Conquering Your Fears about the Effects of Uterine Fibroids on Your Period and Fertility
Your imagination could run wild with paranoia when you think of having something as ‘mysterious’ as uterine fibroids. You could already have them for all you know. They’re just not showing symptoms — not yet, the paranoid thoughts run at the back of your head. Most of your fears can be allayed when you consult with a doctor and get diagnosed for sure. Then, you’ll have the answers to your concerns about your fibroids affecting your period, keeping you from getting pregnant, or even killing your baby.
Knowing Gives You Power Over Fear
Your reproductive health could be at risk when you have fibroids. You can miss your period and have pre-mature menopause or you can bleed heavily, more frequently, or for longer durations. You can have problems conceiving and, if and when you do get pregnant, you could eventually have a miscarriage. But, there is no need to let fear get the better of you.
Only about thirty out of a hundred women with fibroids experience symptoms. Not all of these symptoms, however, are serious and unmanageable. Out of the women with fibroids symptoms, not all experience problems with their periods or have complications during their pregnancies. Knowing what kind of fibroids you have and where they are positioned in your uterus will give you the power to take action and remove or reduce your risks of experiencing symptoms and having problems with your period and fertility due to the tumors in your uterus.
Your Period and Fertility
Experts peg the global average age of the onset of menstruation at around 12 to 13 years old. The age range per region vary depending on race and ethnicity among other factors. This time when a woman marks the start of her fertility is also the time when her risks for developing fibroids in her uterus and consequently experiencing problems with her period and fertility become more imminent.
Although heavy and frequent bleeding is among the main symptoms of uterine fibroids, these tumors can cause you to have lighter periods or stop having your periods. When you miss your period, the first thing you have to do is to check if you are not pregnant. When you have confirmed this, you can explore other reasons such as fibroids.
It would be a mistake to immediately think that the reason for your missed periods is menopause. You might have fibroids that are blocking the flow of blood from the uterus to the vagina. In this case, you need to have your fibroids removed right away. Those who have already had fibroids removal surgeries are also likely to have missed periods due to uterine scarring.
The same ‘structural’ issues brought about by fibroids can affect your fertility as well. Fibroids can block the passage of the sperm (through the cervix) and the egg (from the Fallopian tubes) into the womb. It will then be impossible for you to get pregnant if the sperm and the egg don’t meet.
Most women with fibroids, do get pregnant although some have been found to be prone to complications like bleeding, miscarriage, pre-term delivery, and C-section delivery. Studies estimate the risk of women with fibroids having a miscarriage at about 14%, twice the rate of risk for women without fibroids.
Not Quite as Scary
It’s highly likely that you have heard ‘horror’ stories from women who have had terrible cases of fibroids. The pain that these women felt is undeniable and their experiences are real. But, that does not mean that the same thing will happen to you. The only way to know for sure if you have uterine fibroids is to get checked and diagnosed.
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