Obstetrics & Gynecology, Board Certified OBGYNs

A uterine fibroid is an abnormal growth of muscle tissue in your uterus. They are far more common than most women realize. Although a fibroid is technically a tumor, they are almost always benign or noncancerous. 

The highly skilled professionals at The Center for Women’s Health in Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, are experienced in treating uterine fibroids. Our team provides gynecology services to women who had no idea they had fibroids and others suffering from severe symptoms.

Symptoms related to fibroids 

A uterine fibroid, also known as a leiomyoma or “myoma”, can appear as a single muscular tumor nodule or as part of a multinodular cluster. Fibroids vary in how they affect you and in size. Some are very small, about the size of a popcorn kernel, while others are large, as big as a grapefruit. In rare cases, a fibroid can be so large it pushes out your abdomen.     

Large fibroids or clusters of fibroids are more likely to cause symptoms. Some of the symptoms you may experience include: 

• Painful periods and severe cramping
• Abnormal bleeding between periods
• Abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding
• Anemia (low iron) from heavy periods
• Pelvic pain or feelings of pelvic fullness
• Unexplained chronic lower back pain
• Discomfort during sexual intercourse

Fibroids can also bring about symptoms related to your urinary tract. For example, you may need to urinate often, have trouble emptying your bladder, be constipated, or have ongoing vaginal discharge.  

Uterine fibroids and period pain 

Each month, your uterus sheds its inner lining during your menstrual period. As that happens, your body releases chemicals called prostaglandins which trigger contractions that help shed the uterine lining. These chemicals can cause pain, inflammation, and intense cramping made worse by fibroids.  

The pain and cramping you feel during your period can be worse if you have fibroids because they increase the surface area of the uterine lining that must be shed. You may feel increased pelvic pressure, have a heavier blood flow with clots, or have severe cramps. 

Self-care for monthly fibroid pain

You can do several different things that may help your fibroid-related period pain. 

OTC medication

Over-the-counter medications can help reduce inflammation and ease your pain. Ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen may all be good choices when you first start feeling symptoms. Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle, and start taking the medicine one or two days before you expect your period to start. 

Go for a walk

Regular exercise is excellent for your overall health. It improves blood flow and triggers the release of endorphins, which are your body’s naturally produced painkillers. Even if you feel uncomfortable and don’t want to walk, it may help. Exercising regularly throughout the month can improve symptoms during your period. 

Relax your muscles

Using a heating pad or a hot water bottle to soothe your abdomen may help. The warmth relaxes your muscles, stimulates blood flow, and may ease discomfort. A warm bath or shower may be equally relaxing and soothing. 

Rest 

Rest can help you take the edge off persistent period pain. Lying on your back with a pillow under your knees may ease the pressure, or you may find it comfortable to lay on your side with your knees pulled toward your chest. 

Breathing exercises

Focusing on your breath can help you relax. Find a comfortable place, place one hand over your chest, the other over your navel, and inhale slowly, filling your lungs. Feel your chest and belly rise in the process, and hold each breath briefly before you let it out; imagine your pain drifting out of your body with each exhale. 

Treating fibroids 

Sometimes at-home care isn’t enough. If painful periods disrupt your life, medical intervention could be the right approach. Depending on your situation, we may suggest medication to control heavy bleeding or to shrink your fibroids. You may also need iron supplements if you’re anemic due to heavy bleeding. 

In some cases, surgery to remove problematic fibroids is the best solution. Various surgeries can treat fibroids, and choosing the best approach depends on individual circumstances. Before making a recommendation, your provider discusses important factors to consider, such as your medical history and family planning goals. 

Schedule a visit with The Center for Women’s Health to learn more about fibroids, how they are treated, and your treatment options.

A Closer Look at Organ-Supportive Devices

You get by with a little help from your friends, and your organs are no different. Read on to learn about organ-supportive devices and how they work when the muscles that hold up your organs don’t.

