Dr. Slonim explains that some women take Lupron to treat fibroid symptoms. However, she explains how most women decide not to take it due to the hormonal side effects.

“You’re probably talking about Lupron, which is a hormone that will signal your body to cut down the hormones that cause the fibroids to grow. It’s effective in helping the symptoms of smaller fibroids, but most women feel uncomfortable while they’re on it, it causes the same kind of symptoms you may have when you’re on birth control, it can be swelling bloating, mood swings, just feeling lousy, so a lot of women don’t like to take it.”

“Also, when you stop it the fibroids symptoms come back. If you’re taking Lupron, I want you to be off it for a month before I do the procedure because one of the things that it does is, shrink the blood vessels to the fibroids, I need those blood vessels to be big and juicy, while I do the procedure.”

See Dr. Linda Hughes’ answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• Common Medications for Fibroid Symptoms
• Will my fibroids still be a problem after menopause?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?

Dr. Slonim explains below that an enlarged uterus has similar symptoms to pregnancy.

“Having an enlarged uterus can cause similar symptoms as pregnancy if the uterus is pressing on the bladder causing urinary frequency, if the uterus is pressing on the rectum causing constipation. Just the general discomfort of the bulk symptoms, you can feel a mass in your abdomen, as it grows your clothes cannot fit you right. I’ve had patients where the uterus presses on the nerves against the spine, and causes pain down the legs, if it presses on the veins, it could cause swelling in the legs.”

You might also enjoy:

• How Do Fibroids Affect Sexual Intercourse?
• Will my fibroids still be a problem after menopause?
• Are there medications or natural remedies used to treat fibroid symptoms?

Fibroids can make sexual intercourse increasingly painful or unappealing, and most women see an improvement after UFE. Dr. Slonim, M.D., explains further.

“Usually they don’t unless there’s an unfortunately positioned fibroid that can cause pain during intercourse. That’s not uncommon actually and I do tell my patients to refrain from having sexual intercourse for two weeks after the procedure, just because there’s going to be inflammation and it’s more likely to be painful, but two weeks will be enough.”

See Dr. Linda Hughes’ answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• How Do Fibroids Affect Sexual Intercourse?
• How is an enlarged uterus from fibroids like pregnancy?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?

Fibroids are usually not a problem after menopause as fibroids tend to shrink on their own at that point. However, Dr. Suzanne Slonim explains that there are rare instances that fibroids could pose a problem post menopause.

“Occasionally it can happen, but it’s rare. After menopause the stimulation to form fibroids is gone. Usually that’s when the fibroids start to shrink on their own. Sometimes I will counsel a woman if she’s close to menopause that she may want just wait and see if the fibroid takes care of itself, but occasionally particularly if a woman who’s taking hormonal treatment for management of menopause symptoms, that can also cause the continuation of fibroid growth and symptoms.”

“So it’s not unheard of for me to treat post menopausal women, especially if she has a fibroid that’s in a location that causes bleeding, and becomes anemic, then absolutely we treat those patients.”

See Dr. Linda Hughes’ answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• Blog: Are Fibroids Still a Problem After Menopause?
• How Do Fibroids Affect Sexual Intercourse?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?

There are several medications and natural treatments that can be used to treat the symptoms of fibroids, but these do not reduce the size or control the fibroids themselves. Dr. Linda Hughes, M.D., gives some examples.

“There are a number of medications that patients have utilized over the years to try to control their fibroid symptoms. Typically they end up being hormones. There are some natural remedies out there as well as some of the pain medication to control some of the symptoms. However, as an Interventionist Radiologist, we typically would not prescribe hormones or medication to treat the fibroids, that would be done by the gynecologist.

“Typically if we are administering or prescribing medication for patients, it’s after we’ve done the uterine fibroid embolization and it’s an antibiotic to prevent infection. It is the non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Ibuprofen or Percocet for control of the pain and cramping related to the procedure.”

See Dr. Suzanne Slonim’s answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• Common Medications for Fibroid Symptoms
• Will my fibroids still be a problem after menopause?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?

Most women with fibroids do not show symptoms, and in that case, it is usually not necessary to treat fibroids. Dr. Linda Hughes, M.D., explains:

“It is not necessary to treat all women that have been diagnosed with fibroids. The vast majority of women are asymptomatic, however if women develop symptoms they’re entitled to treatment. Typically the symptoms include heavy bleeding, including passage of blood clots with their menstrual cycle, they can be anemic, and have low blood counts.

“Some women have required iron transfusions, or blood transfusion, or have to take iron tablets. They can also have pain, cramping, pain with intercourse, as well as what we call bulk symptoms where the fibroids are big, and they’re pushing on the bladder typically. This causing them to urinate more quickly, get up at night to urinate, or they can have back pain which worsens with their menstrual cycle. I’ve also seen a number of women that have had issues with constipation, because the fibroids are pushing on the rectum, or they have pain in their pelvis or even pain radiating down their thighs because the fibroids are pushing on the nerves in the area.”

See Dr. Suzanne Slonim’s answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• Is It Always Necessary to Treat Fibroids?
• What are common medications and natural remedies used in treating fibroids?
• How to Know if You Have Uterine Fibroids

Fibroids can make sexual intercourse increasingly painful or unappealing, and most women see an improvement after UFE. Linda Hughes, M.D., explains further.

“A lot of women, when they come in for a consultation to see if they’re a candidate for the fibroid embolization procedure, are either embarrassed or bashful about discussing their sexual activity and if they have pain with sexual activity as a result of the fibroids. There are some women, depending on the size and the location of the fibroids, that intercourse can be extremely painful, as well as they can also have bleeding issues.

“So, many women with these symptoms notice that they do have a dramatic improvement after the embolization procedure. It’s extremely unusual, and I’m not aware of any patients in my practice that have had pain or worse issues with intercourse after an embolization. Typically they present with the symptoms, and they improve after the procedure.”

See Dr. Suzanne Slonim’s answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• How Do Fibroids Affect Sexual Intercourse?
• How is an enlarged uterus from fibroids like pregnancy?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?

For many women, fibroids do shrink and symptoms decrease after menopause, but for others, this does not happen. Dr. Linda Hughes, M.D., explains the changes that your body can go through.

“Fibroids are extremely common and many women don’t have symptoms from their fibroids. Of women that do have symptoms with their fibroids, a number of them when they go into menopause, with the fibroid shrinking because of the change in hormones, their symptoms will go away.

“I have, however, seen and treated a number of women that are post-menopausal. They are no longer menstruating but are still having symptoms in terms of pain with intercourse, back pain, pressure on the bladder and we performed successful embolizations for that reason and they’ve still had relief. Actually the oldest woman I’ve treated was 69 years old.”

See Dr. Suzanne Slonim’s answer to this question.

You might also enjoy:

• Blog: Are Fibroids Still a Problem After Menopause?
• How Do Fibroids Affect Sexual Intercourse?
• Is it always necessary to treat fibroids?