More About Uterine Fibroids

By:




As many as 1 in 5 women will have uterine fibroids during their childbearing years. Most of these women wont know it because they might not experience any symptoms. So what are uterine fibroids? Fibroids are noncancerous growths that occur in the uterus during a womans childbearing years. These growths do not mean that a woman has an increased risk of developing uterine cancer. It is also rare that these growths develop in to cancer themselves.

Uterine fibroids can be microscopic in size, or grow up to several inches across and weigh tens of pounds. There are four different types of uterine fibroids:

Myometrial or intramural fibroids- Myometrial fibroids grow in the muscular wall of the uterus.

Submucosal fibroids Submucosal fibroids grow just under the interior surface of the uterus, and may protrude into the uterus.

Subserosal fibroids Subserosal fibroids grow on the outside wall of the uterus.

Pedunculated fibroids Pedunculated fibroids usually grow outside of the uterus. These fibroids are attached to the uterus by a base or stalk.

How can you tell if you might have uterine fibroids? Some of the symptoms include: prolonged menstrual cycles, heavy bleeding during periods, bloating or pressure in the lower abdomen, frequent urination, trouble emptying your bladder, constipations and backache and leg pain.

Fibroids usually affect women over the age of 30. They are fairly rare in women under 20, and often shrink and cause no symptoms for women who have experienced menopause. Uterine fibroids also are more common with African American women than Caucasian women.

There are a variety of treatment options out there for uterine fibroids. Your doctor may prescribe birth control pills to help control heavy bleeding. They might also suggest an intrauterine device or IUD to release progestin. This hormone can also help reduce heavy bleeding and pain. Hormonal therapy might also be used to help shrink fibroids. This therapy is only used for a short time before a woman has surgery or hits menopause.


Surgical treatment options for fibroids include: Myomectomy, Uterine Artery Embolization,
Hysterectomy and the Hysteroscopic resection of the fibroids. Some of these options work well for women who dont want to have children. Others are better options for women who do want to have children someday. Its best that you talk to a doctor to determine which treatment option is right for you.

About the Author:
If you would like to learn more about uterine fibroids, our medical center near Seattle can help. Learn more about our surgical treatment options for uterine fibroids.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Arts-and-Entertainment Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.