms can include:. Fibroids can cause such heavy bleeding that you may be at risk for developing anemia. A large fibroid that pushes your uterus out of shape can also make it difficult to maintain a pregnancy. You may have trouble becoming pregnant when a fibroid blocks a fallopian tube or otherwise interferes with your reproductive cycle.
We may recommend an ultrasound or other advanced imaging studies, including:. While they develop from the muscular tissue of your uterus, fibroids have a very different genetic profile than normal uterine muscle tissue, and they contain more estrogen and progesterone receptors. These two hormones stimulate your uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy during your menstrual cycle each month and seem to promote uterine fibroid growth.
Uterine fibroids can grow very slowly or enlarge quite rapidly. Back to Health A to Z. The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size. They're sometimes known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas. In rare cases, further complications caused by fibroids can affect pregnancy or cause infertility. As fibroids do not often cause symptoms, they're sometimes diagnosed by chance during a routine gynaecological examination, test or scan.
If the GP thinks you may have fibroids, they'll usually refer you for an ultrasound scan to confirm the diagnosis. Oestrogen is the female reproductive hormone produced by the ovaries the female reproductive organs. Fibroids usually develop during a woman's reproductive years from around the age of 16 to 50 when oestrogen levels are at their highest.
Most women with uterine fibroids have an enlarged uterus. This typically causes abrupt, severe pain and tenderness. There is no known treatment that prevents uterine fibroids, but you can take some precautionary steps that may slow their growth or minimize symptoms, such as adopting a fibroid-friendly diet. A study showed that women who consumed milk, cheese, ice cream, or other dairy products at least once a day were less likely to develop fibroids than women who consumed dairy less frequently.
Additionally, artificial hormones, such as those used in birth control pills, tend to slow fibroid growth. There are minimally invasive alternatives to surgery , including uterine fibroid embolization. Of the conservative treatments for uterine fibroids, uterine fibroid embolization has the longest track record and has a significantly lower rate of major complications compared with surgery. Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop from the muscle tissue of the uterus.
The majority of uterine fibroids are diagnosed in women between the ages of 35 and However, fibroids can occur in women younger than 35 and until menopause. Depending on your situation, you may have one or several. The growth factor is of particular concern to women since uterine fibroids can get large and lead to painful, life-altering symptoms.
What causes fibroids to grow?
0コメント