Fibroids tumors can cause you to experience painful symptoms, including back pain, menstrual cramps and more. Some women will need to seek fibroid treatment to resolve their symptoms. But others can manage fibroid pain by making simple lifestyle adjustments. Here’s what you need to know.
Fibroids are non-cancerous, muscular uterine tumors. Science hasn’t pinpointed one reason why they develop, but fibroid growth has been linked to hormonal imbalances, your genetic and ethnic background, your age and the chemicals you’re exposed to in your environment. Not every woman with these tumors will experience fibroid symptoms, but those who do may live with back or pelvic pain, long or heavy periods and more. Sometimes, you can relieve these symptoms with medications or lifestyle changes. But, for many women, the only way to relieve fibroid pain is to directly target these tumors. And that has a lot to do with why fibroids cause pain in the first.
Pain caused by fibroids usually develops when tumors are large enough to press against the structures surrounding the uterus. Sometimes, the pain only manifests during your monthly menstrual cycle, but fibroid pain could manifest at any time of the month. The timing and severity of your discomfort may depend on the number of tumors you have, along with their size and location.
Typically fibroids are classified by where they develop. Intramural fibroids—found within the wall of your uterus—are likely to cause pelvic pain, difficulties with urination and heavy bleeding. Because they form outside of the uterus, subserosal fibroids may lead to stomach pain, cramps, a feeling of fullness or heaviness along with frequent urination. In contrast, when submucosal fibroids grow beneath your uterine lining, you may experience lower back and pelvic pain, along with heavy menstrual cycles. Finally, when pedunculated fibroids develop outside your uterus, attaching to the organ via stalk-like structures, your symptoms can vary, depending on the location of the growths.
You may find some relief by switching to an anti-inflammatory diet that’s low on processed, fatty or sugary foods, but packed with fresh vegetables and fruit. Exercising regularly can also help you manage symptoms, particularly when you practice yoga moves that target period pain.
However, when painful fibroid symptoms don’t respond to lifestyle adjustments, or you experience severe effects such as anemia or infertility, it’s important to speak to a healthcare professional. Discussing all your symptoms and mentioning your current or future family planning goals, will help you find the right treatment option for lasting relief
When you’re looking for medical symptom manage, you can relieve issues such as heavy menstrual bleeding by taking hormonal birth control. However, this option won’t shrink your tumors, and symptoms will return if you stop taking the medication. So, if you want lasting relief from fibroid pain, it’s best to target the tumors themselves. This can be done surgically, with a myomectomy procedure or by removing your uterus (a hysterectomy.) But if you want to avoid surgery while finding relief, Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) could be a better treatment option. This minimally invasive procedure can shrink fibroids by cutting off their blood supply. Learn more by requesting a consultation with one of our fibroid specialists in Georgia.
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