Menorrhagia-Friendly Diet Changes to Make Today

Heavy, painful periods are a drag, but if you aren’t focusing on your diet, you could miss out on a key menorrhagia-fighting tool. Keep reading to get an expert’s input on what you should eat when you have heavy periods.

There is Help for Urinary Incontinence

There are two things we want you to know about urinary incontinence: First, you’re far from alone, and second, there are solutions. In this blog, we look at why women are prone to the issue and how we can help.

Five Risk Factors for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Approximately 35-50% of women worldwide experience some degree of pelvic organ prolapse, and the side effects range from mild to severe. Here are five conditions that can place you more at risk for this common condition.

How Often Should I Have Pap Smear and HPV Testing?

Most women aren’t excited about getting a Pap smear and HPV test. But having these important screenings on schedule could protect your health and even save your life. Learn more about these tests and how often you need them

Uterine Fibroid Pain Symptom Relief

Uterine fibroids can lead to painful periods and a heavier flow, but there are ways to ease these symptoms.

By Kerry WeissMedically Reviewed by Kara Leigh Smythe, MD

Reviewed: January 25, 2023

Medically Reviewed

Long-lasting period pain or menstrual pain that worsens as you get older may be a sign of noncancerous growths called uterine fibroids.Charday Penn/iStock

For most women, a certain degree of menstrual pain is normal. As many as 75 percent of women experience period pain during their reproductive years, notes a study in the August 2019 Journal of Women’s Health. But it can also be a sign of something more serious, like uterine fibroids.

What Are Uterine Fibroids?

If you’re experiencing long-lasting period pain, or pain that worsens as you get older, it may be a sign of uterine fibroids.

“Uterine fibroids are benign smooth muscle growths of the uterus,” says Linda Bradley, MD, the director of the fibroid and menstrual disorders center at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. These growths are rarely cancerous, and they’re very common — about 80 percent of women develop fibroids by age 50, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

That said, they’re more common in some populations than others. Although fibroids can develop at any age, uterine fibroids are most common in women ages 30 to 40. Black women are more likely to develop uterine fibroids than white women; fibroids tend to develop at a younger age and grow more quickly in Black women, as well.

Common Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids

Some women who have uterine fibroids may not experience any symptoms. Others, however, may experience a range of symptoms that affect their period and beyond, such as:

• Abdominal or lower back pain
• Pelvic pain and cramping
• Painful sex
• Heavy menstrual bleeding
• Long, frequent periods
• Bleeding between periods
• Anemia (from blood loss)
• Bladder or bowel pressure
• Frequent or urgent urination
• Bowel movements that are difficult, frequent, or urgent
• Increased abdominal size
• Miscarriage
• Infertility

“Your symptoms generally depend on the location and number of uterine fibroids,” says Dr. Bradley.

Why Uterine Fibroids Cause Painful Periods

Each month, your uterus goes through a cycle: It creates a thickened inner lining in case a pregnancy occurs. If pregnancy does not occur, your body sheds that lining — this is your period.

During a normal period, your body releases hormones called prostaglandins. These hormones can cause pain and inflammation and can increase the intensity of uterine contractions, which may worsen menstrual cramping. And women who have elevated levels of prostaglandins may experience even more severe menstrual pain.

Fibroids can make this pain more intense: First, fibroids put pressure on the uterine lining. Then, if you have fibroids within the uterine wall, or fibroids that protrude into the uterine cavity, more surface area is created, which means more thickened lining for your body to shed during your period — that is, a heavier flow.

“For women who bleed a lot, large clots can form,” says Bradley. “As all of this blood and clotting is trying to come through the narrow cervix and be expelled from the body, the uterus is contracting more, which can cause pain.”

In the days leading up to your period, you might feel more intense cramping as your uterus goes through its motions to force out the lining, and a stronger sensation of pressure when your period starts because of the heavier blood flow.

