How many of you remember gym class where the gym would fill with kids that would separate by activities they wanted to participate in i.e. everyone that wanted to play kick ball to the right, everyone that wanted to play 4 squares to the left and whoever wanted to jump rope move to the center. Envision a room full of women and they are moved to corners of the gym according to the treatment options available to them for fibroids. Those women that believe that hysterectomy is the answer move the right, those women that believe that myomectomy is the answer move the left, those who believe in UFE move to the center and those who believe in natural herbs and teas, please sit on the bleachers. The aforementioned are not the only treatments for fibroids, but they are the most commonly discussed amongst women and physicians seeking treatment.
Although western medicine teaches physicians that the uterus is only for childbearing, the uterus has significant emotional connections for women. In Ayurvedic medicine, the uterus is associated with the sacral/second chakra and is identified with feelings and sexuality. In addition to our feelings, it is our creativity center and our emotional connection to others. It is believed that frozen creativity is the actual cause of fibroids/low sexual drive. How many women do you know experienced a hysterectomy? Let’s be more specific, how many women do you know had a hysterectomy before the age of 50? How many women do you know that believed that a hysterectomy was the only treatment option for fibroids? Lastly, how many women do you know felt different after their hysterectomy? i.e I felt like a shell after my hysterectomy or I didn’t feel like myself after. SO let’s get into some options, shall we:
OPTIONS If You Want Kids……
- Tranexamic Acid ( Lysteda ) – nonhormonal medication to ease menstrual periods, taken only on heavy bleeding days.
- Oral Contraceptive– control menstrual bleeding as well, but doesn’t reduce fibroid size. I personally didn’t choose this option due to the fact that hormones esp estrogen feed fibroids.
- Progestin-Releasing Intrauterine Device (IUD)– progestin-releasing IUD relieves bleeding caused by fibroids. This only provides symptom relief and doesn’t shrink fibroids and prevents pregnancy until the IUD is removed.
- MRI Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery – a high-energy ultrasound transducer is use to produce a image to locate the uterine fibroid. Once the fibroid is located, the ultrasound transducer focuses sound waves into the fibroid to heat and destroy the fibroid tissue. Please do your own research on this though, because long term safety and effectiveness is not clear at this time.
- Laparoscopic or Robotic Myomectomy– surgical option in which the surgeon removes the fibroids, leaving the uterus in place via a small incisions.
- Abdominal Myomectomy – surgical option if you have multiple fibroids, very large fibroids where a open abdominal surgical procedure is used to remove fibroids. This is the only option that was presented to me, but with further research I would have tried a more natural approach. This approach weakens the uterus and has scarring after surgery that can affect fertility.
- Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE)– nonsurgical option blocks the blood supply to the fibroids causing them to shrink. There is debate with this option because the impact on a woman’s fertility is questionable, however several women have had children after UFE.
- Alternative Approaches– to include but not limited to dietary changes, herbal treatments, exercise, acupuncture and determining the cause of fibroid growth i.e estrogen dominance
OPTIONS If You Don’t Want Kids…
- Hysterectomy– surgical procedure in which the uterus is removed, this ends the ability to conceive or have children.
- Endomentrial Ablation– nonsurgical procedure in which a instrument that uses heat, microwave energy, hot water or electric current is inserted into your uterus and destroys the lining in the uterus. This procedure either ends menstruation or reduced menstrual flow.
I know that this post was kind of lengthy, but I just recall when I was searching for options in 2010, the only option presented to me was the abdominal myomectomy and wanted to share more OPTIONS with you! PEACE AND BLESSINGS and much research to you on your journey to natural healing!
You always have to tell yourself no mater how hard it gets or how tired i become …….forward is the motion of progress