Do All Uterine Fibroids Require Treatment?

Uterine fibroids are muscle tumors that form in your uterine walls, and while that might sound scary, they’re fairly common. According to statistics from the Office on Women’s Health, as many as 8 out of 10 women will have at least one fibroid at some point, and in many cases, they won’t even have any symptoms.

At Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, DeShawn Taylor, MD, MSc, FACOG, is skilled in state-of-the-art gynecology techniques for identifying and treating uterine fibroids. Here, she offers a brief overview of fibroids, including what they are, why they happen, and what treatment is recommended.

Quick overview of uterine fibroids

Also called leiomyomas, nearly all uterine fibroids are noncancerous (benign) and can range in size from very small—about the size of a bean or pea—to larger than a tennis ball. Although medical researchers don’t know exactly what causes fibroids in some women and not in others, they believe fibroids form a combination of hormonal factors and genetic influences.

Uterine fibroids are most common during reproductive years. They shrink once you reach menopause and your estrogen levels decline. Fibroids may also grow in response to hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy.

Even though most fibroids are benign, larger fibroids can still cause symptoms like:

• Irregular periods
• Very heavy menstrual bleeding
• Painful period cramps
• Lower back pain
• Pain during sex
• Abdominal bloating or sensations of fullness
• Frequent urge to urinate
• Problems completely emptying your bladder

In rare instances, fibroids that grow during pregnancy can cause complications that increase the likelihood you’ll need to deliver by cesarean section.

When treatment is advised

Uterine fibroids don’t always need to be treated. As noted earlier, many fibroids cause no symptoms, which means you won’t even know you have a fibroid unless it’s picked up during a test for another issue.

Some symptomatic fibroids may not need immediate treatment, either. Instead, we recommend monitoring your symptoms and the growth of fibroids. We also recommend treatment for individual factors like:

• Whether or not you plan to become pregnant
• The severity of your symptoms
• How your fibroids are affecting your quality of life
• How many fibroids you have
• The size of your fibroids
• The location of your fibroids
• How quickly your fibroids are growing
• How close you are to menopause

Some fibroids cause dangerous complications, like twisting or “torsion” in your uterus. If Dr. Taylor believes you may be at risk of these implications, she also recommends treatment.

Many women with symptomatic fibroids respond well to hormone therapy to help decrease the size of fibroids or to slow future growth. Others benefit from minimally invasive therapies focused on preventing blood flow to the fibroids so they “die off” naturally.

For women who don’t plan to become pregnant, Dr. Taylor may recommend a hysterectomy to remove the uterus entirely. Fibroids may also be removed surgically, although there’s a chance they’ll return in the future.

Learn more about fibroids

If you’ve been diagnosed with fibroids or are experiencing symptoms associated with fibroids, Dr. Taylor can help you get the treatment you need to stay healthy and comfortable. To learn more about fibroid management, request an appointment online or over the phone with Dr. Taylor and the Desert Star Family Planning team in Phoenix, Arizona, today.