If the uterine fibroids are large, you also may feel a stronger sensation of pressure at the time of your period due to blood flow to the fibroids.

Treatment Options for Uterine Fibroid Pain

Aside from uterine fibroids, period pain can be caused by health conditions like endometriosis or ovarian cysts. So if you’re dealing with period pain, it’s important to see your doctor or gynecologist to determine the underlying cause and recommend the proper course of treatment, says Bradley.

If you are diagnosed with uterine fibroids, a variety of treatment options can help you manage symptoms like heavy menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain, and pressure, and certain medications also treat the underlying uterine fibroids.

• Pain relievers, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen, can help alleviate period pain and decrease bleeding, but do not shrink the size of the fibroids themselves.
• Hormonal birth control, such as the pill, the ring, injections, and intrauterine devices (IUDs), decrease bleeding and alleviate menstrual pain and cramping, but do not shrink the size of uterine fibroids.
• Oral medications, including hormonal or nonhormonal options, used to treat heavy menstrual periods can alleviate uncomfortable uterine fibroid symptoms.
• Hormone injections, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, can induce a temporary menopause-like state and help shrink the size of uterine fibroids while you’re taking the medication, which in turn can improve your symptoms — but once you stop taking the drug, the fibroids usually grow back, and these medications cannot be taken long-term.
• Complementary therapies, ranging from heating pads to regular exercise and diet alterations, to strategies like acupuncture and massage, may help you manage pain and other symptoms related to uterine fibroids.

“If it’s getting to the point where your quality of life is bad — you’re staying home and missing work, activities, and hobbies — your physician needs to look at other therapies, such as surgical procedures,” says Bradley.

Hysterectomy, which removes the entire uterus, remains the definitive procedure for treating uterine fibroids. But today there also are a range of surgical options that are significantly less invasive and have a shorter recovery time.

A noninvasive procedure called MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) is performed while a patient is in an MRI scanner; MRI images allow the doctor to see where fibroids are located and target them with sound waves that destroy the tissue, according to the Mayo Clinic. Minimally invasive procedures, like radiofrequency ablation or embolization, also aim to shrink or remove the uterine fibroids. It’s important to note that MRI-guided FUS has a high re-intervention rate, according to research published in January 2022 in the International Journal of Hyperthermia, and isn’t as readily available as uterine artery embolization.

“The No. 1 cause of hysterectomies in America is uterine fibroids with pain, heavy bleeding, or discomfort,” says Bradley. “But we have new options — you’re not relegated to a hysterectomy. There are many other procedures that are less aggressive or less invasive. ”

Treatment is an individualized decision, and you need to see a physician who really looks at the whole patient, explains Bradley. The type of treatment you opt for should take into consideration your age, fertility plans, and the size and location of the uterine fibroids — and should be as minimally invasive as possible, she adds.

By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

What Happens After Menopause? Symptoms, Treatment, Health Risks, and Management

Find out about the symptoms, treatment, health risks, and management associated with the final stage of the menopause process.

By Cathy GarrardJuly 25, 2023

The Best Foods for Women Around Menopause

You can improve some symptoms of menopause with a smart menopause diet. Learn which foods are good for menopause and which to avoid.

By Beth LevineJuly 11, 2023

Endometriosis and Black Women: What You Need to Know

Find out why Black women are 50 percent less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than white women, and what you can do about it.

By Becky UphamJune 30, 2023

Treatment for Uterine Fibroids: Medication, Complementary Therapies, Surgery, and More

Your best treatment option for uterine fibroids will depend on many factors and may include over-the-counter medication, surgical treatments such as hysterectom…

By Lisa RapaportJune 27, 2023

What Are Uterine Fibroids? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Symptoms of uterine fibroids, which are caused by fibroid tissue growth, include heavy menstrual bleeding and painful periods. Learn about medication …

By Lisa RapaportJune 27, 2023

What Black Women Should Know About Uterine Fibroids

While uterine fibroids are relatively common, Black women are more likely to get them, and may experience disparities in symptoms, complications, and …

By Maia Niguel Hoskin, PhDJune 26, 2023

Study Discovers Promising Surgery-Free Treatment for Uterine Fibroids

Fibroids, benign growths on the uterus that can cause bleeding, pain, or infertility, may have a new treatment. Learn about treating uterine fibroids….

