What Are Fibroids and The best ways to Address Them

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What Are Fibroids and The best ways to Address Them
Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors of the uterus composed of muscle and fibrous tissues. When the normal uterine cells grow abnormally, it will develop into a benign tumor. Fibroids are also called fibromas, myomas, or leiomyomas. These are not related to uterine cancer and in fact, they normally do not develop into a cancer.

Uterine fibroids are really common, due to the fact that lots of women have fibroids at some point in their lives. As their growth is dependent on estrogen and progesterone, they take place during the middle and late stages of the woman's reproductive years. They do not grow until puberty ensues and normally appeas at 30 to 50 years of age. After menopause when the estrogen levels drop, they just shrink or go away.

The composition of all fibroids is the same. They are all made up of uterine muscle cells growing into a tight mass. They can be identified based on the location of their growth. Myometrial or intramural fibroids are found in the uterine muscular wall, and are the most common type of fibroids. Submucosal fibroids develop beneath the interior surface of the uterine wall but may project in the uterus. Subserosal fibroids can grow large on the outer wall of the uterus into the pelvis. Pedunculated fibroids grow and attach to the outer wall of the uterus by a narrow stalk. Cervical fibroids develop in the cervical wall.

In some cases, uterine fibroids are asymptomatic and treatment is not needed. However, in other cases, they can be symptomatic. The symptoms are produced in relation to size and location. These include heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding, pelvic pain or pressure, back or leg pain, urinary frequency, difficulty emptying the bladder, constipation or uncomfortable defecation, abdominal discomfort or sensation of fullness, or pain during intercourse. Iron deficiency anemia may also be present due to the heavy vaginal bleeding. Fibroids may also take place along with endometriosis which creates infertility. The urinary and gastrointestinal problems are due to the compression effect of the fibroids. In rare cases, they can develop into malignant cancers called leiomyosarcomas.

When these symptoms are present, women must right away see their doctors. Large fibroids can be palpated during pelvic assessment. However, imaging studies such as ultrasound, hysteroscopy or hysterosonography may be done to confirm the presence of the fibroids.

Asymptomatic fibroids are normally discovered incidentally during pelvic assessment. Considering that they do not produce symptoms, the best action is to just observe and keep an eye on. However, for symptomatic fibroids, non-operative and operative treatment options are available depending on the intensity.

Non-operative treatment options include: Oral contraceptives (birth control pills) train control the heavy bleeding, but they do not minimize the size of the fibroids; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to ease the pain; Progestin-releasing intrauterine device (IUD) can be used for non-distorting fibroids. They can ease the symptoms, but they do not make the fibroids go away.

Finally, gonadotropin-realesing hormone (Gn-RH) agonists minimize the estrogen and progesterone levels making the fibroids shrink and eventually go away. These are only used for a short amount of time, either before surgical removal of fibroid or when a woman is nearly menopausal.


Uterine fibroids are really common, due to the fact that lots of women have fibroids at some point in their lives. Myometrial or intramural fibroids are found in the uterine muscular wall, and are the most common type of fibroids. Submucosal fibroids develop beneath the interior surface of the uterine wall but may project in the uterus. Cervical fibroids develop in the cervical wall.

In some cases, uterine fibroids are asymptomatic and treatment is not needed.