My mom, my sister, two of my cousins and one of my aunts — that's the list of women in my family who have, or have had, uterine fibroids. I called my mom one day last week to ask her about the blog I was writing for The Christ Hospital. I thought I remembered her previously talking about having uterine fibroids. Turns out, I was right.
She listed all the people in our family, and I couldn't believe how many women I knew who were affected by uterine fibroids. When I did even more research, I found that 70-80 percent of women in the U.S. develop them by the age of 50. To find out more, I checked in with Dr. James Wendel, MD, an OB/GYN who practices at The Christ Hospital.
What are uterine fibroids?
Dr. Wendel told me that fibroids are benign growths that form on the wall of the muscle of the uterus. While the cause isn't always known, fibroids develop from an abnormal muscle cell in the uterus and grow into a growth or fibroid.
Fibroids can be as small as a peanut or as large as a grapefruit, or larger. The thing that was surprising to me about uterine fibroids is that you could have them and not even know it. Sometimes there are no symptoms or only mild symptoms. I found out that in the case of my sister. Her uterine fibroids took a physical and emotional toll on her. She had heavy periods and lower back pain.
What are the symptoms?
There are many symptoms of uterine fibroids including difficulty emptying the bladder, frequent urination, infertility, low back pain, miscarriage, pain during sex, pelvic pressure or pain, prolonged or abnormal menstrual periods, severe menstrual cramps and swelling in the abdomen.
Treatment options
When it comes to treatment, The Christ Hospital offers a range of options from medical management to surgical techniques. In some cases, low-dose birth control pills can help control heavy bleeding and slow the growth of existing fibroids. Progesterone injections or a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) to relieve bothersome fibroid symptoms are other medical options.
Dr. Wendel revealed that The Christ Hospital is excited to introduce two new minimally invasive treatments called Acessa and Sonata. He explains, “Both are effective at reducing the size of the fibroids without having to remove them, which keeps the uterus intact and is shown to preserve fertility, which is a benefit compared to a hysterectomy or other more invasive techniques."
“By reducing the size of the fibroids, we're reducing and eliminating the correlating symptoms," Dr. Wendel says. “The new treatments are minimally invasive, so there's very little downtime; allowing women to get back to their day-to-day life very quickly. These options are quite appealing to women who are looking for uterine-sparing options and short recovery times."
Genetics play a factor
I was wondering since so many people in my family have had fibroids if I would get them one day. Turns out, the exact cause of fibroids is unknown. It's likely that they are caused by many factors interacting with one another, including family history—having a close relative with fibroids increases your chance of developing them.
While fibroids can develop anytime during the child-bearing years, women who are nearing perimenopause are more likely to develop them. Fibroids tend to shrink after menopause as hormone production decreases.
If you need care for uterine fibroids or any women's health issue, you can contact The Christ Hospital ezCare Concierge at 513-261-8007 or ezCare@thechristhospital.com to help you find a provider and connect you with appointments.