By Beth LevineFebruary 22, 2021

causes of delayed and scanty menstruation, what to do and where to treat fibroids in Moscow

Updated: 02 September 2020

Boris Yurievich Bobrov — Head, Endovascular Surgeon | Endovascular surgeon, candidate of medical sciences, the largest personal experience of EMA in Russia

0
31268

Contents of the article

• Delayed menstruation with uterine myoma
• Treatment of fibroids with delayed menstruation
• Abundant menstruation with uterine myoma
• UAE in the treatment of uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids is a disease that occurs mainly in women of reproductive age. One of the manifestations of pathology is a violation of the menstrual cycle. Monthly with uterine myoma are long, plentiful. Delayed menstruation with fibroids can be a sign of pregnancy. Blood loss depletes a woman’s body. In this case, doctors suggest removing the uterus. This news causes anxiety, can cause a depressive state. If you are faced with the problem of uterine fibroids, please contact us.

You will be booked in for an appointment and treatment will be organized in the leading clinics for the treatment of fibroids in Moscow. The doctors who work in them will find out why there is no menstruation in fibroids and perform embolization of the uterine arteries. After the procedure, the menstrual cycle is normalized. The procedure allows you to heal a woman and save the uterus. We will accompany you at all stages of treatment. You can send the research results to your e-mail address and, after analyzing them, get expert advice by e-mail.

Delayed menstruation due to uterine myoma

Can there be a delay in menstruation with uterine fibroids? Violation of hormonal balance entails a violation of the cyclical nature of menstruation. Sometimes menstruation occurs 2 times a month, and other patients have scanty periods with uterine myoma. Much less often, patients note a delay in menstruation with myoma. The reasons are as follows:

• ovarian dysfunction at the initial stage of uterine fibroids formation;
• altered structure of the muscular wall of the uterus, covered from the inside by the endometrium;
• violation of the vascular system of the endometrium.

The absence of menstruation with fibroids is observed in case of pregnancy. Hard physical work, nervous strain, acute and chronic stress, climate change, taking certain medications, including contraceptives, are often the causes of delayed menstruation.

Treatment of fibroids with delayed menstruation

Women often ask: “If there is a delay in menstruation with uterine fibroids, what should I do?”. Call us immediately. The gynecologists of the clinics we cooperate with find out the cause of menstrual irregularities using modern research methods. Treatment for delayed menstruation is aimed at normalizing the hormonal background. The drugs nafarelin, zoladex, decapeptyl inhibit the production of hormones. When taking these medicines, menstruation stops for a while. Reduce the production of estrogen duphaston and norkolut.

Quite often, doctors prescribe to patients suffering from uterine fibroids, with a delay in menstruation, herbal preparations, which consist of the following ingredients:

• nettles;
• hops;
• chamomile flowers;
• wheatgrass rhizomes;
• valerian root;
• shepherd’s bag;
• upland uterus (red brush).

With scant discharge during menstruation, traditional healers recommend taking seeds and parsley root. Doctors of gynecological clinics with whom we cooperate perform uterine artery embolization in case of uterine myoma. Due to the cessation of the supply of nutrients to the fibroid tissue, the nodes decrease in size, the normal structure of the uterus is restored, and the menstrual cycle is normalized.

