Should I worry about uterine fibroids after menopause? After menopause, fibroids usually shrink, and symptoms improve. However, a person should seek medical advice if they have bothersome or ongoing symptoms or if they notice any bleeding after menopause. These may be signs of another health issue, such as cancer.
Again, Dr. Bradley stresses that it's rare for your fibroids to cause bleeding during menopause. And if it turns out that you do still have uterine fibroids later in life, but they aren't causing any symptoms, most likely they won't need to be treated at all, advises Dr. Bradley.
PRECIS: Uterine fibroids in post-menopausal women do not have a negative impact on developing endometrium cancer.
Since the ovaries are still producing estrogen and other hormones, however, it's still possible to become pregnant or have estrogen trigger fibroid growth. The postmenopause period is the period after a woman has gone through menopause.
After menopause, they tend to shrink in size due to lower estrogen levels. However, they can still be an issue, leading to pain and unusual bleeding. Fibroids are noncancerous, but they can resemble cancerous tumors. For this reason, a doctor may remove them or take a biopsy to rule out cancer.
Fibroid degeneration can occur after menopause. Acute abdominal pain, low grade fever, and leukocytosis can be the presenting feature, thus masquerading surgical acute abdomen.
A class of medications known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists can shrink fibroids. Other medications can help alleviate fibroid symptoms. For example, oral contraceptives can control heavy bleeding and other menstrual irregularities. Over-the-counter pain medications can minimize cramps and low-back pain.
In rare cases, women with fibroids need emergency treatment. You should seek emergency care if you have sharp, sudden pain in the abdomen that is unrelieved with pain medication, or severe vaginal bleeding with signs of anemia such as lightheadedness, extreme fatigue and weakness.
Fatigue. Fatigue is especially easy to miss as a symptom of fibroids because it's not caused by overwork or a lack of sufficient sleep at night, but is mainly due to the loss of blood from heavy periods. This blood loss leads to anemia and an iron deficiency from the lack of red blood cells.
Women with large fibroids may feel heaviness or pressure in their lower abdomen or pelvis. Often this is described as a vague discomfort rather than a sharp pain. Sometimes, the enlarged uterus makes it difficult to lie face down, bend over or exercise without discomfort. Pelvic pain.
Fibroids themselves don't cause true weight gain. But some fibroids can become very large, and in some cases, weigh a few pounds. These larger fibroids can press on other structures in the abdomen or pelvis and appear to cause bloating and swelling around the abdomen.
Most experts believe that about 9-10 centimeters (about 4 inches) diameter is the largest size fibroid that should be removed laparoscopically.
A hysterectomy may be recommended if you have large fibroids or severe bleeding and you do not want to have any more children.
Hysterectomy is a permanent solution for fibroids, and is an option if other treatments have not worked or are not appropriate. A woman cannot become pregnant after having a hysterectomy. If the ovaries are removed along with the uterus, hysterectomy causes immediate menopause.
Medical imaging, including ultrasound and MRI, can be used to tell the difference between fibroids and cancerous tumors in the uterus. Additionally, pathologists (doctors who specialize in analyzing bodily tissue) can look at a biopsy of the fibroid under a microscope and count the dividing cells.
Fibroids are muscular tumors that grow on the uterine walls and are usually benign. While most women don't experience any painful symptoms, some severe cases require an endometrial biopsy, where a small tissue sample is taken from the lining of the uterus.
Can Fibroids Cause Bleeding After Menopause? You can experience bleeding even after you've gone through menopause if you have fibroids. This symptom is most common in women taking HRTs, because the added hormones allow the fibroid to continue to grow.
Lesser Known Symptoms Of Fibroids
Gaining weight and having a bulging stomach happen to be symptoms most women do not associate with fibroids. In fact, it is a common symptom. You may think your swollen stomach is just poor eating habits, but fibroids can add weight and volume to your tummy.
Larger fibroids—about four centimeters or more—that are in the muscle of the uterus can also impact implantation. Fibroids that are inside the muscle of the uterus might block the fallopian tubes, which can cause infertility.
Can fibroids turn into cancer? Fibroids are almost always benign (not cancerous). Rarely (less than one in 1,000) a cancerous fibroid will occur. This is called leiomyosarcoma.
The doses of oestrogen in HRT are very low so they are not usually high enough to stimulate the fibroids. Occasionally having HRT can cause fibroids to grow or bleed. Women taking HRT can still have effective treatments for their fibroids.
However, it can take up to a year for the fibroids to shrink to their fullest capacity. While the fibroid/fibroids will never completely disappear, effective treatment means that the fibroids have become small enough that the associated symptoms will dissipate.