When Is It Time To Seek Treatment For My Fibroids?
BDO: As a patient, how do we know when it’s time to be treated for fibroids?
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Dr. Linda Bradley: Since fibroids are so common they are things that bother women a little bit or a lot. The question is since 80% of black woman have fibroids half of them have symptoms, the question is what symptoms bother them?
If a patient is having fibroid-related symptoms I think the thing to ask themselves is how much are the symptoms bothering them? Sometimes I ask patients to tell me how does it impact their quality of life and more specifically to tell me if their symptoms are minimal if they’re mild they’re moderate or severe. Severe meaning they’re missing work and activities, having to go to the emergency room, multiple visits to the doctor, just not feeling well, not engaged in life.
Minimal might be just a little bit of menstrual cramps for which Tylenol a nonsteroidal medicine like Advil or Motrin may be able to be of help. Also asking them are they interested in pregnancy because the discussion with the physician all of the options are variable depending on what a patient the pregnancy intent is.
A hysterectomy would never be an option for my patients if they told me they wanted to have a baby and I would do everything I could to take away their symptoms. But also allow them to have kids in the future.
So it’s really looking as a couple is this something childbearing the potential and possibilities of having babies if that’s a part of their life goals. Then finding a physician to help them reach that goal with alternatives to hysterectomy would be recommended.
I think working with a physician knowing what you want, not minimizing symptoms but looking at things that you’ve already done would be helpful in those discussions