Abundant menstruation with uterine myoma

Pathologically heavy periods with fibroids occur for the following reasons:

• thickening of the endometrium (inner layer of the uterus) due to an increased level of the hormone estrogen in the blood, which leads to uneven detachment of the endometrium or its incomplete detachment during menstruation;
• increase in the size of myomatous nodes, which is accompanied by a violation of the integrity of the vessels of the uterus;
• violations of uterine contractility, as a result of which the spiral arteries lose the ability to be clamped.

With uterine fibroids, the volume of blood released during menstruation increases to 150 ml. Allocations are scarlet, with an admixture of blood clots. With menorrhagia, a woman is forced to change hygiene products (sanitary pads or tampons) every hour or more often. The duration of menstruation increases to 10 days. Chronic blood loss leads to the development of iron deficiency anemia. The disease is manifested by the following symptoms:

• weakness;
• dizziness;
• fatigue;
• pallor of skin and mucous membranes;
• brittle nails;
• hair loss.

If you have these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. Gynecologists conduct therapy aimed at normalizing hormonal levels and stopping bleeding. Iron supplements are used to prevent and treat anemia. With heavy menstruation, doctors carry out hemostatic therapy with tranexam, dicinone, vikasol, etamsylate. In order to increase the contractility of the uterus, patients are prescribed oxytocin. Askorutin strengthens the vascular wall.

With the ineffectiveness of conservative therapy, the development of severe anemia, surgical treatment is performed. In most cases, it consists in removing the uterus. After the operation, the woman loses her reproductive organ, loses the opportunity to give birth to a child. After removal of the uterus, many patients develop posthysterectomy syndrome, mental health is disturbed.

Doctors of the clinics with whom we cooperate, based on their own extensive experience and statistical data, believe that the indications for removal of the uterus in case of myoma are unreasonably expanded. We perform uterine artery embolization (UAE), a procedure originally used to stop postpartum uterine bleeding. Endovascular surgeons inject inert microparticles into the uterine arteries, which block the lumen of the vessels supplying blood to the myoma. Bleeding stops, the menstrual cycle normalizes over time. The woman manages to save the uterus.

In some cases, menstruation becomes so abundant and long in time that it develops into acyclic bleeding. This happens when the myomatous nodes are located in the submucosal layer or intermuscular space of the uterus. Bleeding with uterine fibroids can open in the middle of the cycle due to the release of endometrial residues, which, due to the unevenness of the mucous layer, not all stood out during menstruation, and the loss of the uterus’s ability to contract. The arteries are not compressed, which causes bleeding.

The following factors provoke the opening of bleeding:

• thickening of the mucous membrane of the uterus;
• enlarged uterus;
• changes in uterine arterial vessels and venous plexuses.

If the amount of bloody discharge from the vagina exceeds 80 ml per day, we are talking about uterine bleeding. The woman urgently needs hospitalization, where our gynecologists will prescribe appropriate treatment for her. If indicated, doctors perform curettage. Our doctors perform uterine artery embolization for patients suffering from uterine fibroids during heavy periods.

UAE in the treatment of uterine fibroids

Uterine fibroids is a disease that develops when the female body is exposed to damaging factors, the main of which is menstruation. Often, uterine fibroids have many foci in the uterus or cervix. The size of the nodes can vary from a few millimeters to several centimeters. The main source of blood supply to myomatous nodes are the uterine arteries. An extensively developed network of blood supply collaterals allows maintaining the blood supply to the uterus at a sufficiently high level even when the uterine arteries are turned off from the bloodstream. This allows embolization of the uterine arteries without the risk of disturbing the blood supply to areas of the uterus that are not affected by the pathological process.

The uterine arteries are the main source of blood supply to the uterus. They are almost always the only source of blood supply to myomatous nodes. Myomatous formations, due to their structural features, are not able to build a network of arterial collaterals, therefore, in the absence of blood supply to the myomatous node, they become completely cut off from the bloodstream. This is due to the fact that the arterial vessels that feed the myomatous nodes are the terminal branches of the uterine arteries.

