Fibroids in the uterus in Chinese medicine
Fibroids / uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumor in women. Most of them are benign and only 1% of them may be malignant tumors.
Fibroids in the uterus appear mainly in women in their thirties and forties. These are benign (non-malignant) tumors in the womb. Fibroids appear in all shapes and sizes and usually have more than one fibroid. Most fibroids size range from a nut to an orange. Since fibroids are almost always benign, it is important to remember that if you have a diagnosis of fibroids, you have plenty of time to thoroughly examine all the options before you decide how to treat them, if at all.
Some women with fibroids do not have symptoms at all. In others, they can cause the following symptoms: heavy menstrual bleeding, menstruation lasting seven days or more, swelling or pressure in the abdomen, frequent urination, constipation, back pain, weakness due to bleeding, local pain or radiation to other areas of the body, urinary incontinence, and infertility (difficulty in conceiving and / or problems during pregnancy and childbirth). Only some women are accompanied by fibroids have complaints that require medical attention.
Causes of uterine fibroids:
- The reason for the formation of fibroids is unknown, but estrogen is thought to be one of the factors because fibroids develops during the reproductive years, grows during pregnancy when estrogen levels are very high and then contracts in menopause when estrogen levels decrease. For many years it was common to say that the female hormone, estrogen, is the main hormonal factor affecting the formation of fibroids. Today, the progesterone hormone is known to play a significant role in the development of fibroids in the womb.
In addition, there is also the influence of genetic factors related to the same hormonal activity and other substances active in the human body and are defined as growth factors. About 99% of the uterine fibroids are not malignant. Studies show that in about 40% of the uterine fibroids an abnormal genetic image / chromosomal can be found. - Family relation: Having a fibroids found in one first-degree family (mother-daughter or sisters) will increase the incidence by two and a half times, while the presence of two first-degree family members (both mother and sister) will double the chance.
- It is also known that early onset of menopause and excess weight will contribute to the appearance of fibroids in the womb.
- Exercise and physical activity reduces the risk of fibroids existence or growth.
- Uterine fibroids can be found in different places and in different sizes in the uterus.
Uterine fibroids removal is possible with or without the uterus and is usually performed without the removal of the ovaries. Therefore, the hormonal activity of the woman is not usually impaired. In the case of hysterectomy, the hysterectomy must be distinguished from either with the ovaries or without the ovaries. The ovaries function is to produce sex hormones and the removal of the uterus without the ovaries will leave the hormonal activity of the woman usually without significant change, ie, it will not change the aging processes of the woman.
Current treatments and treatment options:
How you choose to treat your fibroids depends on where you are in the life cycle, how fibroids affect your quality of life and whether you are trying to conceive.
For women with very severe symptoms such as: heavy bleeding or pain there is a possibility of hormonal therapy. The hormones will place the body into temporary menopausal state by reducing estrogen levels and shrinking fibroids. However, the side effects include all the symptoms that women usually experience in menopause, such as hyperhidrosis, hot flushes, bone loss, and vaginal dryness.
Surgery in different approaches to removing uterine fibroids:
- Fibroids can be removed surgically. The type of surgery is determined by the size and position of the fibroid. If the fibroids are small enough, they can be removed using laparoscopy, but the removal of large fibroids usually requires to perform open surgery on the abdominal.
- Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) is a relatively new treatment for fibroids that involves injecting material into the uterine artery. This causes the blood supply to the fibroid to stop, causing the fibroid to shrink over time.
- Hysterectomy should be the last resort for a woman whose fibroids have caused severe bleeding or pain and have not responded well to other forms of treatment.
- There is also supervision without treatment.
- Minimally invasive treatment, or noninvasive treatment, to reduce fibroids and improve symptoms.
- Medications to reduce the fibroids volume and improve symptoms.
- Complementary medicine methods to reduce the fibroids volume and improve symptoms.
Chinese Medicine and acupuncture in the treatment of fibroids:
Because it is very rare that an immediate intervention is needed for fibroids, such as surgery, acupuncture and herbal medicine can offer gentle treatment – without side effects. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can cause the fibroids to reduce their size and relieve symptoms, depending on the size of the fibroids. If the fibroids are large, Chinese medicine treatments may not help to shrink them, but they can still ease symptoms and prevent further growth of fibroids.
The following is a case study illustrating the role that Chinese medicine can play in the treatment of fibroids:
A 45-year-old woman approached me to receive my help. She had several fibroids of the size of a grapefruit that caused her very heavy menstruation lasting seven days. She had no pain from the fibroids. When the bleeding was at its peak, she had to use both a super tampon and a pad that she changed every hour. As you can imagine, menstruation caused her a lot of discomfort. She was the manager of a restaurant so it was very difficult for her to go regularly to the bathroom. Her sleep was disrupted throughout the week because she had to wake up during the night to change the pad. She had to plan vacations and trips so that they would not happen during her menstrual week. During the summer months she could only wear black pants when she had menstruation. The need to deal with heavy bleeding once a month began to exhaust her emotionally. She consulted a few gynecologists and everyone said that hysterectomy was her only option because the fibroids were too big to be removed. But she insisted and did not want to have a hysterectomy. She wanted to leave the uterus and ovaries and wait for menopause when the fibroids would contract and the bleeding would stop. She came to me to see if acupuncture could help her. I told her that the fibroids were too big to contract with acupuncture but there were many things that could be done to help her improve her quality of life. First and foremost, the heavy bleeding must be restrained. I built a vegetarian formula for her to eat near and during a period to control the bleeding and to be more manageable. During the rest of the period we treated the building of her blood with herbs, nutritional changes and nutritional supplements and also treated the underlying cause of the fibroids to prevent them from growing. The last time I saw her, she was fine and committed to continue this treatment until she reached menopause.
Fibroids and infertility:
Fibroids may cause problems in getting pregnant in different ways. Depending on their location and size, they may block the fallopian tubes or the cervix and prevent sperm from reaching the egg. They may also affect the lining of the uterus and make it difficult to implant the fertilized egg. They may also make it difficult for the placenta to develop and a sufficient flow of blood during pregnancy, which can result in miscarriage. If fibroids do not cause any noticeable symptoms, such as pain or heavy bleeding, many women will find that they have them only when they refer to the gynecologist because of infertility issues.
For women who try to conceive, the most common treatment option is surgery. However, the surgery itself may cause intracranial scarring and adhesions that may impair fertility.
At Maoz Marpe Clinic:
I recommend trying 3 months of acupuncture and Chinese herbs, depending on the age of the patient and the size of the fibroids. You can then see how much the fibroids have decreased. If they are small enough, you can try natural conception. If they have not been reduced enough there is still a possibility to opt for surgery and / or IVF.
