Can Fibroids Shrink and Go Away?
Are uterine fibroids causing pain and frustration in your life? Fibroid symptoms like heavy periods, intense cramps, and frequent urination can impact your career, relationships, self-esteem, and ability to perform your daily tasks.
Not surprisingly, many of our patients want to know if fibroids shrink on their own. For some individuals, this is a possibility. For instance, post-pregnancy or menopause hormonal changes can sometimes cause fibroids to shrink, thereby alleviating symptoms over time. The bad news is that this type of relief may be years, or even decades, away.
In the meantime, lifestyle factors can play an important role in fibroid management. Maintaining a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), exercising regularly, and eating an appropriate fibroid diet can help you better manage your symptoms and even prevent additional fibroid growth.
While these are potential ways to improve your symptoms, they can’t effect the cause of the issue. A minimally-invasive fibroid treatment called Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is an effective, outpatient procedure that can shrink your fibroids, preserve your uterus, and resolve your painful, uncomfortable, and inconvenient symptoms.
Here’s what you need to know.
Do Fibroids Go Away On Their Own?
While your fibroids may go away on their own eventually, there’s absolutely no guarantee that this will happen. If you are suffering from fibroid symptoms that impact the quality of your everyday life, we recommend looking into your treatment options. After all, there’s no reason to suffer for years in the hopes that your symptoms resolve on their own!
Some women avoid fibroid treatment because they believe that a hysterectomy, the complete surgical removal of the uterus, is their only option. This is rarely the case; you should explore the entire range of surgical and non-surgical treatments to help you make an informed decision.
If you are interested in learning about your treatment options, we suggest visiting a fibroid specialist. When you are suffering from severe symptoms that negatively affect your daily life, treatment is usually recommended. Instead of waiting around to see if your fibroids go away on their own, you may discover that Uterine Fibroid Embolization is your best option to help you take back control.
What Makes Fibroids Shrink and Go Away?
Although the causes behind fibroid growth are not entirely understood, it is believed that hormones –– such as estrogen and progesterone –– play a major role. Fibroids tend to develop when hormone levels are higher, such as during the childbearing years. Notably, many women experience fibroid growth during pregnancy. By age 50, 70 to 80 percent of women are affected.
Conversely, fibroids tend to shrink when hormone levels are reduced, such as after childbirth or menopause. In some cases, they can shrink enough to alleviate your fibroid pain and discomfort. Unfortunately, there’s no way to know whether this will happen for you or not.
We don’t think you should wait around to see if your fibroids will shrink on their own. Instead, look into Uterine Fibroid Embolization to shrink your fibroids, keep your uterus, and quickly reduce or eliminate your symptoms.
What Are the Signs of Fibroids Shrinking?
Whether you are experiencing hormonal changes or recently had UFE, you may want to keep an eye out for signs that your fibroids are shrinking. These will likely include a reduction in multiple fibroid symptoms, such as:
- Lighter periods
- Less severe cramps, if any
- Less frequent urination
- More energy
- Less or no pain during sex
- Less or no back pain
In general, if you experience changes in symptoms and believe your fibroids may be shrinking or growing, we suggest contacting your doctor for an accurate medical diagnosis. Ultrasound or MRI imaging can help confirm your suspicions.
What’s the Best Way to Make Fibroids Go Away?
While sometimes fibroids shrink on their own, the best way to make fibroids go away is to undergo fibroid treatment. At USA Fibroid Centers, we believe that the best fibroid treatment is Uterine Fibroid Embolization.
UFE offers many benefits over surgery, including:
- A minimally-invasive technique
- Less pain involved
- Takes only 30-45 minutes
- Does not involve a hospital stay
- No stitches or scarring
- General anesthesia is not required
- Less risk overall
- Short recovery of one to two weeks
- Leaves uterus intact
During the UFE procedure:
- You will remain calm and relaxed thanks to a light sedative.
- We will locate your fibroids using advanced ultrasound technology, also known as fibroid mapping.
- One of our specialized interventional radiologists will numb your upper thigh, make a small incision, and insert a tiny catheter.
- Using medical imaging, they will then guide the catheter into the uterine artery that supplies blood to fibroids.
- Next, we inject small embolic materials into the artery to block the blood flow to your fibroids, causing them to shrink.
- Without a steady supply of oxygenated blood, the fibroids begin to starve and die.
- The injected embolic materials remain permanently in the blood vessels at the fibroid site.
- The likelihood of the same fibroid returning to its pretreatment size is rare.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization is proven to be highly effective and offers an 85 to 95 percent success rate.
Contact USA Fibroid Centers Today!
When you are ready to start down the road towards fibroid recovery, simply schedule a consultation online or give us a call at 855.615.2555. We offer dozens of treatment centers nationwide, along with telemedicine appointments. UFE is covered by most major health insurance plans.
We don’t want you to suffer needlessly from fibroid symptoms any longer. Instead, we can help you get the help you need –– today!
