My diagnosis for fibroids (which are benign tumors in the uterus) was a surprise. Although I worked as an RN for more than two decades, it never occurred to me that fibroids were causing my heavy bleeding every month. As it turns out, fibroids are very common and it’s estimated that 75% of women will have fibroids during their lifetime.
This was the second time an annual checkup caught a health problem that needed to be dealt with quickly. When I mentioned the heavier bleeding and the longer periods to my doctor he recommended that I make an appointment with my gynecologist, since I might have fibroids.
Fibroid Diagnosis and Treatment
I was diagnosed with multiple fibroids. The largest one was the size of a small grapefruit. My gynecologist said I could either have an abdominal myomectomy (where they make an incision into my abdomen and remove the fibroids) or a hysterectomy (where they completely remove the uterus).
When I asked about non-surgery alternatives the doctor said he had seen cases where women were able to shrink fibroids and avoid surgery, but they had fibroids that were much smaller than mine. We ended up scheduling my abdominal myomectomy for the following month.
During the weeks before surgery I read Dr. Servan-Schrieber’s book, Anticancer . Dr. Servan-Schreiber has an MD degree and a PhD degree and has successfully battled brain cancer, twice. He lists simple lifestyle changes to help people fight cancer. I implemented some of his recommendations immediately.
One lifestyle change that was mentioned was regular exercise. Although I had regularly exercised for decades, over the past year I had stopped regularly exercising. The very next day, after reading the book, I began to exercise again.
Green tea was mentioned as being high in antioxidants, which can help fight cancer. I bought some green tea and began drinking it at least twice a day.
I also added turmeric to my diet. Turmeric is a spice that is very high in antioxidants. I added turmeric to cooked vegetables, soup, and to stir-fry dishes. The last thing I did was add more broccoli, cabbage, and mushrooms to my meals; all of these vegetables are high in antioxidants.
Alternative Medicine Therapies Shrink Fibroids
The alternative medicine therapies worked for me. Three days after I made these changes, I passed two small fibroids. Two days after that I passed two more. The largest fibroid shrank, but not enough to forego surgery. I had five fibroids removed during surgery.
I wish I had known about these simple lifestyle changes years ago, so I wouldn’t have to deal with fibroid surgery. But I was glad to have found something that would deter fibroids, especially when I was told that I was at risk to have fibroids again.
When I asked my doctor about the chances of needing fibroid surgery in the future, I was told that one out of two women who have multiple fibroids have them reappear. Since I had so many fibroids I was told that I was at high risk to have fibroids again.
At my last gynecology visit, more than two years after my myomectomy, my doctor was surprised to see that I only had one tiny fibroid. We are going to monitor the fibroid. If it seems to be growing, then my doctor will remove it in an outpatient visit. I am going to continue my healthy lifestyle changes to, hopefully, prevent more fibroids. I’m just really glad that I was able to find information to help me deal with my fibroids without taking medication.