An endovascular surgeon, when performing embolization of the uterine arteries through a thin catheter, introduces small emboli into the lumen of the uterine artery. The embolizing particles are made of a special polymer. Each embolus has a strictly specific size. When entering the uterine arteries, these particles selectively penetrate into their terminal branches, through which blood enters the myomatous nodes.

A small number of emboli enter the small arteries that take part in the blood supply to the uterus. In this case, the blood supply to the uterus is not disturbed, because the number of emboli is minimal, they are quickly excreted through the well-developed vascular network with the blood flow. Due to the absence of collaterals, the blood flow in the myoma nodes is not restored. Emboli that have entered the terminal branches of the uterine arteries remain in them. They are enclosed between fibrin fibers and thrombotic masses that form in a clogged vessel.

After that, the tissue of the myomatous node is replaced by connective tissue. During the procedure, the doctor slowly injects a suspension of emboli into the lumen of the uterine arteries until the “end point” of embolization is reached. This is a combination of angiographic signs, which with a high degree of probability allow us to judge that the arterial vessels of the myomatous node are clogged. These signs are determined using a radiopaque substance that doctors use during the embolization process.

The use of a contrast agent simplifies the intervention, as it allows embolization of only the uterine arteries and excludes the entry of emboli into other arteries.

After the cessation of blood supply to the myomatous node, fibrosis begins in it – the process of replacing smooth muscle cells with connective tissue. It lasts a year. During this time, the node decreases in size and is an accumulation of connective tissue that does not grow and does not create problems for the woman.

Part of the myomatous nodes that grow into the lumen of the uterus, after embolization, may behave differently. Fibrous changes that occur in them lead to the fact that the node loses contact with the wall of the uterus, is pushed into its cavity and after a while exits through the vagina. The uterus itself gets rid of myoma formation.

After embolization of the uterine arteries, the structure of the muscular layer of the uterus and endometrium is restored. The menstrual cycle is normalized, menstruation comes on time and lasts the allotted time. A woman’s libido is restored, if desired, she can become pregnant and give birth to a healthy child. Then a delay in menstruation can be a sign of pregnancy.

Free online consultation

References:

1. Savitsky G. A., Ivanova R. D., Svechnikova F. A. The role of local hyperhormonemia in the pathogenesis of the growth rate of tumor nodes in uterine myoma // Obstetrics and Gynecology. – 1983. – T. 4. – S. 13-16.
2. Sidorova I.S. Uterine fibroids (modern aspects of etiology, pathogenesis, classification and prevention). In: Uterine fibroids. Ed. I.S. Sidorova. M: MIA 2003; 5-66.
3. Meriacri A.V. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of uterine fibroids. Sib honey journal 1998; 2:8-13.
4. Bobrov B.Yu. Uterine artery embolization in the treatment of uterine fibroids. The current state of the issue // Journal of obstetrics and women’s diseases. 2010. №2. pp. 100-125
5. B. Yu. Bobrov, SA Kapranov, VG Breusenko et al. Uterine artery embolization: a modern view of the problem. “Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology” Volume 1 No. 2 / 2007

Rate the article

Comments

your name

Please enter your name

Email

Please enter your email

Symbols in the picture

Please enter code

Comment text

Please enter comment text

Leading specialists

All specialists

Boris Yuryevich Bobrov — Head, endovascular surgeon

Endovascular surgeon, candidate of medical sciences, the largest personal experience of EMA in Russia

Make an appointment

Bleeding with uterine fibroids, uterine bleeding

Myoma is a benign neoplasm that occurs in many women. But in most cases, there are no symptoms, and the woman does not even know that there are myomatous nodes in her uterus. The diagnosis is established by chance, for example, during an ultrasound examination of the pelvic organs or the abdominal cavity.

In general, fibroids are not dangerous. These are benign formations, they never transform into cancer. But they can cause quite unpleasant symptoms. One of the most common is uterine bleeding.

