What Do You Think Caused Your Fibroid?
Being a woman and having an annual gynecological checkup, you may have heard about fibroids and are wondering what causes them. While unclear of what the root cause is there are factors that contribute such as family history, hormones and pregnancy. Having an understanding about fibroids will give patients more understanding about what causes fibroids in women and fibroid treatments available.
What are Fibroids?
Fibroids are noncancerous uterine growths that can develop during a woman’s childbearing years. They grow inside or outside the uterus and may hang from a stalk or grow directly from the uterine wall. Their size varies from as small as a pea to as large as the size of a full-term pregnancy.
What Are the Risk Factors That Causes Fibroids?
The cause of fibroids isn’t known, but there are several risk factors:
- Obesity or being overweight
- Having a family history of fibroids
- The consumption of red meat
- Alcohol consumption
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Being an African-American
Because fibroids can grow throughout childbearing years, they can also likely develop and grow as women age. The good news is that fibroids can stop growing or even shrink after menopause.
Fibroids, however, may cause symptoms more frequently when they develop at a young age and have more time to grow.
What Causes Fibroids?
It is unknown what causes fibroids. The growth of uterine fibroids can be increased by estrogen. You can’t prevent fibroids, but you can reduce your chances by avoiding certain lifestyle habits.
Hormonal therapy, birth control, and the hormones from pregnancy can all cause fibroids to grow rapidly. Most fibroids should shrink after menopause.
What causes fibroids in women? Several factors can contribute to the development of uterine fibroids, including:
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Never been pregnant
- Having your first period at an early age
- Periods that are more frequent
- Pain during menstruation
- Family history of uterine fibroids
- African-American woman
Fibroids in Women
Since fibroids are estrogen and progesterone-dependent, they are most relevant during the reproductive years.
When should fibroids be treated?
During menstruation, if you experience excessive bleeding and long and painful periods and have to put your life on hold, you should seek treatment. You may also experience an increase in urination, an enlarged or swollen abdomen, painful intercourse, pressure in your lower abdomen, and lower back or pelvic pain.
UFE is generally recommended for women with fibroids who wish to avoid surgery, such as a hysterectomy.
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Can Fibroids Cause Constipation?
Fibroids can cause pressure on the bowels or bladder. Frequent urination, constipation, and incontinence can result. In rare cases, fibroids can press on the ureters, causing kidney dysfunction. Constipation can result from a fibroid causing compression of the rectum.
Fibroids and digestive problems: what’s the connection?
Constipation and bloating are common digestive complaints among women with fibroids. Your fibroids may press on your bowels or intestines depending on their size and location. A portion of your bowels, the colon, is directly adjacent to your uterus.
Can Fibroids Cause Pain?
Women who suffer from fibroids can experience a wide range of symptoms, like pelvic pain and pressure, heavy menstrual bleeding, infertility, and painful sex. The severity of fibroid pain and symptoms varies depending on the location and size of the fibroid(s).
Reasons Why Fibroids Cause Pain
The following may be affected by fibroids:
- Bladder – There is a possibility that large fibroids that are located on the opposite side of the uterus from the rectum may lead to bladder problems. They will likely press down on your bladder and limit your ability to hold urine. If you have pain or difficulty urinating, you may need to get up multiple times during the night to use the bathroom.
- Stomach – Fibroids can also affect the stomach. Fibroids can make you feel full faster if they press on the stomach. As a result of not eating as much, you might lose weight. When fibroids are large, they can distend your lower abdomen and make you appear pregnant.
- Rectum – If fibroids grow large enough, they can press on the rectum. Constipation may result from this pressure and pain when passing a stool. As a result of this pressure, hemorrhoids can also develop.
- Kidneys – Although rare, large fibroids in the uterus can also press on the urethra when they become so large. A tube connects the kidney to the bladder so that urine can pass from the kidney to the bladder. As a result of a fibroid blocking urine flow, the kidney may swell. The symptoms of hydronephrosis include painful urination, urgency when going, frequent urination, and pain. Additionally, the fibroid can endanger the kidney and is often removed surgically.
What Causes Fibroids and Can Fibroids Cause Pain In Your Side?
You may wonder what causes fibroids in women, and how many are affected? Approximately 70% of women over the age of 50 are affected by uterine fibroids. Having fibroids can cause pain for some people, but it doesn’t happen for everyone. It is estimated that 30% of women will seek treatment for fibroids because of pai n and other symptoms.
Why Fibroids Cause Pain in Your Side
On the outside of your uterus, serosal fibroids can press against the bladder, the rectum, or your spinal nerves, causing back pain, abdominal pressure, and swelling. In women with large fibroids, abdominal pressure, pelvic pain, and discomfort are common. In your lower abdomen or stomach area, you may feel a heaviness or pressure that feels more like discomfort than pain.
