Uterine fibroids?

i think i have them please tell me symtoms in good detail

What are uterine fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are lumps that grow on your uterus. You can have fibroids on the inside, on the outside, or in the wall of your uterus.

Your doctor may call them fibroid tumors, leiomyomas, or myomas. But fibroids are not cancer. You do not need to do anything about them unless they are causing problems.

Fibroids are very common in women in their 30s and 40s. By the time they are 50, about 80 women out of 100 have fibroids. But fibroids usually do not cause problems. Many women never even know they have them.

What causes uterine fibroids?

Doctors are not sure what causes fibroids. But the female hormones estrogen and progesterone seem to make them grow. Your body makes the highest levels of these hormones during the years when you have periods.

Your body makes less of these hormones after you stop having periods (menopause). Fibroids usually shrink after menopause and stop causing symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

Often, fibroids do not cause symptoms. Or the symptoms may be mild, like periods that are a little heavier than normal. If the fibroids bleed or press on your organs, the symptoms may make it hard for you to enjoy life. Fibroids make some women have:

Long, gushing periods and cramping.
Fullness or pressure in their belly.
Low back pain.
Pain during sex.
An urge to pee often.
Heavy bleeding during your periods can lead to anemia. Anemia can make you feel weak and tired.

Sometimes, fibroids can make it harder to get pregnant. Or they may cause problems during pregnancy, such as going into early labor or losing the baby (miscarriage).

How are uterine fibroids diagnosed?

To find out if you have fibroids, your doctor will ask you about your symptoms. He or she will do a pelvic exam to check the size of your uterus.

Your doctor may send you to have an ultrasound or another type of test that shows pictures of your uterus. These help your doctor see how large your fibroids are and where they are growing.

Your doctor may also do blood tests to look for anemia or other problems.

How are they treated?

If your fibroids are not bothering you, you do not need to do anything about them. Your doctor will check them during your regular visits to see if they have gotten bigger.

If your main symptoms are pain and heavy bleeding, try an over-the-counter pain medicine like ibuprofen, and ask your doctor about birth control pills. These can help you feel better and make your periods lighter. If you have anemia, take iron pills and eat foods that are high in iron, like meats, beans, and leafy green vegetables.

If your symptoms bother you a lot, you may want to think about surgery. Most of the time fibroids grow slowly, so you can take time to consider your choices.

There are two main types of surgery for fibroids. Which is better for you depends on how big your fibroids are, where they are, and whether you want to have children.

Surgery to take out the fibroids is called myomectomy. Your doctor may suggest it if you hope to get pregnant or just want to keep your uterus. It may improve your chances of having a baby. But it only works if your fibroids are small, and they may grow back.
Surgery to take out your uterus is called hysterectomy. This is the most common surgery for fibroids. And it is the only way to make sure that fibroids will not come back. Your symptoms will go away, but you will not be able to get pregnant.
It is normal to have mixed feelings about hysterectomy. Some women are sad to lose part of what makes them a woman. Other women just want their symptoms to go away. If you are thinking about hysterectomy, learn all you can about it. This will help you make the choice that is right for you.

There are a number of other ways to treat fibroids. One newer treatment is called uterine fibroid embolization. It can shrink fibroids. It may be a choice if you do not want to have children but want to keep your uterus. It is not a surgery, so you feel better soon. But fibroids may grow back.

If you are near menopause, you might try medicines to treat your symptoms. Heavy periods will stop after menopause. Source(s): http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/...

I am sorry, I can't. I think heavy bleeding and pain are two of them, but I don't know for sure. I remember reading a book several years ago that recommended progesterone cream (not pills). The name is "What your doctor doesn't want you to know" or something like that. Sorry; I've packed the book.

Search the 'net.

I recommend Puritan's Pride as the source of the cream--I really like it.

hth
The main symptom is constant menstral bleeding and pelvic pain. It is like a non-stop period that can last for weeks or months. Uterine fibroids are very common tumors in women. They are noncancerous growths of the uterus may appear during your childbearing years. Some times a woman can be put on birth control pills or given a depovera shot to stop the bleeding but this is only a temporary fix. Usually your doctor will either try to remove the fibroids or you can have a hysterectomy. Usually fibroids aren't medically dangerous. They just cause discomfot and can cause anemia due to prolonged menstrual bleeding . Just consult your doctor to make sure that it is actually fibroids.

Hope this helps!

You can also vist the site below for more info;
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/uterine...
Please go and see your doctor and dont try to diagnose yourself. You might have something else other than fibroids. Moreover your doctor wil have to examine you physically to know what you have.
There is no symptom that will tell you that you have fibroids. Women with fibroids can experience heavy periods, but women with heavy periods may not have fibroids. And women can have fibroids but very light periods. Fibroids can exist without causing any problems at all.

I can understand wanting to find a cause for a problem that you have. I had fibroids that caused major problems for me for ten years before they were diagnosed, and it was very frustrating to not get an answer or a real solution.

Certainly, if you are having heavy bleeding or cramps, make sure your physician checks for fibroids, but don't assume that this is the cause of the problem - that can make it harder to find the problem if it isn't fibroids.

What I recommend is that you take a month or two to make a diary of what you are experiencing: note when you bleed, how often you have to change your pad or tampon, what size it was and how "full" it was. Note if you have any pain, and how bad the pain is. Note how this is affecting how you live. When you have some good data, then you can go to a doctor and show them what exactly is happening to you.

I also recommend that you make every effort to reduce saturated fat and deep-fried foods. These increase cholesterol, which is used in women's bodies to create estrogen, and excess estrogen is a good probable cause in any form of period related problems.