Fibroids; signs symptoms treatment

I haven't had the chance to update you all but I have been bleeding since I basically gave birth. That is now very close to 10 months and the anxious feelings of wondering what is wrong with me are building. I went into my RE's office begging him to figure out why I'm bleeding and we did a sonohystogram. I had forgotten how badly they hurt when you're already in pain but it gave us the answers we needed, well I lie, it gave us the partial answers. We now know there is a suspicious mass in my uterus. I've been given 4 possibilities; Fibroids, Placenta Retention, Missed Miscarriage, and the big C word....Cancer.

Everyone involved is almost 100% sure it's fibroids. The purpose of this article is to give you some of the biggest tip offs that you might have fibroids.

Definition

Fibroids are a benign tumor of the uterus. They are not cancers. However, they do have a rich blood supply and cause bleeding and pain. Fibroids are also known by the names LEIOMYOMA UTERI, LEIOMYOMA, or MYOMA. They are an extremely important public health issue, especially for women, because: Fibroids are the most common tumor that grows in the pelvis of women

50 - 80% of women have fibroids
Fibroids are the most common indication for hysterectomy (the most frequently performed major surgical proceedure in the U.S.)
Fibroids are responsible for at least 1/3 of admissions of women to a gynocological hospital service
Every year there are 500,000 - 600,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. at a cost of four billion dollars. At least 30% of this cost is due to fibroids.

Symptoms

The majority of fibroids cause no symptoms. However, when symptoms do occur, they can include:

heavy menstrual periods
abdominal distortion
pelvic pressure
pain
infertility
repeated miscarriage
premature labor
frequent urination
constipation

Unfortunately, these symptoms can be caused by any of a number of disorders. Once a patient goes to her caregiver with these symptoms, there are a variety of diagnostic tests which are employed to arrive at the diagnosis of fibroids. Among these are:

history
pelvic examination
pelvic ultrasound
MRI
hysteroscopy - looking into the uterus with a scope

Treatment

Hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is rarely the only option. Getting second opinion(s) and doing research on your own is always recommendable. This I totally agree with, a hysterectomy is no longer the only option. Please research your options further.

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