[Fwd: [babydust_magic2] FW: Women's Health - How common are uterine fibroids?]

[Guest guest]

Seeing as there has been a discussion about fibroids going on here, I thought

you might be interested in this article. It came from Women's Health Magazine

and although it's not alternative medicine, it still provides a lot of relevant

food for thought.

 

I guess what I like to keep in mind is that the more we look, the more problems

we will find, and this is a perfect example of that.

 

ILANA xoxo

 

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1. How common are uterine fibroids?

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Whenever a woman has any pelvic discomfort or

abnormal menstrual bleeding, there is a tendency

for physicians to order immediately order pelvic

ultrasound imaging studies even though the pelvic

exam may be normal. The ultrasound is more

sensitive in finding pelvic anatomical

abnormalities than a physician's standard bimanual

pelvic exam. Often the ultrasound is so sensitive

that it picks up minor abnormal findings that are

not really causing symptoms.

 

There can be so many "abnormal" but insignificant

findings that these findings are often wrongly

"blamed for the symptoms. This is often true of

cystic areas in the ovaries that are merely normal

ovarian follicles but are labelled as "ovarian

cysts" by the radiologist. Small fibroids (smooth

muscle growths of the uterus) are another common

finding on ultrasound that are often incidental

and not the cause of pain or bleeding which the

doctor is looking for.

 

If fibroids in the uterus were uncommon, then it

might be more likely that if they are found they

might be causing symptoms. However, fibroids under

2 inches in diameter are very common in the uterus

so it makes sense that many ultrasound studies are

going to find them and mislead both the woman and

the doctor into thinking that they are the cause

of symptoms.

 

How common are fibroids as detected by pelvic

ultrasound? One recent study using pelvic

ultrasound in asymptomatic women in the U.S. aged

35-49 found that over 50% of women who did not

have a previous diagnosis of fibroids did have

fibroids on ultrasound exam. This study estimated

the cumulative incidence of fibroids by age 50 was

over 80% in black women and over 70% in white

women. Thus the answer is that fibroids are very

common. They are slightly more common and occur

earlier in black women.

 

The bottom line is to not always blame a fibroid

or let yourself be treated with a medical

procedure for a fibroid just because an ultrasound

report indicates a fibroid is present. Discuss

carefully with the doctor as to whether the

fibroid is likely playing a role in whatever

symptoms you might have.