Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Fibroids
(continued)
Myth: Birth control pills are bad for women with fibroids. There
is no association between birth control pills and fibroid growth or recurrence,
despite the fact that they contain estrogen. There is reason to believe that
women entering menopause who have large or symptomatic fibroids should defer
estrogen replacement therapy or use only the smallest doses. This must be discussed
with your physician on a case by case basis, considering all risks and benefits.
Myth: There is a "miracle diet" that can cause fibroids to "vanish".
This is a wholly unsubstantiated claim. There are no dietary supplements
or practices that can reduce fibroid size, nor are there any magical therapies.
Myth: You are more likely to have fibroids if you have fibrocystic breasts.
While the words "fibrocystic" and "fibroids" are similar,
there is no relationship between the two conditions other than that they are
both very common in premenopausal women and they both regress in menopause.
Myth: You don't need your uterus after you've had your children, so
just remove it if it gives you any problems. This was the prevailing
medical approach until recently. We considered that once it bore our children,
the womb's job was done and it became as unnecessary-and dispensable--as the
appendix. Recent research, however, suggests that the uterus is a biologically
active organ that may interact with other organs such as the ovaries in ways
that have yet to be understood. For example, even when a woman has only her
uterus removed, her ovaries stop functioning prematurely in about half of premenopausal
women without any surgical complicating factors. This may explain some of the
recent surprises in studies of menopausal women on hormone replacement and their
risk for various diseases. This may also explain the observation that many
women who have had a hysterectomy report decreased libido and decreased sexual
satisfaction, although many researchers attribute this to lost uterine contractions
and cervical stimulation which heighten the sexual response in many women.