warning signs that you may have fibroids

Excessive & Prolonged Bleeding

If you experience abnormally profuse menstrual bleeding, or if your periods last more than 7 or 8 days at a stretch, you might be suffering from fibroids.

Many women disregard occasional heavy blood flow, or simply do not notice it. Here’s a simple test: if you find yourself using more sanitary products in a day than you would normally use, something’s not right.

Non-Menstrual Pelvic Pain

If you frequently experience pain in the pelvic region outside of your menstrual cycle, this could be indicative of a fibroid growth. Large fibroids exert pressure on and around the surrounding areas.

Sometimes fibroids grow very close to the pelvis, in which case their location, and not their size, is what exerts pressure and causes pain.

Out of the 15 percent of 635 patients who reported uterine fibroids, 2.6 percent reported non-menstrual pelvic pain, according to a 2003 study published in Fertility and Sterility.

Therefore, if you often notice your pelvic region hurting for no reason, especially outside of your menstrual cycle, consult a gynecologist.

Abnormal Urinary Patterns

The bladder is located in close proximity to the uterus. When multiple and large fibroids grow from the uterus, they put excessive pressure on the neighboring organs, including the bladder. This causes frequent and often painful urination.

This pressure on the bladder is the highest when laying down. Therefore, the need to urinate especially at night increases with fibroid growth. Loss of bladder control is also a symptom of fibroid growth.

Out of 78 women diagnosed with uterine fibroids, 91 percent reported a spike in nighttime urination, 59 percent reported an increase in urinary frequency, and 45 to 54 percent reported a loss of bladder control, according to a 2011 study published in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery.

Therefore, if you suffer any of these lower urinary tract symptoms, consult a gynecologist as soon as you can.

Painful Intercourse

The presence of large fibroids in and around the uterus can make intercourse extremely painful for a woman. A woman may experience acute pain when the fibroids grow around the vaginal tract or the cervix, which connects the vagina and uterus.

The fibroids may exert pressure on the cervix during intercourse and may cause irritation and pain. It can also cause mild bleeding.

That pain might also exacerbate when assuming certain positions.

According to a 2014 study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the majority of the 827 premenopausal women, ages 35 to 49, reported a positive association of fibroids with pain during intercourse.

Fundal fibroids, which occur at the top of the uterus, were more strongly associated with intercourse-pain than other kinds of fibroids, according to the study.

If you experience painful intercourse, get yourself checked.