Long periods for uterine fibroids

Women normally have a monthly cycle of 25-31 days. Menses last from 3 to 7 days. During this time, a woman on average loses 50 ml of blood, about 2-3 tablespoons. Maximum – 80 ml.

The phrase “uterine bleeding” can refer to different conditions, each of which has its own medical term:

• Menorrhagia – long, heavy periods that last more than a week, and during which a woman loses more than 80 ml of blood. They occur regularly, at approximately the same time intervals, like regular periods.
• Metrorrhagia – irregular bleeding that occurs between periods.
• Polymenorrhea – periods that recur more than 21 days later.
• Menometrorrhagia – frequent, profuse and irregular bleeding.
• Dysmenorrhea – painful periods.

Irregular, painful, profuse and prolonged periods are most characteristic of uterine fibroids. These symptoms are most pronounced in reproductive age. During menopause, they usually disappear (but not for everyone), as the level of hormones in the body drops, and the fibroids shrink in size.

As a rule, submucosal nodes that are located under the mucous membrane in the uterine cavity lead to heavy menstruation and bleeding in fibroids.

They prevent the mucosa from contracting, which makes bleeding longer and more profuse. It is they who are most often manifested by vivid symptoms, while nodes of other localizations (in the thickness of the uterine wall, outside) are often “silent”. Significant symptoms can be caused by a submucosal nodule as small as 1–3 cm in diameter.

What symptoms may occur?

You need to see a gynecologist if you have the following symptoms:

• You notice that your periods are heavier than before. A woman may notice that she began to spend more hygiene products, she has to choose more “drops”.
• During menstruation, you feel worse, soreness occurs. Worried about weakness, increased fatigue.
• The duration of menstruation has increased.
• There is pressure, discomfort, pain in the pelvis.
• Enlargement of the abdomen, something solid can be felt in it. If the fibroid is large enough, it protrudes, is noticeable when the woman lies on her back.
• Disturbed by pain in the pelvis, legs.
• Urination has become frequent or difficult.
• Constant constipation.
• Your vagina bleeds when you don’t have your period.

These signs may indicate not only fibroids, they occur in various diseases. An accurate diagnosis will be established by a gynecologist after examination and ultrasound.

Anemia due to fibroids

Continuous blood loss due to fibroids can lead to anemia. The level of erythrocytes and hemoglobin in the blood decreases. The woman constantly feels tired, becomes pale, suffers from headaches and dizziness. Sometimes the appetite is perverted and drawn to inedible things – for example, you may want to gnaw on a piece of chalk. Hair loss and brittle nails are also possible symptoms of anemia.

The brain of an anemic woman is constantly in conditions of oxygen starvation. There is “fog” in the head, the quality of life is reduced. Appearance deteriorates. And all this is due to fibroids.

How to reduce and stop bleeding in uterine fibroids?

To stop bleeding and normalize periods, you need to remove the cause of the problem. Everything else, including taking iron supplements and painkillers, are only temporary half-measures. Myoma, which is accompanied by symptoms, is a direct indication for treatment.

Previously, by and large, only two operations were available – removal of fibroids (myomectomy) or the entire uterus (hysterectomy). No uterus – no bleeding – no problem. Unless, of course, we take into account the risks that are present during any operation, the relatively high probability of recurrence in the next two years and complications after the removal of one of the main organs of the female reproductive system.

Currently, there is a minimally invasive intervention – uterine artery embolization, abbreviated UAE. During the procedure, the doctor makes a puncture in the upper part of the thigh, inserts a special catheter through it into the uterine artery, and injects an embolizing drug. The latter consists of microspheres that block the blood flow of the myomatous node, the myoma is deprived of oxygen and “dries out” – it is replaced by connective tissue. Fast, safer than myomectomy, no anesthesia (but not painful – local anesthesia is performed at the puncture site), and the efficiency reaches 98%.