How do you find treatment for something to which the cause is unknown?  The honest answer is you don’t, especially for a recurring disease like fibroids. Whatever is done is to help manage symptoms until menopause takes over. Some of these treatments can have long term benefits than others and help buy time. When I discovered I had fibroids, the only option I had was myomectomy because I was too far gone to try anything else.

 A myomectomy is a surgical operation to remove fibroids while preserving the uterus. For women who have fibroid symptoms and want to have children in the future, myomectomy is the best treatment option. Myomectomy is very effective, but fibroids can re-grow. As I have said before, the younger you the more likely you are to develop fibroids again in the future (God forbid bad thing! Never again!). Women nearing menopause are the least likely to have recurring problems from fibroids after a myomectomy. Due to this, many doctors (Ghanaian) do not recommend myomectomy at all because what’s the point if they could grow back, right? Why not wait until you’re old enough and they can no longer recur. Makes sense until you wake up covered in a pool of your own blood.

Honestly, before I signed the papers for myomectomy I had a brief discussion with my doctor about hysterectomy. Very brief because my Doctor shut it down even before I could make up my mind. Germans are so strict! Well, hysterectomy is Hysterectomy is a major surgical procedure in which the uterus is removed. Many women choose hysterectomy to definitively resolve their fibroid symptoms. After hysterectomy, menstrual bleeding stops, pelvic pressure is relieved, frequent urination improves and new fibroids cannot grow. This is all a girl wanted oo but this man told me to sit down! The down (?) side is a woman can no longer have kids after a hysterectomy. I guess this is why I am still carrying my uterus.

Aside these two which I believe are the best solutions there are, other treatment options exist.

Birth Control/Hormonal Pills: Contraceptive pills or hormonal pills help improve symptoms by temporarily (these are not life-long pills) balancing hormonal levels. Using birth control pills help to regulate the menstrual cycle and reduce bleeding and sometimes help alleviate uterus contractions a.k.a cramps.

Fibroid shrinking pills/GnRH agonists: GnRH is a hormone your body naturally makes. An “agonist” medicine counters that hormone, and your doctor may prescribe one to shrink fibroids and reduce anemia. It is not advisable to take these continually for more than 6 months because they can make you more likely to get osteoporosis, which makes your bones too frail. They are usually recommended for those with very large fibroids prior to surgery. Once you stop taking this, the fibroids grow back.

Natural Remedies: There are people who recommend and swear by dietary treatments/natural remedies. To those people I say, keep on keeping on because I am too inconsistent to sustain that lifestyle but kudos. If you are one of such great people, please comment below with some helpful tips! I just might use them as a preventive measure.

I will always recommend surgery because aside that being the most effective, I do not have the patience to wait for a pills to shrink muscles. If you’re familiar with fibroids, you know how tough those muscles can be; they don’t budge and I don’t think pills can get them to, at least not fast enough. But hey, that’s just me.

Well, that’s all for now folky dokes! Keep the questions coming!