Will menopause be the end to your fibroids issue?

FIBROIDS affect millions of women worldwide and they can even be life-threatening. However, for many women, menopause has been the saving grace they needed for healing.

Fibroids need the hormone oestrogen to grow, but after menopause a woman’s oestrogen levels decrease dramatically, which usually causes the masses to shrink. But first, we’ll explain what these growths are.

Obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Jordan Hardie told All Woman that these masses are benign, smooth muscle tumours, and they are most commonly located within the female reproductive tract. They can become problematic when they grow, causing issues like pain, incontinence, painful intercourse, abdominal swelling and continuous bleeding.

While explaining that the exact cause of fibroids has not been completely identified, Dr Hardie said these benign tumours are from myometrial cells — the same cells that comprise the wall of the uterus.

Menopause, in simple terms, signals a permanent end to a woman’s reproductive years. Menopause typically occurs in a woman’s late 40s to early 50s, or prematurely in instances like where a woman has a hysterectomy.

“Menopause can cause fibroids to shrink because fibroids are oestrogen-dependent,” Dr Hardie explained.

Your risk of developing new fibroids also decreases with the onset of menopause.

Dr Hardie explained that fibroids are a nuisance that can have significant impact on a woman’s health.

“The presence of fibroids can lead to heavy menstrual bleeding, causing severe anaemia [low blood count] and in severe cases, heart failure. Fibroids, due to their size and location, can compress surrounding organs such as the ureters, leading to renal impairment. Fibroids can also increase a woman’s risk of a pulmonary embolism — clot in the lungs — which can be fatal.”

Outlining the treatment options for uterine fibroids, Dr Hardie said these will be dependent on the severity of the symptoms the patient is enduring and the woman’s future fertility desires.

“Patients who are asymptomatic may not require any intervention. Patients who have mild to moderate symptoms may be offered medical management which may include analgesia, iron supplementation and hormonal therapy,” he said.

“Patients with severe symptoms may require surgical intervention, removal of the fibroids if future fertility is desired, or removal of the womb. Patients with severe symptoms who do not desire surgical intervention can be given medication to induce a menopausal state,” he continued, as he added that this is a short-term treatment option and upon completion, the risk of the fibroids returning is very high.

“Another non-surgical intervention for patients who do not desire future fertility is uterine artery embolisation [the blood supply of the fibroids is cut off, causing the fibroids to shrink]. This procedure however is not commonly available in Jamaica,” Dr Hardie told All Woman.

Stressing the point that patients who have a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, healthy diet and reduced alcohol intake, may be able to cope with symptoms associated with uterine fibroids, Dr Hardie made clear that this, however, will not remove the fibroids.

So, should you endure the nuisance until menopause?

In most cases, changes in fibroid size are linked to the amount of hormones in your body. High levels of hormones can cause fibroids to grow, and they can also shrink when your hormone levels drop. This is common after menopause. Once a woman has passed through menopause, the amount of hormones in her body is much lower. Often, your symptoms can also get better after menopause.