Pain in Your Lower Abdomen Caused by Fibroids
The lower abdomen or pelvis may feel heavy or pressured if a woman has large fibroids. It is often described as a vague discomfort rather than a sharp pain. In some cases, an enlarged uterus makes it difficult to lie face down, bend over, or exercise comfortably.
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Other Pain-Related Symptoms
What causes fibroids in women and are fibroids associated with other pain-related symptoms?
A person with a fibroid may experience:
- Pain radiating down the legs
- Pain in the lower back
- Mid-cycle, after menstruation, or during menstruation
- Sex that is painful
- Sudden pain in the pelvis area
- Bloating in the abdomen
- Bladder pressure
- Persistent pain in the pelvis
Why Do Fibroids Cause Bleeding?
What causes fibroids in women and can they cause heavy bleeding? Fibroids can cause heavy bleeding, which can cause anemia. Anemia can be monitored with a simple blood test. As fibroids grow, anemia can become worse.
Why do fibroids cause bleeding? Fibroids may need to be treated in order to reduce heavy menstrual bleeding that results in anemia. Getting control of anemia can help women get ahead of potentially life-threatening complications such as a heart attack, congestive heart failure, angina, and arrhythmia.
How Does Bleeding From Fibroids Cause Anemia?
There are many causes of anemia, but the most common is blood loss. The loss of red blood cells from your body must be replaced by your bone marrow, but once the stores of iron in those cells have been exhausted, an iron deficiency will result. As a result of chronic bleeding, iron deficiency reduces bone marrow response and worsens anemia. Hemoglobin is a protein that your body makes with iron. This protein transports oxygen in order for tissue and muscles to function effectively. When the blood stream doesn’t contain enough iron, the rest of the body can’t get enough oxygen.
Symptoms of anemia vary depending on the cause, but they may include:
- Headaches
- Feeling dizzy
- Experiencing fatigue
- Weakness
- A pale complexion
- Having chest pains
- Having a fast or irregular heartbeat
- Breathing difficulties
- Feet and hands that are cold
- Problems with cognitive function
Anemia can affect approximately 25% of women
of reproductive age with any amount of bleeding. Iron deficiency is almost always due to blood loss.
Understanding Bleeding From Fibroids
The causes of fibroids in women and the result of them, the uterine lining may be put under pressure, which may result in excessive bleeding. It is possible that the uterus may not contract properly, which means it cannot stop the bleeding. In addition to causing irregular or heavier periods, fibroids may stimulate the growth of blood vessels. If you are experiencing heavy bleeding during your menstrual cycle, there may be something else causing it. A number of conditions can cause irregular or heavy bleeding, but uterine fibroids are the most common. While it may be scary, abnormal bleeding can be common, and if you are bleeding due to fibroids, the inconvenience may be overwhelming. Vaginal bleeding is considered to be abnormal if it occurs between periods, during menstruation, after sex, if menstruation is heavier or lasts longer than usual, lasts more than seven days, or if you have bleeding after menopause. If you have abnormal bleeding and have fibroids, UFE may be the best non-invasive treatment option for you.
Do Women Have to Live with Fibroids that Cause Pain?
It can be difficult for women to work or exercise because of heavy, prolonged or painful periods caused by fibroids. Living with fibroids can be frustrating, painful, and unpredictable. Many women avoid a hysterectomy by living with fibroid pain for years before seeking treatment.
Treatment Options For Fibroids that Cause Pain
Fortunately, today there are effective treatments for fibroid removal, like uterine fibroid embolization (UFE). As an alternative to surgery, USA FIbroid Centers offers this low-risk, minimally invasive treatment for fibroid pain. A variety of imaging and procedure options are available to patients for treating fibroid pain, including UFE. Compared to surgical procedures, UFE offers a shorter recovery time, fewer complications, and better results.
Solutions To the Causes of Fibroids in Women – Contact USA Fibroid Centers for Fibroid Treatment
If you experience any changes or discomfort from symptoms of uterine fibroids, contact USA Fibroid Centers. The good news is you can live fibroid-free. Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) is the best option that is non-invasive. Compared to hysterectomy and myomectomy, uterine fibroid embolization has minimal pain and a quicker recovery period. Patients who have uterine fibroid embolization frequently experience reduced bleeding, pelvic pain and pressure, and other uterine fibroid symptoms, as well as a marked improvement in their general physical and mental health.
You can contact USA Fibroid Centers at 855.615.2555 or fill out our online scheduling form. You can schedule a virtual doctor visit if you prefer tele-medicine. We look forward to connecting with you to see if you are a candidate for UFE.
